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COMMEMORATIVE 



BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



UPPER LAKE REGION 



CONTAINING 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT AND REPRESENTATIVE 

CITIZENS AND MANY OF THE EARLY 

SETTLED FAMILIES 



ILLUSTRATED 



J. H. BEERS & CO. 

CHICAGO 

1905 






-^i 






F5'80 



PREFACE 



HE importance of placing in book form biographical history of representative 
citizens — both for its immediate worth and for its value to coming genera- 
tions — is admitted l)y all thinking people; and within the past decade there 
lias been a grf)wing interest in tliis commendable means of perpetuating biography and 
family genealogy. 

That the public is entitled to the privileges afforded b)- a work of this nature 
needs no assertion at our hands ; for one of our greatest Americans has said that the 
history of any country resolves itself into the biographies of its stout, earnest and 
representative citizens. This medium, then, serves more than a single purpose; while 
it perpetuates biography and family genealogy, it records history, much of which 
would be preserved in no other way. 

In presenting the Commemorative Biographical Record to its patrons, the pub- 
lishers have to acknowledge, with gratitude, the encouragement and support their enter- 
prise has received, and the willing assistance rendered in enabling them to surmount the 
many unforeseen obstacles ^ be met with in the production of a work of this character. 
In nearly every instance the material composing the sketches was gathered from 
those immediately interested, and then submitted in typewritten form for cor- 
rection and revision. The \ohune, which is one of generous amplitude, is placed in tlie 
hands of the public with the belief that it will be found a valuable addition to the 
library, as well as an invaluable contribution to the historical literature of the Upper 
Lake Region. 

THE PUBLISHERS. 



INDKX 



Adams, George W 70 

Adams, James G 272 

Agen, Hon. James H 139 

Aiken, James H 490 

Alcnius, Giistaf A 260 

Algeo. Frank 445 

Andersen, A. Norman 240 

Andersen, Hon. Peter A.. 358 

Anderson, Andrew A 408 

Anderson, Anton M 222 

Anderson, Carl 361 

Anderson, Charles E 451 

Anderson, J. A 257 

Anderson, John 327 

Anderson, Lars G 426 

Anderson, Ole 194 

Anderson, William 136 

Andresen, Charles A 428 

Andrew, W. W 547 

Andrews, Alfred S., D. D. S. 192 
Andrus, Adellin P., M. D... ^0 

Angvick. Samuel 499 

Apollonia, History of 194 

Archibald, David 486 

Ardouin, William B 521 

Armitage, Thomas D 477 

.Armstrong, James L 299 

Armstrong, Montague 543 

Armstrong, Thomas 542 

Arnold, Elmer H 265 

Arnold. John B. 303 

Ash. George 450 

Ashland County Public 

Schools 94 

.\tkinson. James 178 

Auger, Patrick 245 

Aune, Ole 487 

.Austria, William P., M. D... . 533 



Rabcock, Isaac G.. M. D... 437 

Radgley, Thomas V 167 

Raeumic. Otto C 477 

Bailey, Samuel W 399 

Baker, Henry C 20 

Baker, James P 417 

Bannon, John 511 

Baribeau. Joseph 251 

Barry, Mahlon P 172 

Barry, Michael 26 

Bartlett, John E 305 

Barton, Alonzo J 184 



PAGE 

Barton, Willard L 185 

Bates, Marcus W 8 

Bates, Mrs. Marie S 548 

Baxter, Thomas W 551 

Beaudoin, Magloire 335 

Beckwith, Capt. John C 236 

Beebe, Loren W., M. D 234 

Bekken, Edward 441 

Bell, Currie G 352 

Bell, Merton J 60 

Bell, Capt. Thomas F 314 

Berger, Axel 218 

Bertrand, John C 287 

Bingham, James F 513 

Bingham Hardware Co., 

The S13 

Rischel, L. J 228 

Bishoff, Edward A 430 

Blackadder, Tames 366 

Blackburn, D. W 130 

Blackburn, James lOO 

Blackburn, William A 130 

Blount, Jane 462 

Blount, Matilda 462 

Blount, Stephen 462 

Boheim, Fred R 488 

Boland, William F 212 

Bone, Charles F 203 

Boots, Stephen E 546 

Barecky, Joseph 461 

Borum, T. W 510 

Bostwick, Col. Charles E 531 

Boswell, John O 250 

Bowerman, George G. 92 

Bowers. Edgar N 400 

Boyce, Samuel F 87 

Boynton, Orville L 254 

Bradley, Henry M 343 

Bradley, Sylvester 517 

Brainerd, Benjamin F 472 

Brandt, John 294 

Braun. George 286 

Rrehm. Thomas 347 

Brennen. Lawrence i73 

Brooks Family 113 

Brooks. George L 113 

Brousscau, Harrv 320 

Brower, George W 531 

Brown, Addison C 183 

Brown, Charles P 363 

Bruce, Rusk County, History 

of 319 



PAGE 

Buckley, William 469 

Buflfalo, A. J 379 

Bugbee. Hon. Albert L 72 

Buol, F. A 439 

Burbey, Louis A 189 

Burg, Herman 501 

Burg, Philip N 370 

Burke, Matthew C 204 

Burnett, David 545 

Burnham, Guy M 288 

Burnham, Capt. Samuel E.. 91 
Byrns, John E 206 

Campbell. Alexander A.... 210 

Cannon, Dennis M 550 

Cannon, James H 235 

Card, Frank H 412 

Carlson, Anthon 309 

Carlson, George A 309 

Carnachan, George M., 

M. D 47 

Carpenter, Samuel P 383 

Carr, Warner S 206 

Cash, John L 442 

Catlin, Hon. Charles L.... 5 

Charbonneau. E 543 

Charles, Lewis P 221 

Charron, T. A., M. D 228 

Chase, Albert S. 41 

Chase. Henry L 311 

Chcadle, Henry W 109 

Christie, Mrs. Annie 246 

Christie, James L 246 

Christie, James N 412 

Clapp, G. F 483 

Clark, Isaac A 195 

Clark, Jason D 520 

Clarke, Robert E 543 

Clausen, Lorenzo N 466 

Cleveland, Thomas J 533 

Cline, George D 133 

Clough. Solon H 121 

Clow, Harvey D 248 

Coburn. Capt. Richard G... 131 

Cole, Charles 249 

Cole, David H 504 

Collier Tames 331 

Collins, Edward E., M. D.. . 95 

Comiskey, George 427 

Cook, George B 321 

Cooper, George C 162 

Corbett, Robert no 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Costello, Augustus E., M. D. 

C. M 455 

Cowie, William J 323 

Cox, Joseph P., M. D 160 

Craig, John S 374 

Crandall, Rev. Horace B... 180 

Crisler, J. S 533 

Crocker, Prof. Walter C 266 

Crye, Z. R 502 

Culligan, William E. 308 

Curr, James H. W 436 

Dahl, Edward A 538 

Dahlberg, Frank G 402 

Dahlstrom, Erick 386 

Dailey, Asa 459 

Dalrymple, William F 166 

Daly, James C 526 

Danel. Samuel C 380 

Danielson, Dan, Esq i6g 

Danielson, Peter 297 

Dash, Victor A 329 

Day, Frank D 30 

Day, W. A., M. D 431 

De Far, Joseph J 462 

Descent, Abraham G 32 

Descent, Frank C 503 

Desmond. Frank 304 

Dhooge, Frank S 511 

Diamond, John 394 

Dickerson. H. E 241 

Dirimple, Robert 371 

Dobie, David 62 

Dodd, John M., M. D T97 

Doenitz, Auefiist 174 

Dohearty, Frank P.. M. D.. 164 
Doherty, Capt. Bernard.... 23 

Donald, Archibald 344 

Doverv, Thomas 182 

Duff, S. K 512 

Dunlop, John 353 

Durgin, N. G. 317 

Dwyer, Patrick 296 

Eaton, Maj. Alfred S 143 

Eaton, Frank W 125 

Eaton, Guy A 315 

Ebmer, Alois 442 

Egbert, William J 283 

Eimon, Peter 172 

Ekstrom, Andrew 180 

Ellis, Edwin, M. D 16 

Ellis, William E., M. D 479 

Ellis, William H., M. D... 115 

Ely, Rev. Edmund F 12 

Engstrand, Theodore 510 

Engstrom, Charles J 453 

Erickson, Jacob E 341 

Erickson, Hon. Ole 327 

Ericson, Charles W 368 

Eva, Maj. Hubert V 216 

Evans, Richard C 126 

Evers, Thurston 340 

Fanning, William R 135 

Fawcett, John F. W 540 

Ferrell, Byron 168 

Fifield, Wis 371 



PAGE 

Fifield, Hon. Sam S 2 

Finney, George K 460 

Finstad, Herman J 247 

Fisher, W. W 527 

Follett, Erwin B 516 

Forsyth, George 384 

Foster, Aaron H 388 

Foster Family 388 

Fountain. Emery 73 

Fraser, Allen 425 

Frels, August 166 

French, Russell W 78 

Friedrichs, Ferdinand C 528 

Fritz, J. W 485 

Fry, John F. 378 

Fuley, Hans P 155 

Fuller, William N 76 

Gaillardet, Louis P. L., M. D., 324 

Gamper, John 290 

Gates, Hon. Irvin W 7 

Gates. Joel S 7 

Gay, Edward D 248 

Gearhart, Albert A 50 

Gearhart, Nathaniel A 96 

Gibson, Albert D., M. D... 413 

Giffin, George H 43 

Gill. Charles H 325 

Gill Family 325 

Gill, George H 354 

Gilstad, Nels C 461 

Glass. Edward B 49 

Gleri Flora, Wis 148 

Gobar, G. G, M. D 493 

Gordon, Antoine 381 

Gordon, John 535 

Gordon. Michael 252 

Goss, Mrs. Ida M 449 

Grace, Harry H 491 

Graff, Edmund D 539 

Graff, Philip M 4=;6 

Grafton, Guv A.. M. D 183 

Graham, William M 536 

Grasser, Peter 220 

Graves, Col. Charles H 279 

Gregory, Charles E 470 

Gridley, Elijah C 367 

Gridley, Mrs. Emma E 368 

Grimes, Benjamin F 348 

Gunniss, John T 376 

Gutekunst, Charles 232 

Habelt, Adolph 129 

Hacker. J. Winslow 67 

Haily, Hon. William E.... 99 

Hale, H. C 196 

Hamilton, Alexander R... 276 

Hammond. Gen. John H... 4 

Hand, F. B 411 

Hanley, John T 467 

Hannum Family 336 

Hannum. Henry, M. D 336 

Hanton, Edward T^ 179 

Harmon, George W 298 

Harper, Benjamin W 325 

Harris, Samuel F 332 



PAGE 

Harrison, George W., B. S., 

M. D 239 

Harvey, Enoch W. B 208 

Hatch, William B 92 

Haven, Charles D 225 

Haven. Roland D 30 

Hayden, John J 58 

Hazard, Joseph T 409 

Heaverin, G. W 270 

Hedback, A. E., M. D 490 

Hein, John 232 

Hessey, Mark 291 

Heule, E. J 238 

Hibbard, John J 145 

Hibbard, William E 275 

Hickerson, Joel A 301 

Hill, E. W 300 

Hill, Ichabod B 176 

Hill, John F 37^ 

Hoar, Stephen S 262 

Hofflund, Daniel 405 

Holgren, Ernest P 426 

HoUenbeck, William H 153 

Holly, Floyd 188 

Holman, John H 14 

Holmes, Ira 401 

Hopdegard. Rev. Apollonius 123 

Hopkins, Albert N 82 

Hosmer, Matthew S., M. D.. . 38 

Houlton, William L 340 

Howenstine. William C... 90 

Hubbard, Horace E 251 

Hudnall, Hon. George B... 29 

Hughes, George R 64 

Hummer, James S 222 

Humphrey, Charles M 237 

Hunter, John C 530 

Hunter. W. L 458 

Hurd, Robert L. 219 

Hurless, John M 280 

Irish, Hon. W. H 59 

Isaacson, John A 274 

Jackson, Allen 453 

Jackson, Bennett B., B. A.. . 295 

Jackson, William L 161 

Jacobs, John A 452 

Jacobson. John 548 

Jacobson. Marie S 548 

Jeffers, Truman G 273 

Jensen, A. M 482 

Jensen, James H 198 

Jensen, Jens J 393 

Johnson, Adolph 481 

Johnson, Bennie 187 

Johnson, Claus 550 

Johnson, H. C, M. D 40:^ 

Johnson, Helge 283 

Jones, John E 307 

Kane, George W 218 

Kanneberg, Paul 502 

Kauffman, O. J 514 

Kauppi, Charles 214 

Kellogg, Charles L 443 

Kellogg, William M 500 

Kendall, Hon. Howard C. . 22 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Kennedy, Andrew 1'. 398 

Kennedy, Mrs. Augu=ta 18 

Kent, Nat. A 233 

Kenyon, R. E 216 

Kern, William li 355 

King, B. M 238 

Kinne, William H 295 

Kline, William H 158 

Knoop, Albert 226 

Knutson, L. M 3^2 

Koehler, Hermann M 310 

Konkel, Joseph S. 434 

Kowalke, Ludwig 497 

Kraemer, John 392 

Kuchli, Henry A 494 

Laberge, Ludger 553 

Ladysmith, Historical Sketch 

of 74 

LaLonde, David J 209 

Lambert, E. H 197 

LaRouge, Joseph 421 

Larson, Charles 159 

Larson, Lewis 433 

Lawler, Patrick H 418 

Leader, William J 175 

Leamon, George W 425 

Leinfelder, Stephen A., 1). 

D., Ph. D 200 

Lenroot, Hon. Irvine L.... 202 

Leonard, Philander E 422 

Liberty, Peter 217 

Liedel, Henry A 374 

Light, William A 61 

Lincoln, Merwin C 349 

Lindquist, Francis 481 

Lindsay, Joseph 87 

Linnet, Rev. J. E 250 

Lippels, William H 520 

Lloyd, Evan E 447 

Lofstrom, Rev. Detlof .... 152 

Logan, John A 356 

Lord, Charles loi 

Lucia, William H 476 

Lucius, Joseph 84 

Lucius, Nicholas, Jr 79 

Lunt, Jonathan E 277 

Lutton, George W 518 

McCormick, Hon. Robert L. 27 
McCormick, Samuel C, 

M. D. 35 

McCormick, Hon. William 

L 29 

McCormick, William S.... 37 

McCue, Mrs. Anne 200 

McCue, Edward 200 

McDonald, Hugh A 407 

McDougal, John T 227 

McGeorge, Andrew \V 479 

McGonagle. William .-\ . . . . 309 

McGuire, Peter H 446 

Mclntyre. Frank N 268 

McKay, Archibald 294 

McKenzit, John A 513 

McKie, John 515 

McKinnon, Mrs. Celia B... 332 



PAGE 

McLean, Robert 1! 144 

McLennan, D 538 

McNeill, Israel C 120 

McQuade, Mrs. Abbie E... 386 

McCJuade, Samuel C 385 

McQuillan, Alexander 351 

McRae, Colin J 163 

Mackin, W. N 202 

MacLeod, Ronald J 474 

Maginnis, Charles P 106 

Maguire, Frank 423 

Malcolm, W. G., M. D 323 

Maloney, David W 205 

Manning, Hon. W. S 48 

Marchessault, J. .Arthur, 

M. D 381 

Marshall, James 85 

i\larshall, William A 540 

Martens, Otto H 492 

Martm, William ' 369 

Mason, Grafton 520 

Mason, Tom 190 

Matchette, A. L 230 

Matchette, James A 230 

Mattoon, Edward 359 

Maltson, Ole 81 

Maurer, Henry 397 

Mead, Hon. Lewis H 124 

Meade, Patrick 11 4O9 

Meehan, Frank J 377 

Merritt Family 1 1 

Merritt, Leonidas 11 

Merritt, Napoleon B 360 

IMerritt, Samuel T 280 

Middlecoff, Hon. Jehu B... 25 

Miles, Partelow 271 

Miller, Fred W 58 

Miller, Robert 548 

Miller, Thomas M., M. D... 256 

Mills, Alexander R 297 

Mills, E. G 466 

Mills, Henry 356 

Mills, Peter, Sr 306 

IMit^cIl, Robert C. 234 

-Mc^ John 497 

Moliter, Bernard 255 

Mollev, John H 455 

Morgan, George F 547 

Morisset, Cleophas J 472 

Morris, Hon. Charles F 186 

Morrissey, John D 187 

Mowatt, Capt. David J 86 

Mowatt. David W 85 

Muck, Alwin A 156 

Mullaley, Patrick H 410 

Mungavin, Patrick J 1 70 

Munroe, F. E 354 

Murphy, John T 313 

Myhre. Nels 506 

Myrland, A. J 45 

N? son, Rev. John H 170 

Nater, Gust 252 

Neef. William J 429 

Nelson, Adolphus P 215 

Nelson, C. S. 290 

Nelson, Nels 154 



Newburgli, Andrew G 370 

Newton, Capt. Henry W... 395 

Nichols, Arad F 470 

Nichols, Wilford H 519 

Norquisl, Hon. Carl J 237 

Norton, William R 293 

Nye, Ray J 552 

Nyqvist, Matt 514 

Nystrum, Conrad E., M. D. 416 

Oakes, Silas P 230 

Obrien, H. Jefferson, M. D... 550 

♦ O'Connor, W. F., M. D 329 

Ogilvie, William 553 

O'Hare, Charles G 447 

Oistad, Mrs. Carrie P 178 

Oistad, Michael N 177 

Okerstrom, Theodore N 507 

Olsen, Thorsten 278 

Olson, Andrew F 349 

Olson, Gilbert 182 

Olson, Olaf G 498 

Osborn, Marion T 424 

Oscar, Nels M 537 

Oscar, Tobias A 537 

Otis, Edmund R 46 

Otis Family 46 

Otis, Robert T 376 

Otis, Theodore B 37s 

Paddock, B. N 292 

Palmer Family 68 

Palmer, Lorin W 68 

Parker, Frank A 488 

Parsons, R. W 503 

Patten, James 35 

Patterson, James A., M. D.. . 135 

Pattison, Martin 112 

Patton, Robert B 259 

Paulson, Nels 431 

Peabody, J|ohn H 328 

Peck, DeWitt S 522 

Peck, Richard F 435 

Pederson, O. E 128 

Pelton, Hiram 97 

Penn, William 224 

Perrin, Chester F 463 

Perrin, Solon L 39 

Petersen, Arthur W 524 

Peterson, Alfred 547 

Peterson, Charles 471 

Peterson, Charles A 151 

Peterson, Fred 387 

Peterson, Hilma 131 

Peterson, John 394 

Peterson, Julius C 404 

Peterson. Peter J 131 

Pettingill, John A 162 

Peyton, B. Murray 51 

Philbrook, Amial E 13 

Philbrook Family 13 

Philbrook, Walter J 529 

Phillips, Thomas D 480 

Pink, Benjamin W 346 

Porter, Warren T 98 

Potter, L. A., M. D 211 

Pratt, Thomas A 103 



INDEX. 



Prince, Eugene F $2 

Prophet, Mrs. John 465 

Pugh, Thomas E 158 

Qiieary, O. K 476 

Rakowsky, John G 439 

Randall, Capt, John R 541 

Rasmussen, Alexander 517 

Raynor, George A. 54S 

Rea, William B 44 

Reedfors, Adolph 454 

Rene, J. Adelard, M. D 361 

Reuter, LaFayette 330 

Riedel, H. E 505 

Rinehart, William T., M. D. 42 

Ripley, Byron 53 

Roberts, Hon. David E. . . 24 

Roberts, William G 521 

Robie, Capt. James D 56 

Robie, Mrs. Margaret E... 56 

Rodman, Nathaniel D 403 

Roehm, John C 415 

Roethig, Herman 264 

Rolfe, Frederick P 475 

Rolfe, Furman 191 

Ross, H. R. T., M. D 440 

Rounsavell, Myron W 435 

Roussain, Eustace 420 

Roycraft, William 550 

Rusk County Schools 169 

Russell, Augustus S 108 

Russell, Henry A., M. D... 40 

Russell, Hugh, M. D 531 

Ryan, Hon. Andrew 357 

Ryan, John H 417 

Ryan, Hon. Michael W 37 

Ryerse, George H 420 

Sackett, Freeman W 198 

Sackett, George E 198 

Salter, Rev. Charles C 119 

Sang, David 243 

Savage, Peter J 489 

Saxton, Charles L 55 

Saxton, Horace 54 

Schmidt, John W 244 

Schoeller, Rev. Frederick 

W. 334 

Schuppert, William L 94 

Schwindt, Gabriel E 31 

Scobie, Henry H 267 

Scott, William W 281 

Scribner, Howard L 552 

Sealy, John E 132 

Segog, Byron G 350 

Selden, George 527 

Sergeant, Marshal 209 

Seth, Rev. John E 18 

Sexton, Thomas H 149 

Seymour, Philip H 122 

Shattuck, George L 509 

Shaver, Charles A 345 

Shong, Edwin R 526 

Shong, John M 524 

Simonson, Lewis A 365 

Simpson, Charles B 523 

Smallwood Family I 



Smallwood, William H 

Smith, Hon. Charles 

Smith, Delano 

Smith, Dexter H., M. D... 

Smith, E. R 

Smith, Maj. George H 

Smith, Hansen E 

Smith, John 

Smith, Sarah A 

Smith, Vespasian, M. D.... 

Sparlin, Stonewall 

Sperry, Willis P., M. D 

Stanley, J. E 

Staples, LaFayette 

Stark, Charles A 

Stark, Henry M 

Stensrud, Charles O 

Stensrud, Gilbert A 

Stephenson, W. L., M. D... 

Stevens, Frank P 

Stewart, Robert 

Stilson, J. Madison, M. D. .. 

St. Onge, Edmund J 

Stouffer, David A 

Strandberg, W. O 

Street, Carl E 

Strickland, W. W 

Strothman, Edward E. . . . . 

Stubbs, Jabez C 

Sullivan, James F 

Sullivan, William J 

Sullivan, William J., M. D. 

Swanson, Charles A 

Swanstrom, Hon. Eman- 
uel G 

Swenson, Ole 

Sykes, J. Henry 

Sykes, Robert 

Tait, William L 

Tarter, J. W., M. D 

Taylor, James H 

Taylor Jared W 

Taylor, L. L., M. D 

Taylor, Matthew L 

TenBrook, William G 

Tennant. Col. Elmer E 

Thomas, Leander E 

Thompson, Frederick S. . . . 

Thompson, Joshua G 

Thompson, William 

Thoreson, Bersven 

Thoreson, Ole 

Thoreson, Hon. Simon .... 

Throndson, Sorian 

Tiffany, Edward L 

Tiffany, Mabel A 

Tinker, Jay L 

Todd, William H 

Tonne, William H 

Tostevin, James F., Jr 

Trepania, Alfred 

Trepania. Joseph 

Tripp, Cyrus S 

Tripp, Winfield E. 

Trowbridge, John B., M. D., 
B. C. E 



PAGE PAGE 

I True, H. W 150 

6 Tubbs, Sidney E 229 

289 Tuttle, W. L 244 

179 Tyler, D. F 21 

S16 Tyler, Robert L 211 

19 Tyler, W. D 171 

45 Tvman, John 419 

72 

73 

35 Urquhart, Elias L 127 

448 

46s Van Brunt, Walter 137 

424 Van Leuven, Col. Henry C. 242 

398 Van Meter Family 77 

157 Van Meter, James H 77 

528 Van Ornum, Mrs. Cynthia 

377 C 224 

401 Van Ornum, Truman 223 

185 Van Wagner, Sands 205 

134 Vaughn, John H 134 

255 Vaughn, Samuel S 80 

261 Vinje, Hon. Aad J 10 

415 Voemastek, John J 291 

226 

231 

,,Q Wadsworth, Henry H., Ph. B. 103 

l^° Wagner, William 485 

,;; Walker, Thomas R 532 

Z\ Walker, Thomas W 482 

^jg Walseth, Henry 457 

^^g Wanzer, Hon. A 66 

428 Waseen, Peter 433 

^Qg Waterbury, Peter E 80 

Waterman, Leslie E 9 

,- Waterman, Sidney H 43 

^■i-i Watkins, Willis W 332 

j2, Watson, George C 478 

fi Weade, Calvin A 315 

^ Weed, Henry D 66 

Qg Werner, O. E., M. D 432 

^_. Weyerhauser, Wis 365 

7;3 Wheeler, Henry W 338 

i- White, Charles P 468 

ll White, H.J 28s 

■^j. White, Capt. Jarvis 165 

■77 Wicker, Joseph W., D. 

56 V. S 387 

464 Wieland, Albert in 

j_l Wieland, Mrs. Anna M.... 112 

'1^ Wiley, Abe 540 

"i Wilke, Rev. Otto J 108 

-"j Wilkins, Frank L 334 

27I Wilkinson, G. B 524 

infi Williams, Alfred 342 

ffz Williams, C. H 85 

jti Williams, Fred W 406 

^^8 Williams, H. L 142 

^^ Wisconsin State Fish 

'*'*^ Hatchery 122 

"^nn Withers, Wesley S 267 

^j^ Wray, John P 34 

8q Wynne, Athol 446 

88 

107 Yates, Frederick T 382 

104 Young, G. D 427 

83 Zachau, August H 117 



BIOGRAPHICAL 




MALLWOOD, WILL- 
IAM HILLARY, has 
for some years been 
engaged in the prac- 
tice of law at Duluth, 
and is one of tlie most 
esteemed members of 
the legal fraternity in 
that city. He has also 
been a prominent citizen of another commn- 
nity, having long been a resident of Kansas, 
where he took a conspicnons part in public 
affairs. 

Mr. Smallwood was bom Feb. 12, 1841, 
at Elizal)ethtown. Ky., son of Henderson 
and Ann (Gittings) Smallwood, and is de- 
scended on both sides from excellent Colon- 
ial ancestry. The records of the Small- 
wood family in England show that William 
Smallwood built Pewterer's Hall during the 
reign of Henry VII, and presented it to the 
city of London, and his portrait, represent- 
ing the presentation, was painted on the wall 
of the building in the time of Charles II; 
there was also a William Smallwood who 
was Dean of Litchfield. The motto of the 
.Smallwood coat of arms is "Strength. An- 
tiquity and Longevity." 

. Randall Smallwood. the first ancestor in 
AnTerica, came to Virginia about 16 19, and 
later went with the second Lord Baltimore 
to Maryland, settling in Kent count}'. The 
family has been prominent in that state 
from early days. Benjamin Smallwood. 
great-grandfather of William H., was a 
captain in the Revolutionary war, being 
chief of staff under Gen. William Small- 
wood, tlie only major-general from Mary- 



land, later a member of Congress, and 
founder of the order of the Cincinnati in 
Maryland. Hezekiah Smallwood, grand- 
father of William H., served in the war of 
1812, enlisting from Kentucky in the Mis- 
sissippi Riflemen under Gen. Jackson, and 
took part in the battle of New Orleans. 
William Owens, another great-grandfather 
on the paternal side, and a veteran of the 
Revolution, was an early settler in Ken- 
tucky, where many members of his family 
have been prominent. He was a member 
of the first State Senate, and took a promi- 
nent part in organizing the State. 

Tlie Gittings family, to which Mr. Small- 
wood belongs on the maternal side, has also 
been prominent in Maryland from the very 
early days, and claims many men of note 
among its members. James Gittings. great- 
grandftither of Mrs. Ann (Gittings) Small- 
wood, was secretary of the War Committee 
of the Continental Congress during the 
American Revolution. Her father, James 
Gittings, was in the Mississippi Riflemen in 
the war of i8t2. John S. Gittings. a cousin 
of ]\Irs. Smallwood. entertained President 
Lincoln at breakfast in Baltimore while that 
gentleman was en route to his inaugur.-ition, 
and took him thence in his private car to 
Washington, Mr. Gittings having been pres- 
ident of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad at 
that time. 

William H. Smallwood moved with liis 
parents to Missouri, and received the priaci- 
pal part of his education at the St. Joseph 
(Mo.) Academy. He enlisted at Wathenn, 
Kans., under the first call for volunteers, in 
CompanyA, ist Kansas V. I., and served un- 



COMiMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



der Gen. Lyon. With this command he took 
part in the battle of Wilson's Creek, where 
the regiment lost 200 men. In the spring of 
1862 he was appointed recruiting officer, as 
such raising a company of colored troops, 
and Aug. 13, 1862, he was appointed captain 
of Company G, ist Kansas Colored In- 
fantry, later known as the 79th United 
States Colored Troops, mustered into the 
Union service March 2, 1863, Capt. Small- 
wood having been on active duty mean- 
while, his commission dating from Aug. 10, 
1862. The regiment served in Missouri, 
Indian Territory and Arkansas until the 
close of the war. Capt. Smallwood par- 
ticipated in the engagements at Jenkin's 
Ferry (where the total loss was 3,500 men, 
the Union loss alone being 1,200), Cabin 
Creek, Honey Springs, Prairie D'Ann, Ark., 
Poison Springs (April 18, 1864), Fort 
Smith, and a number of skirmishes. At the 
battle of Poison Springs about seven hun- 
dred Confederates were killed and Small- 
wood lost half of his company in killed and 
wounded. He received special mention in 
the official reports for meritorious, conduct 
in this action. In Col. Fox's Book, "Three 
hundred best regiments" of the Civil war, 
both the regiments in which he served are 
given high rank for percentage of loss. He 
was .continuously on the march, and in active 
service, while with both, and received sev- 
eral sliglit wounds in the performance of his 
duty. 

■ After the surrender of Lee Capt. Small- 
wood resigned his commission, and began 
the. study of law at Wathena, Kans., en- 
gaging also in settling officers' accounts. 
Within a few years he was elected to the 
Kansas Legislature, and later he was sent 
to the State Senate, being the youngest mem- 
ber in- both these bodies. In 1870. when 
but^twenty-nine years of age, he became 
secretary of State, and at the end of his 
term was re-elected, serving- four years in 
that- office. He received nearly forty-thou- 
sand majority at his last election, running 
ahead of every other candidate on the ticket, 
and -receiving every vote in the town where 
he. lived and where party lines were closely 



drawn. In the meantime he had been en- 
gaged in the publication of various news- 
papers, and in connection with John J. In- 
galls, S. S. Prouty, Capt. Henry King, 
James W. Steele, founded the Kansas Maga- 
zine at Topeka. In the fall of 1874 he was 
tendered the nomination for Congress, but 
declined, preferring to devote his time to 
newspaper work. Dr. Charles A. Logan 
having resigned as minister to Chili, Mr. 
Smallwood was offered the position by the 
unanimous action of President Grant and 
the Kansas delegation in Congress, but de- 
clined, to enable Mr. Logan to withdraw his 
resignation, as his health improved. In 
1876 Mr. Smallwood was appointed regis- 
ter of the United States Land Office at 
Vancouver, Wash., and while there made 
the address of welcome to Gen. Grant, who 
was then on his trip around the world, and 
with whom Mr. Smallwood had been per- 
sonally friendly. The gathering on this 
occasion included many of the prominent 
men of the Pacific States. He was placed 
in nomination for governor of the State 
of Kansas in 1874, but was defeated in the 
Republican convention bv a few votes. He 
was one of the men in charge of the cam- 
paign in which J. J. Ingalls was elected to 
the United States Senate for his first term. 

Since 1887 Mr. Smallwood has been a 
resident of Duluth, where he engages in the 
practice of law, and enjoys a deservedly 
high standing, in business and social circles. 

In 1878 Capt. Smallwood was married 
to Lou C. Shulock. They are the parents 
of three daughters and two sons. 

HON. SAM S. FI FIELD. e.x-Lieuten- 
ant Governor of Wisconsin, and the present 
popular postmaster of Ashland, was born in 
Corinna, Maine, June 24, 1839, second of 
the six children born to Samuel S. and 
Naomi (Pease) I'ifield, both members of 
prominent families in that State, and de- 
scendants of Revolutionary ancestors. Sam 
was but eight years of age when his mother 
died, and his boyhood was largely passed in 
the home of an uncle at Bangor, where he 
received a meager education in the public 



C0M;\1EM0RAT1\'E JUOGRArillCAL RI'XORD 



schools. He was early in life thrown upon 
his own resources, and for live years was 
eniployed in various capacities. In 1853 
he went with his father and* younger hrother 
to Rock Island, 111., where they remained 
during; the following winter. At the open- 
ing of spring the trio proceeded up the Mis- 
sissippi to Prcscott, Wis. Here our subject 
was employed in clerical positions until 1859, 
when he accepted a position as apprentice 
on the Taylors Falls Reporter. His stay at 
that point, however, was brief, as his health 
became impaired, and he gave up his situa- 
tion. Short as was this experience it suf- 
ficed to develop in iiim a taste for journalism, 
and after recovering his health, he accepted 
the position of foreman of the St. Croixian, 
a newspaper published at St. Croix Falls. 
Subsequently this plant was removed to 
Osceola Mills, Polk Co., Wis., where the 
Polk County Press was published. The fol- 
lowing year he purchased the paper, and be- 
came editor and proprietor. 

As a newspaper man Mr. Fifield soon ac- 
quired a prominent position and gained a 
widespread acquaintance through Wiscon- 
sin and the Northwest. He was a stalwart 
Republican, and during the Civil war his 
ringing editorials were a distinctive feature 
of his paper. Later he turned his energies 
and talents to attracting the attention of the 
pulilic to the varied resources of northern 
Wisconsin. In 1871 the building of the 
Wisconsin Central Railroad was begun, and 
it was completed to Ashland in 1877. In 
1872 Mr. Fifield mo\ed to that city and 
established the Ashland Press. This was 
accomplished in copartnership with H. O. 
Fifield. It was issued as a weekly until 1886, 
when it became a daily, and in 1888 it was 
sold to its present owners. 

Since his retirement from the field of 
journalism he has become interested in local 
real estate and business enterprises. W'ith 
the political history of Wisconsin Mr. 
I'ifield's life has been closely interwoven. 
During his residence in Osceola, he held 
several local oflices. and at Ashland he was 
the first chairman of the board of Super- 
\isors. In 1870 he was assistant sergeant- 



at-arms of the State Assembly, and sergeant- 
at-arms in 1871 and 187J.. In 1874 he was 
elected to the Assembly by a majority of 
550 over his opponent. In 1875-76 he was 
reelected by largely increased majorities. In- 
the latter year he was chosen Speaker of the 
Assembly, and it is worthy of recording in 
that connection that politically the Assembly 
was a tie — that Mr. F^ifield was the unani- 
mous choice of the Republican members for 
the Speakership and the deciding votes were 
cast by two Democrats wdio believed him to 
be best fitted for the office. In the fall of 
1876 he was elected State Senator to fill an 
unexpired term. In the fall of 1879 he was 
again elected Senator, and while a member 
of the Senate he was, in 1881, nominated 
for and elected to the office of Lieut. -Gov- 
ernor, running nearly 2,000 votes ahead of 
his party ticket. In 1883 he was re-elected 
to the same position, and by virtue of a con- 
stitutional amendment he remained in the 
office a year beyond the period for which he 
was elected. Since 1886 he has not been a 
candidate for any elective office. He was, 
however, in February, 1890, apixDinted post- 
master of Ashland, but upon the inaugura- 
tion of President Cleveland, whom he had 
strongly opposed during the campaign of 
March, 1893, tendered his resignation, 
though the same was not accepted and his 
successor appointed until November, of that 
year. In 1898 he was again appointed by 
President McKinley and re-appointed by 
President Roosevelt in 1902. Mr. Fifield is 
a forceful and trenchant writer, and since his 
retirement from journalism he has written 
interestingly on diverse subjects for various 
publications. And it may be added that his 
originality of thought and individuality of 
character are forcibly impressed ui)on his 
writings. 

.\s a relaxation from business cares, Mr. 
Fifield devotes considerable of his time in 
the summer months to cruising in his steam 
yachi; "Stella." An association, of which 
he is president, established a camping spot 
on Sand Island, one of the Apostles group, 
where many pleasant weeks are passed dur- 
ing the heated term. Mr. Fifield's residence 



COMMl'.Me)R.\Tl\l-: lUOCRAriUCAL RI-:CORl) 



at Asliland, is dclighttully locateil, ami from 
its windows and spacious lawn surroiuuling, 
a niagiiiticent view is obtained of Chequa- 
megon Bay. His library anil collection of 
portraits, and Lake Superior Scenery, are a 
credit to the taste of the owner, and among 
the choicest and most complete in the State 
of Wisconsin. He is a prominent Mason, 
having l)een honored with the 33d degree 
in the Scottish Rite. 

Hon. Sam S. I'iheld was married, Sept. 
20, 1S63, at Prescott, Wis., to Stella Grimes, 
a lady of many attainments and noble quali- 
ties. She has been liberally educated, and 
in the struggles of the early days was a true 
helpmeet to her husbanil, for she was and is 
not only a writer of ability, but was capable 
of rendering practical assistance in the typo- 
graphical work of the newspaper office. She 
was one of the commissioners from Wiscon- 
sin to the World's Columbian Exposition, iii 
1893. Few ladies in Wi.<;consin ha\e a w ider 
acquaintance throughout the State. 

GEX. JOHN HEXRV HAMMOND. 
The marvelous growth of the city -of Supe- 
rior during the half-dozen years from 1886 
to i8q2 formed one of the most remarkable 
episodes in the history of city building and 
attracted the attention of people throughout 
the western continent. The sudden devek'p- 
ment of an obscure frontier village into a 
modern city was not the result of chance. 
Though natural conditions and the growth 
of other great enterprises contributed much 
toward the upbuilding of a great city on or 
near this location, yet it might never have 
been an accomplished fact, and the end would 
certainly not have been attained in such an 
increilibly short period of time, but for 
the foresight and indomitable will and perse- 
verance displayed by Gen. Hammond. He 
was not the first to comprehentl the natural 
advantages of Superior, but all previous 
efforts toward its development seem to have 
ended in practical failure and the discourage- 
ment of their promoters. In 1882 the town, 
which had been in existence for about three 
decades, and as early as 1857 had boasted 
a population of 2,500 souls, had shrunk to 



alxnit five hundred people and property \al- 
ues had diminished to almost nothing. It 
was about this^ time that Gen. Hammond 
first visited the Head of the Lakes. He had 
previously acquired some valuable experi- 
ence in city building at Chillicothe, Mo., and 
Clinton, Iowa, and had also been one of the 
chief promoters of the Manitoba & South 
Western railroad, of which he was president 
at the time of its sale to the Canadian Paci- 
fic Railway Co. He had recently become 
connected with men interested in the North- 
ern Pacific railroad and was not slow to 
appreciate the possibilities for a large city 
:>.t the eastern terminus of that great trans- 
continental highway. After carefully look- 
ing over the situation at Duluth and Old 
Superior Gen. Hammond came to the con- 
clusion that neither afforded the most desir- 
able location for the building of the future 
city and turned his attention to the site since 
known as West Superior. This ground had 
once been occupied by a. dense forest and at 
this time was an almost impenetrable swamp, 
encumbered by stumps and underbrush, and 
considered to be too low and wet for any 
practical use. Investigations, quietly begun 
l\v Mr. Hammond, however, tlemonstrated 
the fact that there was ample fall for drain- 
age purposes and he at once began laying 
plans for the upbuilding of the town. Con- 
siderable delay was encountered in securing 
titles to the property, much of which was tied 
up in unsettled estates, and it was not until 
February, 1886, that the plat of the city was 
recorded and the sale of lots and erection of 
buildings actually began. 

Though Gen. Hammond was much ridi- 
culed for his lack of judgment in trying to 
build a city in the midst of a swamp, all the 
details of the enterprise were so carefully 
planned and ably executed that its success 
seemed to be assured from the start, and in- 
vestors and speculators were soon flocking 
thither from all points of the compass. In 
addition to his interests in the town site and 
the Northern Pacific Railroad Mr. Ham- 
mond liecame interested in the Eastern Rail- 
way of Minnesota, tlie Dulutji, South Shore 
& Atlantic Railway and the Lake Superior 



CO.M.MK.MURA'IINI'. BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Terminal & Transfer Railway. He organ- 
ized the Land & River Improvement Com- 
pany, whicii donated the right-of-way 
through the prospective city to eacii of these 
railroads, thereby securing ample transpor- 
tation facilities and the establishment of sta- 
tions and terminals in desirable locations. It 
is a well known fact that the arrangements 
for transferring freight at Superior are the 
most convenient to l)e found at any i)ort on 
tlie great lakes. The Land & River Improve- 
ment Company carried on business on a mag- 
nificent scale, laying out miles of streets 
with paving, water mains, sewers and other 
conveniences, and erecting docks and mod- 
ern buildings at different points, as well as 
encouraging the location of numerous in- 
dustries whicli helped to build up the em- 
bryo city. Gen. Hammond was manager 
of the Land & River Improvement Company 
until failing health compelled him to retire 
from active business. He also made indi- 
vidual investments on a considerable scale 
and carried out many improvements on his 
own account. Hammond avenue, origin- 
ally named in honor of his family, will al- 
ways l.)e associated with his meniorx- in the 
minds of the citizens of Superior. 

John Henry Hammond was born June 
30, 1833, on Chambers street, opposite the 
city liall park, in the city of New York, and 
died in St. Paul, Minn., April 30, 1890. He 
was educated at the University of \'^irginia, 
where he pursued a course in civil engineer- 
ing, and afterward went abroad and studied 
scientific iiorticulture in Spain and Switzer- 
land, giving special attention to grape cult- 
ure. In 1857 lie went to California in com- 
pany with Gov. Stoneman and began experi- 
menting in grape culture in that State. When 
the Civil war l)egan he went to Kentucky 
and enlisted. He soon became assistant ad- 
jutant-general on the staff of Gen. Sherman 
and won the confidence of that officer in a 
notable degree. His service in the army 
lasted from the fall of 1861 to January, 
1864, when he was discharged on account of 
disabilities contracted during the siege of 
\'icksburg. He was an honored member of 
the Military Order of the Loyal Legion and 



of the Society of the Army of the Tennes- 
see. He was also prominent in the Masonic 
fraternity and numbered among his personal 
friends many of the most distinguished men 
iif the nation. 

HON. CHARLES L. CATLIN. No 
record of this character would be complete 
without a suitable tribute to the memory of 
this useful and honored citizen of Superior, 
whose death occurred at Minneapolis June 
14, 1901. He was a citizen of Superior for 
nearly a score of years, during which time 
bis influence was plainly marked upon the 
material, social and political interests of that 
city, and its citizens felt that his death was a 
pubHc calamity. 

Mr. Catlin was born at Great Bend, Sus- 
quehanna Co., Pa.. Feb. 26, 1842. His 
father, Francis P. Catlin, came to Wiscon- 
sin in 1845. "^"'l subsequently served for 
some time as register of the land office at 
Hudson. He was a brother of George Cat- 
lin, the distinguished artist, whose famous 
Indian Gallery is preserved in the Smithso- 
nian Institution at Washington, D. C. The 
Catlin family is one of ancient lineage, and 
among its members are many distinguished 
persons of past and present times. Among 
the earliest known of these is Reynold de 
Catlin, a follower of William the Conqueror, 
whose name is mentioned in the Doomsday 
Bonk. In the time of Queen Elizabeth, Sir 
Robert Catlin was Lord Chief Justice of the 
Queen's Bench. Members of the family 
came to New England as early as 1664, and 
Eli Catlin commanded a company in the 
Second Regiment from Connecticut in the 
Continental troops, while his son, Putnam, 
was fife major of the same regiment. Eli 
Catlin was the grandfather of I'rancis P. 
Catlin. and was a native of Litchfield, Conn. 
.\fter the Revolution he liecame a prominent 
attorney at Wilkes-Barre, PeiuTsylvania. 

Charles L. Catlin came with his parents 
to Wisconsin, and acquired his early educa- 
tion in the public schools of Hudson. Dur- 
ing the session of 1861 he served as a page 
in the State Legislature, and in November 
of the same year enlisted in Company D, 2d 



COMMEAIORATRE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Wisconsin Cavalry. After doing duty at tlie 
front for two years he was detailed as chief 
clerk of the draft-rendezvous at Madison, 
and subsequently became connected with the 
adjutant-general's olTice at Washington, con- 
tinuing in the military service until after 
the close of hostilities. In 1867 he was 
graduated from the Columbia College of 
law, and was admitted to practice in the 
State and United States courts, and in 1888 
to the Supreme court of the United States. 
He was private secretary to Caleb Cushing 
for two years, and altogether became quite 
familiar with public alYairs at W'ashnig- 
ton. He returned to Hudson in 1876 and 
practiced law there for about five years. Eor 
a year or two more he was an assistant of 
Hon. John C. Spooner, then general solici- 
tor for the Omaha Railroad Company at St. 
Paul, and in 1884 he located in what was 
then the frontier village of Superior, becom- 
ing attorney for the Omaha Railroad Com- 
pany and the Land and River Improvement 
Company. He spent the following winter 
in Washington in the interest of that con- 
cern, which derived much benefit frjim his 
experience and acquaintance at the seat of 
government. In the spring of 1885 he be- 
came a member of the law firm of Catlin & 
Butler, which afterward became Catlin, But- 
ler & Lyons, his relation with this firm con- 
tinuing during the balance of his life, eac'.i 
of the partners being well known in the 
legal and social circles of northern Wis- 
consin. 

Mr. Catlin's public spirit and benevolent 
character were manifested in many ways. 
He secured the right-of-way into Superior 
for the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and 
Omaha railroad, was interested in several 
of the leading building enterprises of the 
city, and was one of the organizers of the 
Bank of Commerce, and president of that 
corporation for several years. Mr. Catlin 
was instrumental in securing a second draw- 
bridge on the Wisconsin side of St. Louis 
Bay. In 1898 he represented his district in 
the General Assembly of the State. In every 
public position he was called to fill he strove 
to serve the best interests of the public, and 



he attracted a host of the warmest personal 
friends, who can testify to his many gener- 
ous, manly actions in private life. 

Fraternally Mr. Catlin was connected 
with the Masonic order, having been the 
first eminent commander of Superior Com- 
mandery. No. 25, K. T., which organiza- 
tion took charge of his funeral. He also 
belonged to the G. A. R. He was reared in 
the Presbyterian faith, but in recent years 
had become a Christian Scientist. 

Mrs. Catlin was formerly Miss Mildred 
Perry, and three of her sons make their home 
with her in Minneapolis. She is a daughter 
of George W. Perry, one of the pioneer law- 
yers of Superior. 

HON. CHARLES SMITH, Judge of 
the Superior Court of Douglas county. Wis., 
and one of the most respected and influential 
citizens of Superior and vicinity, is a native 
of Hampton, N. H. His parents, Robert 
and Plannah (Marston) Smith, were both of 
English descent, and the former was a well- 
to-do New England farmer. 

Judge Smith passed his boyhood days at 
Salisbury, N. Y., where he attended the 
common schools, and there laid the founda- 
tion for the superior education he has since 
acquired. From the public schools he passed 
to Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., 
where for two years he pursued a classical 
course. Failing health compelled him to 
leave school and to seek a change of climate. 
Coming \^'est, he located at Prescott, Wis., 
where he studied law with J. S. White, and 
was admitted to the Bar in 1869, practicing 
there and at River Falls, Wis. In 1870 and 
1 87 1 he was county superintendent of Pierce 
County, Wis. It was not until 1890 that 
h.e came to Superior, where he rapidly rose 
to the front rank of the legal profession. He 
became a member of the law firm of Ross, 
Dwyer & Smith, one of the foremost in this 
section of the State. In the spring 01 1893 
he was elected first Judge of the Superior 
court for Douglas county, and has ever since 
filled that position with great credit not only 
to himself, but to the profession he so adorns. 
His judgment and integrity are unquestioned 



COMM 1':M0RAT1\E r.lOGRAPHlCAL RKCORl) 



7 



by the citizens, wlio have learned to know his 
keen sense of justice and his great love of 
truth. His superior intellect and vast fund 
of general information early won the respect 
of his associates at the Bar, and this respect 
soon developed into honest esteem as the 
noble inherent characteristics of the man be- 
came known. His manner is simole and un- 
affected, and he goes his way meeting each 
duty as it comes, and giving to his work care- 
ful study, applying his wisdom and learning 
to the needs of his fellowmen. In political 
affiliation he may be said to be an independ- 
ent l-iepublican. He is a close student of ques- 
tions of the day, and ably speaks and writes 
in discussion of the same. His address upon 
the death of President McKinley will be long 
remembered by the large asseml)lage privi- 
leged to hear it. 

On Sept. 1 8, 1878, Judge Smith was 
married to Miss Mary Haw, of Hudson, 
Wis., a woman who has every excellence 
of intellect and heart. 

HON. IRVIX WILLARD GATES 
was for more than twoscore years one of the 
best known and most highly esteemed citi- 
zens of Superior. One of the pioneer teach- 
ers of that place, for nearly three decades 
he devoted the best energies of an active 
Iiody and well disciplined mind to educa- 
tional work, therein achieving success which 
is amply attested by many of his former 
pupils, who are identified with important 
business and professional interests in that 
and other cities. 

Mr. Gates was bom in Hancock, N. H., 
Feb. I, 1822, and died at Superior Sept. 23, 
i8(}8. He was a son of Joel and Eliza 
( Whifcomb) Gates, and sprang of ancestors 
who belonged to that sturdy class of New 
Engl;md pioneers whose traditional habits 
of influstry and devotitin to princii)!e still 
characterize most of their descendants in 
various parts of the United States. His 
grandfather, Samuel Gates, enlisted in the 
Continental army from Rutland, Mass., and 
subsequently settled at Hancock, N. H., 
where he developed a fine farm, to the own- 
crshij) of which his son Joel succeeded. The 



latter .served as justice of the peace and mem- 
ber of the Legislature and was a useful and 
intluential citizen. 

Irvin W. Gates received an academic 
education in his native place, and at the age 
of si.\teen years began teaching, following 
that profession for the greater part of his 
life. About 1843 he went to Troy, Ohio, 
where he taught for several years and after- 
ward conducted an academy at Logansport, 
Ind. In 1857 he located at Superior, then a 
small village upon the extreme frontier of 
cixilization. He at once began teaching 
there and was identifietl w'ith the public 
school systeiii fur about thirty years. Dur- 
ing a part of this time he also served as 
county superintendent. Although there was 
no accredited high school during his time, 
he taught most of the branches now included 
in the high school course, and taught them 
so thoroughly that his pupils were generally 
fitted for any ordinary position in business. 
While devoting himself chiefly to school' 
work, Mr. Gates was also active in many 
other undertakings for the advancement of 
society. For over forty years he was an 
elder of the Presbyterian Church, entleavor- 
ing by precept and example to advance the 
cause of Christianity. He was the first pres- 
ident of the Free Library Board and heljjed 
to form the nucleus of the splendid public 
library which has since become the pride of 
the city. 

Politically Mr. (jates was a Repul)lican. 
but gave little attention to the agitation of 
partisan questions. He was at one time ap- 
pointed judge of probate to fill a vacancy 
and hence became known to many people as 
Judge Gates, but he had little taste for offi- 
cial life. A few years after coming to Supe- 
rior he located a claim in what is ncjw the 
pleasantest part of Central Park, and where 
his family still reside. When the city began 
to grow he subdivided and sold most of this 
tract, which is still known as Gates Aildition, 
and contains many fine residences. As busi- 
ness interests increased during the years of 
rapid gnnvth in Superior Mr. Gates becTme 
prominent in ])lans for the city's develop- 
ment, and was recognized as a i)ublic-spir- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ited man of remarkaljle business sagacity. 
But it was as a teacher that he was most 
conspicuous, as will be seen from the follow- 
ing extracts from a tribute to his memory 
written by one who had been his pupil for 
a numl)er of years. 

There has recently gone from us a man who 
deserves more Uian passing mention, liy reason of 
the wide and lasting influence which he exerted in 
this community in years gone by * * * I. W. 
Gates has undoubtedly been the instrument of more 
real and lasting benefit to the older settlers * * * 
than any other man. As a citizen, a church mem- 
ber, a Sunday-school superintendent, as a friend and 
neighbor, he was a man to be depended upon. But 
it is of his work as a teacher * * * that the writer 
wishes particularly to speak. Teaching first in the 
East End, then called Lower Town, and for many 
consecutive years in Central Park, known as Upper 
Town, a large number of the old residents or their 
childrin have received their schooling from him. 
His noble and inspiring influence upon the homes 
wlticli he reached in that way is simply incalcula- 
ble. A man of strict integrity, filled with unusual 
love and devotion for his work, inspiring the admi- 
ration, respect and love of every one of his pupils, 
his ennobling influence permeated the entire com- 
munily like leaven, and no boy or girl ever went 
to him long enough to feel his power without being 
made belter by it for all time * * * Progressive 
in his ideas, he reached far ahead of his time in his 
methods of teaching * * * vk'hen there were no 
inspiring conventions to attend, few educational 
journals of merit, and when his inspiration must 
came from the resources of his own soul. 

Mrs. Gates, formerly Miss Mary E. 
Wilder, of Keene, N. H., and two sons and 
two daughters, are still living in the city. 

MARCUS WHITMAN BATES is one 
of the many well known citizens of Duluth 
whose patriotism was demonstrated more 
than forty years ago and who did not hesi- 
tate to shefl their life blood for the preser- 
vation of their native land. He was born in 
Geauga county, Ohio, April 26, 1840, and 
his ])arents, Abner Curtis and Laura W. 
(Baker) Bates, belonged to that sturdy class 
of pioneers who carved out homes from the 
wilderness of the "Western Reserve." His 
gratid father, Abner C. Bates, sprang of an 
old New England family and spent his life 
in Massachusetts. His widow, whose 
maiden name was Whitman, was a descend- 
ant of John Whitman, of Weymouth, Mass., 
and one of her l)rothcrs was the father of 



Marcus Whitman, the famous Oregon pio- 
neer, in whose honor the subject of this 
sketch was named. Mrs. Bates survived her 
husband some years and passed away in 
Ohio at an advanced age. 

Abner Curtis Bates, father of Marcus 
W., was a native of Cummington, Mass., but 
went to Ohio in early life. In 1845 he located 
at Cleveland, where he built and operated a 
sawmill run by water-power. Later he lived 
in Allegan county, Mich., and died on a farm 
at Moline, in that State, at the age of eighty- 
three years. During the last forty years of 
his life he was afHicted with blindness, but 
hore his trials cheerfully. He was promi- 
nently identified with the Congregational 
church for the greater part of his life and 
had a useful and exemplary career. Mrs. 
Laura W. Bates was born in Ontario county, 
N. Y., and died at Moline in 1891, aged over 
cig'hty years. 

Marcus W. Bates is the oldest survivor 
of eight children born to his parents. He 
attended the public schools of his native 
State and went with the family to Michigan. 
Thence in 1857 he went to Minneapolis, 
where he spent about two years and attended 
E.xcelsior Academy (then just opened) for 
line term. In May, 1862, he enlisted in Com- 
pany B, 2ist Michigan Volunteer Infantry, 
and remained in the service until his dis- 
charge from hospital in New York City in 
May, 1865. During the early part of its 
service his regiment was a part of Sheridan's 
Division, of the 20th Army Corps, but after 
the battle of Chickamaug'a it became a part 
of the 14th Army Corps. He was almost 
constantly in active service and won several 
promotions by his gallantry, being succes- 
sively made quartermaster sergeant of the 
regiment, second lieutenant and first lieu- 
tenant, and at the close of the war he was in 
command of Company C, of the 21st Michi- 
gan. Among the engagements in which he 
participated were Perryville, Stone River, 
Chickamaug-a, Averyslroro and Bentonville, 
in most of which the regiment suffered severe 
losses. The dreary New Year of 1863, 
which was passed amid the rain and sleet at 
Stone River, made an impression ttpon his 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



mind never to be erased. After the fall of 
Atlanta the regiment became a part of Sher- 
man's army, taking part in the famous march 
to the sea and the subsequent campaign 
through the Carolinas. At Bentonville this 
regiment, then reduced to 231 men, formed 
a part of Buell's Brigade, Carlin's Division. 
This brigade, numbering 630 men in all. oc- 
cupied a position on the extreme left of the 
Union lines and charged an entrenched divis- 
ion of ten thousand Confederates, driv- 
ing them from their works, but the enemy 
rallied and nearly .surrounded the Federals, 
who were forced to fall back. In this affair 
the 2 1 St Michigan lost cighty-si.x men and 
five ofificers. Two hours later Mr. Bates was 
shot through the hip and remained in hos- 
pital at Davis Island until his discharge. It 
may indeed be said that no man in the 
service more truly deser\cd the honors ac- 
corded him. 

Upon the recovery of his health in 1866 
Mr. Bates engaged in the insurance business 
at Grand Rapids, Mich., and also organized 
the Grand Rapids Savings Bank, of which 
he was cashier for five years. He lived there 
until 1 89 1, when he located in Duluth, which 
has since been his home. He deals in real 
estate to a considerable extent, including 
timber and mining lands in St. Louis county 
and timber lands on the Pacific coast. 
Though not an active politician he supports 
the principles of the Republican party and 
takes a wholesome interest in all public ques- 
tions. He and his family are identified with 
Pilgrim Congregational church and he has 
filled a number of im]K)rtant positions in the 
Grand Army of the Republic and the Mili- 
tary Order of the Loyal Legion. 

Mr. Bates was married in 1861 to Mary 
E. Bisbee, daughter of Jared and Hannah 
Bisljee, of Moline. .Allegan Co., Mich. Mr. 
Bisbee was a native of Cummington, Mass.. 
w here he was engaged in the manufacture of 
furniture, but about 1857 he settled on a 
farm in Allegan county, Mich., where he and 
liis wife reached old age. The latter was 
born in Norwich, Conn. Mrs. Bates is a 
native of Hamilton county, Maine. She and 
her husband are tiie parents of one son. 



!\Iarcus I*"., a well known business man of 
Duluth, and two daughters, Mabel and 
Mary. 

LESLIE EMERSON WATERMAN 
is one of the enterprising and successful 
liusiness men of West Superior who have 
contributed largely toward the phenomenal 
upbuilding of that remarkable city. He is 
a native son of Wisconsin and a fair type of 
the class of citizens whose energy and fore- 
sight have developed the various industries 
for which that Commonwealth is famous. 

Mr. Waterman was born at Fisk Corners, 
\\'innebago county, Nov. 9, 1849, and is a 
son of Joel and Belinda (Joslyn) Waterman, 
natives of the Green Mountain State, who 
were among the early pioneers of Wiscon- 
sin. His grandfather, Abraham Waterman, 
was born in Rhode Island and came of Welsh 
ancestors. He was a veteran of the Revolu- 
tionary war, and his son Joel did military 
duty during the war of 1812. In 1842 the 
latter went to Illinois, whither he removed 
his family the following year, settling in 
McHenry county. Four years later he came 
to Wisconsin, locating in Winnebago county 
al)OUt the time that the first house was built 
in Oshkosh. He took up government land 
there and also engaged in merchandising and 
lumbering to some extent. In 1856 he lie- 
came one of the pioneers of Chippewa Falls, 
where he did considerable logging and oper- 
ated a sawmill for some years. He and his 
sons also built the "Waterman Hotel" at 
that place, which was conducted by members 
of the family until 1883. In 1877 he re- 
signed his interests there and went to Fort 
Worth, Texas, where he built another hotel 
and carried on the same until 1884, at which 
(late he sold and removed to Fayetteville, 
.\rk., where he still owns a fine f;u-m, though 
in recent years he and his wife have spent 
much of their time at Superior. Though 
they have reached the ages of eighty-four 
and seventy-eight years, respectively, they 
still enjoy a fair degree of health and are 
intelligent and entertaining j^enple to meet, 
excellent examples of the contentment whicii 
results from the cultivation of industrious 



COMMEMORATIVE r.JOCiRAl'HICAL RECORD 



habits and exemplary characters. Mr. Wat- 
erman was born at Royalton, Vt., and his 
wife at Waitsfield, in the same State. She 
is a daughter of Elooker Joslyn, who was 
born at Wethersfield, Vt., served in the war 
of 1812, and in 1847 removed to McHcnry 
county. 111., where he died a few years later. 
His father, Joseph Joslyn, served in the 
Continental army. Lucia Davidson, who 
became the wife of Hooker Joslyn and the 
mother of Mrs. Waterman, was a native of 
Hartland, Vermont. 

Besides the subject of this notice. Mr. 
and Mrs. Joel Waterman are the parents of 
three daughters and one son, as follows : 
Lillian (Mrs. Charles George), of Superior; 
Jessie (Mrs. Robert Seymour), of the same 
place; Louisa Eugenia (Mrs. A. B. Mana- 
han), of Pasadena, Cal. ; and Luzerne, of 
Carleton, Neb. The posterity of this worthy 
couple also includes fourteen living grand- 
children. 

Leslie E. Waterman spent most of his 
boyhood at Chip])ewa I'^alls, where lie became 
associated with his father in the hotel and 
afterward carried on the same in conjunction 
with his brother. He subsequently dealt in 
pine lands at that place and is still interested 
in that line of business. Since 1887 he has 
made his headquarters at West Superior, 
although he did not take up his residence 
here until two years later. Upon locating 
at this place he invested in real estate quite 
extensively and has gi\-en much attention to 
the improvement of his property. In t8()j, 
in conjunction with W. E. Mcdir 1. lie 
erected a substantial three-story brick build- 
ing which is one of the principal business 
blocks of the city. From time to time lie 
has Iniilt a number of resiliences, and he still 
does a general real-estate business. It has 
been his policy to improve his city property 
as fast as practicable, thereby adding to the 
growth and general prosperity of the town. 
His excellent judgment and strict business 
integrity have caused him to be recognized 
as one of the foremost citizens of Superior. 
While taking a wholesome interest in all 
worthy public undertakings he does not con- 
cern himself with political agitation, but sup- 



l)orts the principles ot the Republican party, 
lie and his family are connected with the 
Presbyterian church. 

Mr. Waterman was married Sept. 30, 
1876, to Miss Fannie Rossiter, who was born 
at Fort Iloward, Wis. Their only surviving, 
child is a daughter named Lucile. 

HON. AAD JOHN \TNJE, Judge of 
the Eleventh Circuit Court of Wisconsin, 
and one of the most learned members of his 
profession in this part of the country, is a 
native son of Norway, born at Voss Nov. 
10, 1857, son of John and Ingeborg (Klove) 
Vinje. The father, a farmer, died from in- 
juries received in an accident in February,. 
1859. His widow, in 1865, married (sec- 
ond) Mons K. Vinje, who succeeded to the 
farm formerly occupied by John Vinje, and 
took his name therefrom. He is still living,, 
and now makes his home in Marshall county, 
Iowa. One daughter, Ellen, was born of this 
second marriage. Of the children born to 
John and Ingeborg Vinje, David J. is a. 
jiracticing attorney at Nevada, Iowa: Julia,. 
is the wife of A. H. Dahl, a merchant at 
Westby, Wis., and member of the Assem- 
bly ; Throstein J., a graduate of the Agricult- 
ural College in Norway, and an attorney in 
partnership with Col. L. J. Rusk, died at 
Viroqua, Wis., in 1879; Knudt died in 1883 
at Gilman, Iowa. Mrs. Ingeborg Vinje died 
at her home in Marshall county, Iowa, Jan. 
25, 1901. in her seventy-seventh year. 

Aad Klove, father of Mrs. Ingeborg 
\'inje, was a member of the Constitutional 
Convention of 1814, which framed the fun- 
damental law of Norway. His son, David 
Klove, w'as a memljer of the Norwegian 
Storthing. The ancestry of this family has 
been traced to the sixteenth century in Den- 
mark, where the family belonged to the nobil- 
ity. A Lutheran ecclesiastic, Bishop Anders 
Anderson Riber, of Hardanger Parish, near- 
Voss, settled there in the Sixteenth century, 
going there from Denmark. He married 
Katarina Helvik, of Galtung. of the Norwe- 
gian Tiobility, whose family has been traced 
from the fourteenth century, and their son, 
Laurits \'rmheim, was born in 1658. Fronr 



commI':mc)Rati\I': iuocrapiikal rI'X'ori) 



Bishop Riber Judge \'inje is in the seventh 
generation. Relatives of Katarina Ilelvik 
intermanied with the famous Douglas fam- 
ily of Scotland. 

Judge \'inje came to America with his 
mother and stepfather in 1869, and settled 
in Marshall county, Iowa. His education 
had been l>egun under private instructors in 
Norway, and he continued it in the public 
schools of Iowa, and in Iowa College, at 
Grinnell; in 1874-75 he attended the North- 
western University at Des Moines, and then 
taught school until the fall of 1878, when he 
entered the collegiate course of the Univer- 
sity of Wisconsin, graduating in 1884; two 
years meantime were lost in teaching. The 
family having lost considerable property in 
Iowa, it was necessary that the young man 
should acquire the means to pursue his stud- 
ies. In August, 1884, he received appointment 
as assistant to the State Librarian, contin- 
uing at that work until March, 1888. Dur- 
ing this time he took a law course, and was 
graduated in 1887. In 1888 he received the 
appointment of assistant Supreme court re- 
porter and filled that position for three 
years, when he resigned and came to Sup- 
erior to enter into a law partnership w-itii 
L. S. Butler, a partnership that led to the 
mutual edification of those interested until 
its dissolution, in January, 1895. Judge 
Vinje continued to practice his profession 
until the following August, when he was 
appointed to fill the vacancy as Judge of the 
Eleventh Circuit of Wisconsin. The follow- 
ing spring he was elected his own successor 
without opposition, and in the spring of 
1900 again re-elected without opposition. 
Many important questions have been heard 
and decided in his court. Among the more 
important cases he has been called upon to 
hear outside of his circuit may be mentioned 
the case of Harrigan vs. National Electric 
Manufacturing Company at Eau Claire, and 
the case of Potter vs. Xecedah Lumber Com- 
pany, at Mauston. An average of four hun- 
dred cases a year is tried before him. 

In ]886 Judge \'inje was mariied to 
Alice Idell Miller, of Oregon, Wis., daugh- 
ter of John C. and Adelia (Waite) Miller. 



She is highly educated, having attended the 
public sc1k)o1s of Oregon, and finished her 
education in a private school at Cambridge, 
Mass. Four children have come to their 
home: Arthur Miller, born in 1888; David 
Ray, born in 1890; Janet, born in 1891 ; and 
Ethel, iKirn in 1899. Although reared in the 
Quaker faith, Judge Vinje attends either 
the Unitarian or Congregational Churches, 
lie is charitable to all and is ever ready t<i 
help in any good movement. A Re]niblican 
in political principle, he has never cared for 
office, except the one he has attained through 
his professional kno.vledge. 

LEONIDAS MERRITT, explorer, is 
well known in mining circles as one of the 
band of brothers who discovered and devel- 
oped the Missabe Iron Range, having first 
evolved the now universally accepted Trough 
Theory of Mineral Deposits. Born in Chau- 
tauqua county, N. Y., Feb. 20, 1844, he is 
now, though over sixty years old. hale and 
hearty, and resides at his old home, No. 
4601 Oneota street, Duluth, Minnesota. 

Thomas Merritt, his paternal grand- 
father, while yet a young man migrated 
from Connecticut and settled in western 
New York, and was married there, where in 
the year 1809 Lewis H. Merritt, the father 
of the Merritt brothers, w-as born. His ma- 
ternal grandfather, Enoch Jewett, lived at 
Deerfield, Mass., where Hepsibeth Jewett, 
mother of the Merritt brothers, was born. 
The family migrated to v.estern New- York 
about the year 1825, and there she was mar- 
ried to Lewis H. Merritt. In all ten chil- 
dren were born to them of whom eight boys 
lived to maturity. In 1850 the family re- 
moved to Warren county. Pa., where they 
engaged in the lumber and mill business. 
In the spring of 1855 they removed to Ash- 
tabula county, Ohio, where the older broth- 
ers attended school at Grand River Institute, 
the father coming west and stopping awhile 
on Connors Point, now West Superior, Wis. 
As soon as the treaty with the Indians ced- 
ing the lands on the north shore of Lake Su- 
perior was accomplished, he definitely lo- 
cated at Oneota, now Duluth. in the then 



vOMMl'MOK \ri\ I- lUcXlR \rilk' \1, l>:i\"ORl> 



'rcrritorv ot Miimosota. whoio ho was joiiici,! 
by tlio wliolo family in llio i'all of 185(1, Ho 
sottlovl on what is now tl\o oonior of 45th and 
Onoota snoot, aiul ho ai\il two oihors, 1 1. \\", 
\\ hoolor anil Mr. i."ro/ior. woro tho lirst sot- 
tlors in dial section, lloro tlio Monitt Ivns 
v;iow np witli tho oonntry aiul oniployoil 
thonusolvos by tnrns in tlio most promisins; 
ooonpations, hoooniinj;' himhornion, sailors 
,uui tinally tin\lvr and minoial oxplorois. 

I.owis H, Monitt. now doad man\ years. 
.-.nvl llopsihoth Morriu. still living' in Oulnth 
,ii tho adv.tnood ajjv of nincty-throo. woro 
Uuh woU known aiiionj;' tho t\rst settlors at 
tho Head of tho Lakes for their ^sjxhhI works 
in those old days. Lewis IL, as carpeiiter, 
Iniilder and lnn>herman. is still often .spoket 
>f by tho old settlers as IkHiis" an honest, np- 
:ijht. active citizen, always interested in the 
uplniildinsi' of the conmwmity in which he 
lived, ever alert to advance oihicational and 
roliijions interests. Ho helped to ors;ani.x> 
tlio Inst chnrch in northern Miimosota, and 
school district Xo. i owes to him its org~an- 
ir.ation and its first .sohoolhonso more than 
to any other. l"ew. however, outside of his 
own family, knew of his wide kiiowlodjio of 
the natural resources tributary to the Head 
of the l<;ikes. I lo liveil to soi" his boys ijrown 
to manhood, and to his example and teach- 
injj^ they owe all that has onabk\l them to 
take such an active jvut in the devoloiMuents 
which bo had shown them were ix^ssible. Of 
the eijjht bivtbors, tivo are still livins>\ Je- 
nMUO, the oldest, was an eilucator. and has 
Ix^en vlead .some years. Napolevm, a well 
know n business man. resides in Oulntb. 1 .u- 
cion. a Methodist preacher, after whom the 
oldest Methodist chuiTh in nulnth is named, 
dietl some four wars aJ:^^, Lev">nidas, ex- 
plorer, and .Mfrod, capitalist, reside in Du- 
luth. Lewis, capitalist, is residing' in Pasa- 
dena. Cal. Ca,-;sius. in bis day a well known 
explorer and all around business man, diovl 
in 1804. Andrus. the youngx^st, lives in 
nulutb and is now promotius;" an imjxMtant 
iron industi'v, 

Le<Mndas Merritt, the subject proi^r of 
this sketch, was educatovl in the publie scIkxiIs 
and at Inand River Institute, Austiuburi;', 



tMiio. Ho was twelve years old when tho 
family joined the father at Onoota. where 
for four years ho attended tho common school 
of tho district and during vacations took a 
man's place in the lighter duties of lumlxM- 
ing and mill work. In i860 he wont to 
IVnii.sylvauia and learned tlie business of 
oil rotinor. and tho following year enlisted in 
the cavalry branch of tho I'nion army, where 
he served until the dose of the war. Rctiirn- 
iiig home. "Alf" and "Lou" built tho lirst 
rogistered sailing ves.sel constructed at the 
Head of the Lakes. In 187^^ l.eonidas Mer- 
ritt married l-llizaboth. oldest daughter of 
Mr. and Mrs. H. W, Wheeler, whom ho had 
known from tho time of the earliest settle- 
ment of Onoota. To them wore Ix^rn throe 
children : Ruth, the oldest, whose husband. 
Alva Monitt. is ongagoil in tho dredge busi- 
ness (^tboy have one daughter. Klizahothl ; 
l.ncion. a mining onginoor and explorer: and 
1 larrv. a ranchniau in Nebraska t,he married 
I'ditli ShallerV 

Ouring all these years the two brothers 
familiarly known as Alf and Lon Merritt 
have followed the profession of explorers. 
The discovery and development of tho Mis- 
sabe iron area, and the snbset]uent building 
of the nulnth Missalx? & Xorthern railway, 
its ovitlot to terminals at Onlnth, was iirinci- 
pally the work of their hands. Alf was 
president and Lon was vice-president of the 
latter, also tirst iiresideiit of the l,;\ke Supe- 
rior Consolidated Mines. In later years the 
brothers Alf and Lon. .sometimes singly and 
sometimes jointly, have extended their oixmm- 
tions to Canada. Old Mexico and the mineral 
areas of our western States aiul Territories, 
and they have many warm friends wherever 
they have operated. 

RK\'. V:nMUXD F. KLY. one of the 
eirliest American missionaries in the I'pper 
Lake Region, and one of the tirst business 
men at Duluth. Minn., was a fair example 
of the hardy stuff of which pioneers are 
made. He was Ixini in Wilbraham, Mass.. 
Aug;. 3. 1800. and dieil Aug. JO. t88j. at 
Santa Rasa. Cal, lie was a son of Judah and 
Lucie (Sisson"* Kly. and a lineal descendant 



CO.M.MK.\I(JRA'il\l-: BlOfiRAI'llICAL RECORD 



13 



of that Nathaniel Ely who came to Boston 
probably in 1634, in the bark "Elizabeth," 
from Ipswich, England. He settled in Cam- 
bridge, Mass., and later was of Hartford, 
Conn., of which latter place he was an early 
settler, and where he held many leading 
positions. Some of his descendants served 
in the war of the Revolution, and many have 
filled positions of honor and trust in civil and 
business affairs. 

Judah Ely was born in Wilbraham, 
Mass., in 1785, and in November, 1824, came 
West, settling in Geauga county, Oliio, 
where he was engaged in a general mercan- 
tile business at Chardon until his death, two 
years later. He married Lucie Sisson, who 
died in 1830. 

Edmund F. Ely was educated in Massa- 
chusetts. After his father's death he re- 
turned to that State, and lx;gan the study of 
theology. Owing to poor health he was 
obliged to seek a change of climate, and on 
July 5, 1833, he started for the West. He 
traveled on the first railroad in the United 
States, and by canal to BufYalo, the trip from 
Albany to Buffalo taking three days. At 
the latter place he embarked on the steamer 
"Henry Clay" for Detroit, at which place he 
took a small sailing vessel to Mackinaw Is- 
land. The remainder of the trip to the Head 
of the Lakes was made in a birch bark canoe 
in company with a party of employes of the 
Hudson Bay Company. His final destina- 
tion was Sand Lake, Minn., where a school 
had Ijeen established by the American Board 
of I'^oreign Missions (whose headquarters 
were in Boston). He taught an Indian 
school there one winter, and the next year 
established a school at Fond du Lac, now in 
the city of Duluth. He taught there, and at 
La Pointe and other places until 1849, •^"''" 
ing all which time he was doing more or 
less religious work among the Ojibways. 
He always took a decided stand in opposi- 
tion to the trade in liquor with the Indians. 
In 185 — he volunteered to draw the gov- 
ernment supplies for the Cloquet Reserva- 
tion from Duluth at actual cost, cutting a 
road through the woods for that purpose. 
This course was taken in order to avoid 



having the Indians spend their money at 
Fond du Lac, wliere they had fonnerly been 
paid. 

In 1849 ^Ir. Ely moved to St. Paul, 
where he spent four years. In 1854 he re- 
turned to Superior, Wis., and built there in 
1856 a sawmill on the Minnesota side of St. 
Louis Bay, which he operated until 1862, 
when he returned to St. Paul. In 1873 he 
went to California, and there the last days 
of his life were spent. 

In 1838 Rev. Mr. Ely was married to 
Catherine f joulais, a native of Montreal, who 
came to the Head of the Lakes as a teacher. 
She was educated in her native city, and died 
in California. Three of the children born 
of this union survive : Henry S., of Duluth ; 
Augustus B., of San Francisco; and Sarah„ 
wife of Henry L. Bradley, of San Francisco. 

AMIAL ELLIS PHILBROOK, a well 
known lumberman of .Superior, was born at 
Sebec, Piscataquis Co., Maine, Oct. 11, 1835. 
His parents were John and Delia (Farris) 
Philbrook, also natives of Maine. 

Andrew Philbrook, his grandfather, was 
an Englishman, a millwright and carpenter 
by trade, and in early life came to Maine, 
where he lived to be nearly ninety years of 
age. Of his sons, David died in Cliippewa 
Falls, Wis., at the age of seventy-four; Rob- 
ert died at Hudson, Wis.; Farnsworth died 
at Stillwater, Minn.; William died in Penn- 
sylvania; and John, father of Amial Ellis, 
tjecame a luml^erman and owner of a saw- 
mill on the Piscataquis river. 

John Philbrook died in Milo. Maine, in 
1848, when forty-eight years of age. He 
had been a strict adherent of the Presbyte- 
rian Church and an exemplary citizen. His 
wife, formerly Delia Farris. died a few 
months before her husband. Her father was 
of German descent, was a farmer and was. 
an active man up to the time of his death, at 
the age of seventy-five. The children of 
John and Delia T Farris) Philbrook were as 
follows: Mary Augusta. .Mrs. .\lonzo Hotch- 
kiss, of Wisconsin; Amial E., mentioned be- 
low ; Eleanor, deceased in childhood ; Fran- 
cis Lewis, memljer of the ist Maine Heavy 



^4 



CO.M.MKMORATU'E BiOGRATH ICAl. RFX'ORi) 



Artillery, who died in .Andcrsoiiville prison; 
Charles, also in the Union army, who died 
of typhoid fe\er at Yorktown, \ a. ; and Kd- 
ward and Etlwin Edgar, twins, and another 
child, all deceased in infancy. 

Until he was thirteen Amial Ellis Phil- 
brook attended school regularly, but soou 
after the death of his parents he went to 
Springlield, Maine, where he found employ- 
ment in the lumber woods. In 1856 he went 
to Minnesota, and lived for a number oi 
years at RIonticello. engaged chiefly in lum- 
bering. He enlisted in Company E, 8lh 
Minn. \\ I., being mustered into the service 
Aug. 14. i86_>, and mustered out July 11, 
1S65. at Charlotte. X. C. He served under 
Gen. Sully through the Sioux war in 1863, 
and later joined Sherman's army at Mur- 
freesboro, Tenn., taking part in the battle 
with Forrest's cax^alry in which the 8th Min- 
nesota lost nearly one hundred men. Still 
later he was with Col. Thomas near Kings- 
ton. His regiment had the record for travel- 
ing more miles than any other in the army. 

After the war Mr. Philbrook again en- 
gaged in lumbering, in 1869 locating at Du- 
luth, where he tilled contracts for furnishing 
the timber for the lirst docks and breakwater 
in the place, and from that time on he has 
been in the lumber business. In i88j he 
began the manufacture of lumber, operating 
a sawmill at Connor's Point, and later one at 
AUouez Bay : he now owns a portable steam 
sawmill, and buys and clears timber lands, 
employing- a number of men. About 1882 
^Ir. Philbrook built his present residence in 
Superior, which he has rebuilt since its par- 
tial destruction by fire, in 1901. For many 
years Mr. Philbrook was a Democrat in poli- 
tics, but more recently has joined the Repub- 
lican party. He has been a member of the 
ci)unty board of supervisors for several 
years, chairman of the health committee, and 
of the committee on roads and bridges. 

Mr. Philbrook married (first) in 1856 
Margaret Desmoml, a daughter of Timothy 
Desmond, of Springfield, ]\Iaine. She was 
a devout member of the Catholic Church, 
and died at Superior, Wisconsin. March 
16, i8g6. at the age of fiftv-four. She was 



the mother of the following children : Wil- 
liam Edward, an engineer, of Superior; John 
A., who died at the age of twenty-one ; James 
A., a farmer in the vicinity of South Range, 
Douglas county, and secretary of the school 
l)oard ; Walter J., town clerk of South 
Range; Richard, an engineer of Superior; 
F'rancis, of Bemidji, ^linn. ; Ina, i\lrs. 
Wahlen, of Superior; IMary, Mrs. Harry 
Hepburn ; and a son who died in infancy. 
On Nov. 10, 1897, Mr. Philbrook mar- 
ried (second) Mrs. Elizabeth Welter, widow 
of Nicholas Welter. Mr. Welter was a 
native of Dalheim, Germany, and came to 
the United States about 1843, with his par- 
ents, Martin and Margaretta Welter, dying 
in Superior Aug. 20, 1890, at the age of 
lifty-four. He was a lumberman and also 
engaged in other lines of business. He 
served for many years as chairman of the 
county lx)ard. In politics he was a Republi- 
can, and his religious faith was that of the 
Catholic Church. Mrs. Elizabeth Philbrook 
was born in Prussia, a daughter of John 
Peter Burger, who was one of the earliest 
[lioneers of Superior, settling there about 
1854, and dying in January, 1872, when 
seventy-two years of age. I\lrs. Philbrook's 
mother died at Detroit, Mich., during the 
daughter's infancy. Elizabeth Burger and 
Nicholas Welter were married Dec. 19, 
1866, and had a family of eleven children: 
Pearl, who was killed by a street car when 
four and a half years old; Gusta Rosetta, 
who died at the age of seventeen months; 
Margaret, wife of D. D. Crowley, an elec- 
trician, of Duluth, Minn.; Elizabeth, Mrs. 
B. B. Lynch, of Whatcom, Wash. ; Grace, of 
Duluth ; John, of Whatcom, an electrician ; 
Schiller, of Superior; Lola; Franklin and 
Francis, twins, both electricians; and Ray. 
Mrs. Philbrook has eight grandchildren, and 
Mr. Philbrook is the grandfather of seven- 
teen, and has two great-grandchildren. 

JOHN HENRY HOLMAN is a man 
well known in the business and social world 
of West Superior, occupying prominent pub- 
lic positions. WHiile himself horn in the 
beautiful Irish citv of Cork, he is descendeil 



COMMEMORAT1VJ-: B1U( .R.M'l IICAL RICCORD 



15 



from ancestors who lived and died in the 
shire of Cornwall, England, and from them 
he has inherited both the sterling qualities 
which characterized that indomitable race 
and the special mental bent which has deter- 
mined the course of his life. 

Mr. llolman was born Dec. 6, 1854, son 
of John and Mary (Woolcock) Holman, 
both of whom were born in Cornwall, the 
one in Camborne, the other in Hayle Foun- 
dry. As the name indicates, the Holmaii 
family was originally of German stock, 
transplanted to England by a progenittjr 
who accompanied Lord de Dunstanwell to 
the British Isles many centuries ago. For 
several generations now meml^ers of the llol- 
man family have manifested a marked me- 
chanical turn of mind, and in their callings, 
whatever the particular line, have been emi- 
nently proficient. On a prominent English 
estate in Cornwall a smithing shop has for 
many generations been conducted by mem- 
bers of the family ; James Holman, grand- 
father of John H., had charge of it, and it 
is in the hands of a descendant of his at the 
present time. James ffolman and his wife 
both lived to the ripe old age of seventy- 
seven years, and so devoted to each other 
were they that they died within a week of 
each other. 

John Holman, son of James, inherited 
in a generous degree the mechanical ability 
of his race. In his youth he was apprenticed 
to the shipbuilding and boilermaking trades 
and became highly proficient in each. In 
1850 he settled at Cork as the superintendent 
of the boiler works of an e.Ktensive ship- 
building concern. This responsible position 
he filled most satisfactorily for fourteen 
years, at the end of that time resigning and 
returning to Hayle Foundry. It was at this 
period that he began to realize forcibly how 
much greater were the opportunities in his 
line in America than in England, and finally, 
in 1870. he embarked for Canada. Toronto 
being his objective point. Admirably quali- 
fied as he was he found no difficulty in secur- 
ing a situation, and was at once installed in 
the machine shops of the Grand Trunk rail- 
road, where he remained four years. Again 



resigning this position he estalilished himself 
in business on his own account at Colling- 
wood, Ont., as a member of the Holman- 
Watts Company, manufacturers of boilers, 
etc. The firm carried on the business suc- 
cessfully until 1898, when the plant was de- 
stroyed by fire. After that disaster Mr. Hol- 
man came to West Superior, and there died 
June 6th of the following year. He w'as born 
in the same year as his late lamented sover- 
eign, Queen Victoria. 

Mrs. Mary W. Flolman died in Toronto 
in i8g8, at the age of seventy-nine. Her 
father, James Woolcock, was a farmer by 
occupation. ' Her mother, whose maiden 
name was Willmetta Russell, w^as lineally 
connected with the founder of the Russeil 
Watch Manufacturing Company, a firm 
widely known for the excellence of its goods. 
The Russell family belonged to the wealthy 
and aristocratic clan so numerous in the 
West of England, and many of the name 
have attained distinction. Mrs. Woolcock 
was a woman of rare intellectual power, and 
possessed a remarkable memory, which she 
retained unimpaired to old age. She was 
highly cultured and most womanly, and 
possessed great l>eauty of character. Througii 
their long married life she was most devoted 
to her husband, and after his death, to oc- 
cupy her time and thoughts, she took up the 
work of teaching. 

John H. Holman spent his boyhood in 
Cork and received his earlier education in 
the public schools there, but when he was 
ten years old his parents settled at Hayle 
Foundry, Cornwall. There, at the age of thir- 
teen, he began to learn the iron molding 
trade, but dissatisfied w'ith that he soon 
abandoned it and took up the more congenial 
work of a machinist. When the family 
emigrated to Toronto he readily obtained 
employment at his trade, in which he had be- 
come highly proficient, in the shops of the 
Grand Trunk railroad, and he remained in 
tliat [wsition for five years. For the three suc- 
ceeding years he was in his father's shops at 
Ciillingwood. As he was specially proficient 
in boiler and engine construction, he was 
offered a position as second engineer on a 



i6 



COMMEAIORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



steamer plying Georgian Bay ; he accepted 
this, and still later was employed in a similar 
capacity on various other large vessels on 
the upper lakes. In the spring of 1887 Mr. 
Holman accepted the position of chief engi- 
neer of elevator "I" and other elevators in 
Duluth ; in the following October he became 
chief engineer of the Globe elevators, then 
just completed, and this position he has 
filled most efliciently to the present time, his 
attention to detail and wide experience in so 
many phases of engineering work having 
made him unusually well qualified for the 
place. 

Despite his manifold duties, Mr. Holman 
has found time to concern himself with many 
outside interests, both business and other- 
wise. He was one of the organizers of the 
Elevators Investment Company, of which 
he has served as president and is now vice- 
president. Fraternally he is active in the 
Masonic and Odd Fellows orders, having 
been made a Mason in 1891, while he has 
been connected with the I. O. O. F. for fif- 
teen years and has passed all the chairs in 
Terminal Lodge. In the work of both -these 
orders Mr. Holman has since the beginning 
of his connection therewith taken a leading 
part, for their objects and aims have ap- 
pealed to him strongly and have also af- 
forded him a broad outlet for the exercise 
of his sympathy and benevolence. Politi- 
cally he affiliates with the Republican party ; 
while not active in a political sense, having 
never been a candidate for an elective office, 
he wields an influence all the more potent, 
possibly, on that account. In June, 1888, 
he was appointed a member of the board of 
education, in 1901 was re-appointed, and is 
now the president of the biard. 

As a favorite diversion, Mr. Ilolman has 
been engaged for a long time in the study 
of natural history ; he is a taxidermist of no 
mean order, and his collection, which fills 
several cabinets, is the largest to be found 
in northern Wisconsin. Both in the char- 
acter of the selections and in the manner in 
which the work has been done it reflects 
great credit upon its maker. 

On Jan. 4. 1882, Miss Elizabeth Mason, 



a native of Coventry, England, became Mrs. 
John H. Holman. She is a daughter of Wil- 
liam and Rebecca (Elkington) Mason, who 
settled in Collingwood, Ont., about 1863. 
Mr. Mason was a silk weaver in England, 
but in Ontario has followed the business of 
tanning. Five children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Holman, Willmetta Russell, 
Mabel Rebecca Elkington, Edna Amelia, 
John Gordon, and Victor Mason. 

b:nWIN ELLIS, M. D.. whose death 
occurred in that city May 3, 1903, enjoyed 
the distinction of being one of the earliest 
pioneers of Ashland, and that he was one of 
the chief contributors to the material, moral 
and intellectual development of that thriv- 
ing city, is the unanimous verdict of his 
fellow citizens. He viewed with a just and 
patriarchal pride the transition, in which 
he had participated, from the primeval for- 
ests and imfettered waters, which first met 
his gaze upon this site, to the modern city 
with its busy populace, its hi\es of industry 
and commercial activity, its cultured homes 
and luimerous religious, educational and 
benevolent institutions ; while he beheld 
Chaquamegon Bay bordered by other cities 
of less magnitude and navigated by great 
fleets bearing to and fro multitudes of people 
and the products of whole nations. 

Dr. Ellis was a native of the "Pine Tree 
State," born at Peru, Maine, May 24. 1824, 
and was the only living son of John and 
Priscilla (Chase) Ellis. He represented 
the fourth generation from Rev. Jonathan 
Scott Ellis, a Congregational minister of 
English descent, who lived for many years 
at Minot, Maine. John Ellis and his wife 
were natives of that State, but the former 
died in California. His only surviving 
daughter still resides near Bangor. Mrs. 
Priscilla Ellis was a lineal descendant of 
Richard Chase, who was married at 
Chatham, England, in 1564, to Joan Bishop. 
Another early ancestor was William Chase, 
who came to Massachusetts with his wife 
and sou in company with Gov. Winthrop 
in 1630. His descendants were pioneers 
of Newburyport, where Eleazer Chase and 



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EDWIN ELLIS, M. D, 



CO.MMI'.MORATlX'l'. P.lOC.RAl'HICAL RFX'ORD 



I? 



liis sdti. XatliaiiicI, were identified with tlie 
niiiuite men during: tlie Revolution. The 
latter was famous for his intense patriotism 
and remarkahle ijhysical vigor. He l)ecame 
a Baptist minister, and preached for many 
years at Ruckfield, Maine, where he attainetl 
the as^e of ninety-three years, and was a1)le 
ti> (lri\e se\-eral miles from home only a 
year previous to his demise. 

Dr. Ellis graduated from Bowdoin Col- 
lege. Brunswick, in his native State, after 
which he went to the Medical School of the 
I'niversity of the City of New York (the 
faculty of which institution then included 
the eminent Valentine Mott and J. W. 
Draper), where he graduated in 1846. Re- 
turning to Maine he began practice at Farm- 
ington, continuing there about seven years. 
He then went to St. Paul, Minn., and in 
1854 located at Ashland, acquiring by pre- 
emption and purchase, about 600 acres of 
wild land within the present city limits. 
Upon this land he laid out the town of Bay 
City, and erected several log buildings. The 
next year he brought his family from St. 
Paul via Chicago and Sault Ste. Marie. For 
some years the growth of the embryo city 
was extremely gradual, and it was eventually 
consolidated with that of Ashland, which had 
been started almost simultaneously farther 
toward the head of the Bay. During the 
period of depression which followed the 
panic of 1857, many of the settlers who had 
been attracted to this locality moved away, 
and patients became so scarce that in 1865 
the Doctor took up his abode at Ontonagon, 
Mich., where he followed his profession until 
1872. For several years previous to 1866 
he had charge of the Odanah Mission 
School. In 1872, owing to the prospect of 
securing railroad communication w-ith the 
outer world, Ashland began to revive rap- 
idly, and the Doctor returned to that village, 
where he still retained most of his real estate. 
From that time, owing to the rapid growth 
of the city, there was abundant demand for 
his services, but after more than a half 
century of active professional lal)or he re- 
tired and devoted his chief attention to his 
varirius business interests and public duties. 



1m ir thirl v-five years he was a member of the ■ 
I'.ciard of United States Examining Sur- 
geons for Ashland county. He erected a 
numlier of modern business blocks, and more ■ 
or less residence i)roperty, and conducted a 
general real estate and insurance business 
in connection with his sons. He was one of 
the original incorporators of the A'^.bland' 
National Bank, and a director of that institu- 
tion, which is recognized as one of the most 
reliable financial 'concerns in Northern Wis- 
consin. 

Dr. Ellis was always active in relisi^ious 
and educational work, contributing of' bis • 
time and substance to advance the mor.il andy 
intellectual progress of his fellow men. As" 
early as 1840 he united with the Congrega- 
tional Church, but for many years past had' 
affiliated with the- Presbyterians. FrrtnT 
1885 he had been president of the board of 
education, and he is entitled to no small ' 
degree of credit for the fact that the people ■ 
of Ashland can boast of one of the best' 
school systems in the State, with numerous 
substantial buildings for its accommod.'ition. 
He was the chief founder of the Northern 
Wisconsin Academy, an institution which 
fits many students for college and iniiversity, 
and would be a credit to many larger cities. 
Fraternally he had attained the thirtv-^'econd' 
degree of Masonry, being identified with 
W'i.sconsin Consistory of Milwaukee. He 
helped to form the various local organiza- 
tions, and served as the first Master of the 
Blue Lodge, the first High Priest of the 
Chapter, and first Eminent Commander of 
the Knights Templars. In political senti- 
ment he was always earnest and conscien- 
tious, but never a seeker of official honors, 
though often called to fill important position.? 
of trust. At the beginning of the Civil war 
he was a Douglas Democrat, but the devel- 
opments of that conflict wrought a change 
in his views, and he was ever after identified 
with the Republican party. For some years 
he was a member of the county Ijoard of 
supervisors, and for seventeen years dis- 
charged the duties of county judge. I1 may 
be truly said that no citizen of ,\shland en- 
joyed the confidence and gmid will . f the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAl'HTC.XE RECORD 



: people ill a greater degree, while his name is 
perpetuated in the Ellis school and in Ellis 
Avenue, one of the principal thoroughfares 
of the city. He had some exciting experi- 
ences, and could relate many interesting 

. reminiscences of the early days. 

While living at Ontonagon, he was oc- 

■ casionally called to visit some of his former 
patrons in Ashland and vicinity. On one 
occasion he was summoned to attend a man 
who had heen injured in an explosion of an 
■engine at EalViinte, necessitating the ampu- 
tation of a limb. In an open boat he made 
the t'rji) by night, successfully performed the 
operation, and returned in the same manner. 
a distance of about sixty miles. For some 
years his practice included most of the white 
people within a radius of one luindred miles, 
"i)esides which he gave some attention to the 
ills of his Indian neighbors, by whom he was 
always held in the highest reverence. 

Dr. ICllis was first married, in 1847, to 
Miss .Sophia S. Davis, daughter of Charles 
and Sophia Davis, of Farmington, Maine, 
at which place she died two years later, leav- 
ing' one daughter, Augusta, now the w.idow 
Qf George H. Kennedy, of y\shland. 'I'hc 
Doctor's second marriage occurred in 1850, 
the bride being Miss Martha Baker, daughter 
of Daniel and Elizabeth Baker, of New 
:yiiaroi), Maine. This lady, who from early 
life was a devout member of the Baptist 
•■•Church, departed this life in 1896, at the 

■ age of seventy-six years. She was the 
mother of ime daughter and two sons: Dan- 
ieiia (Mrs. C. C. Loianger), Edwin 11. and 
J.,, Scott. All have enjoyed the best social 
and educational advantages, and the sons are 
nurpbfred among the leading business men 

^ of Ashland. 

^EV. JOHN E. S1-:TH, the earnest and 

■ able, pastor of the Scandinavian Evangelical 
Mission Church at Superior, is enjoying the 

• rather unique distinction of serving his sec- 
ond -jwstoratc over that church. 

The organization was effected in Septem- 
ber. 1887, !by Rev. Mr. Johnson, of Duluth. 
and there were at first only seven memlKM-s. 
Previmislv and for some time afterward 



Rev. Mr. Johnson went regularly from Du- 
luth to preach to them, and in 1888 the littie 
church secured its first resident pastor in the 
person of Ludwig Akeson. He was a theo- 
logical student, and remained about a year, 
until he went to Chicago to complete his 
studies. He was succeeded by Rev. John 
Sjokvist, who came from Carlton College, 
Northfield, Minn. In 1892 Mr. Sjokvist 
went to China in the interest of the Swedish 
Mission Covenant, after four years return- 
ing to study medicine in Chicago ; he gradu- 
ated from a metlical college, and returned to 
China to practice in the service of said mis- 
sion. 

The present pastor, Rev. John E. Seth, 
came to the church first in the spring of 
1893, and remainetl two years. Rev. O. G. 
Olson, who followed him, was a native of 
Sweden, who had received his theological 
training in Chicago, and had been in charge 
of a church in Brainerd, Minn. He was an 
active, progressive and public-spirited man, 
and under his administration the church 
flourished greatly. He was interested in 
educational questions, and for two years was 
a member of the school board. Since leav- 
ing Superior Mr. Olson has given up the 
ministry to become a successful business 
man. 

Rc\'. John E. Seth was born in Sweden 
-April j(). 1865, and his parents are still 
li\ing in that country. He came to Amer- 
ica in 1887 and entered the Northwestern 
Collegiate Institute at Minneapolis. Thence 
he went to the Chicago Theological Semi- 
nary, and while there was for some time con- 
nected with the Moody Bible Institute. His 
work as a pastor began in 1892. He first 
came to Superior in the spring of 1893,- and 
on leaving went to Duluth to take charge of 
the Swedish Mission Church, spending two 
and a half years there, and then two more in 
Minneapolis. Then he was recalled to Su- 
perior, where he has remained to the present 
time. 

The cnnditions in Superior are some- 
what peculiar, ami ^lifter from those in an 
older and more settled community in that 
there is <uch a large floating element; while 



COMiNIEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



19 



tlie church now numbers no communicants, 
probably at least 150 more have been mem- 
bers for a time, and then moved elsewhere. 
The average congregation is now over 300, 
and there is a tiourishing Sunday-school 
with some 225 pupils. A mission is main- 
tained at the steel plant, in which Mr. Seth 
is vitally interested, and the church gener- 
ally is doing excellent work. One great aim 
is to make good citizens of all who come 
under its inHuence, and its efforts to aid the 
poor and sick are no less earnest and prac- 
tical. 

In 1895. in St. Paul, Rev. John E. Seth 
was married to Miss Hilma Sammelson, who 
was born in Goodhue county, Minn. They 
have one daughter and two sons, Frances, 
Irving and Raymond. 

MAJOR GEORGE HENRY SMITH 
(deceased), a well-known resident of West 
Superior, was one of the earliest pioneers in 
the railroad and telegraph service at the 
Head of the Lakes. Major Smith was a 
son of Squire and Prudence (Randall) 
Smith, and was born June 23, 1833, in Nor- 
wich, Chenango Co., New York. 

The father of Major Smith was a native 
of Rhode Island, but in early life came to 
New York. He dealt in general merchan- 
dise and carried on an extensive wool trade 
in Norwich, and was postmaster for many 
years. For several years he was a member 
of the New York Legislature. In politics 
he was a Jeffersonian Democrat. Squire 
Smith, who was of Scotch descent, was a 
very outspoken man, of decided opinions. 
He was a vestryman of the Episcopal Churcii 
and was a contributor to all church work. 
He died at the age of fifty-six. Mrs. Pru- 
dence (Randall) Smith's ancestry can be 
traced back to the Raiidall who came to Eng- 
land with William the Conqueror, and the 
Randalls have been a well-known family of 
Connecticut for many generations. 

George Henry Smith spent his boyhood 
in Norwich, N. Y. He studied civil engi- 
neering at the "Xorwich Academy, but on 
leaving school went into mercantile business, 
dealing in seeds and agricultural implements 



for several years. He was messenger for 
Butterfield's first express through that coun- 
try, and established and edited the first daily 
paper in Norwich. When the first telegraph 
line was built through Norwich, Mr. Smith 
was asked to become operator, in connection 
with his other business, and this position he 
filled until 1857, when he went West. He 
built and operated a telegraph line from 
Terre Haute to St. Louis for the Terre 
Haute, Alton & St. Louis Railway Co. He 
was superintendent of this line until the 
war broke out, and was also manager of the 
company's first telegraph office in St. Louis. 
Mr. Smith was actively interested in promot- 
ing the military telegraph service on behalf 
of Gen. Fremont. He laid the underground 
cable to the arsenal to prevent the intercep- 
tion of messages by the Confederates, and 
at his suggestion four companies of opera- 
tors were enlisted in the United States serv- 
ice. Later Mr. Smith's system was organ- 
ized as "The United States Military Tele- 
graph," with headquarters at St. Louis, Mo. 
He was the real originator of the military 
telegraph and was appointed assistant quar- 
termaster, with rank of captain, in July, 
1862. Major Smith built and operated over 
4,000 miles of telegraph line in Missouri, 
Arkansas and adjacent States. He had a 
line working to Gen. Fremont's headquar- 
ters at Jefferson City, Mo., before the arri- 
val of the General. Later he accompanied 
Gen. Halleck in his Tennessee campaign, 
building and operating telegraph lines as 
the army moved, and maintaining a tele- 
graph system through Kentucky, Tennessee, 
Missoiu-i and Mississippi. Major Smith also 
laid over forty cables across the Mississippi 
river at different points. He resigned his 
position in the spring of 1865. 

After the war Major Smith constructed 
telegraph lines through the oil regions of 
Pennsylvania. He then went to New York 
City and organized the "Dead Head and 
Free Message" department of the W. U. 
Telegraph Co., of which he was superin- 
tendent several years. In 1868. on account 
of his health, he went to St. Cloud, Minn. 
He entered the employ of the Northern P:;- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRArillCAL RECORD 



citic Railway Company ami took charge of 
the iirst train dispatcher's otlice of that road 
at Brainerd. In 1873 he became superin- 
tendent of the St. Paul & Duluth Railroad, 
then operated under lease by the Northern 
Pacific, with his office in St. Paul. This 
position Major Smith held for nine years, 
until the roatl was sold^ when he Ijecame a 
merchant in St. Paul. He came to West 
Superior in December, 1886, as train dis- 
patcher for the Xortheni Pacific Railroad, 
and handled trains on the Chicago, St. Paul, 
Minneaiiolis & C)maha Railway, and all other 
lines between Superior and Duluth. A year or 
so later he took the position of station agent 
at the Union Station in West Superii)r. In 
recent years Major Smith's attention was 
given aitirely to tlie ticket departiuent, a 
number of other employes being engaged in 
the station, where the business was con- 
stantly increasing. He taught telegraphy 
to many young men who are now rilling im- 
portant positions. The esteem in which he 
was held by his co-workers is evidenced by 
the lx?autitul silver service presenteil to him 
by the Military Corps of St. Louis, and- by 
the handsome gold watch which was a part- 
ing gift to him from the employes of the 
Northern Pacific Railroad at Brainerd. 

On May 7, 1855, Major Smith married 
Mary I'Vances Brown, a daughter of Henry 
\'. and Mary Elisabeth (Breed) Brown, of 
Norwich, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had 
six children : Herbert W., a wliolesale pro- 
duce jobber in Chicago ; George H., Jr., a 
merchant at Santa Rosa. X. Mex. : Mary F. ; 
Henry \'. B., until December, 1901, secre- 
tary to the president of the Tennessee Cen- 
tral Railway Company, Nashville, Tenn., 
now secretary of the Powell Lumber & Min- 
ing Co., anil secretary and treasurer of the 
Goodstock Dimension Co.. Crossville, Tenn.; 
Julia Breed, wife of Walter K. Adams, city 
passenger agent Alinneapolis & St. Louis rail- 
road at Des Moines, Iowa ; and Olive Ran- 
dall, wife of Frank C. Buckley, ticket agent, 
L^nion Depot. Superior. Wis., who was ap- 
pointed to succeed ^Lajor Smith. ^lajor 
Smith was a Democrat in principle, and ad- 
hered to the gold wing of the party. 



In igoj. by advice of his physicians. 
Major Smith retired from active railroad 
life and going to New Mexico, assisted his 
son, George H. Jr. Later he went to San 
Diego, Col., arriving there a few^ months 
before his death, which occurred April 29, 
1905. His life had been full of activity 
but his end was sudden and peaceful. The 
funeral rites were under the auspices of Gen. 
Heintzehnann Post, No. 33, as Major Smith 
had belonged to the G. A. R., and he was 
buried in the G. A. R. cemetery. Rev. Mr. 
Cullom, of Los Angeles, assisted in the serv- 
ices. Major Smith was a quiet man and of 
inflexible personal integrity. Socially, with 
his family and friends, he was always com- 
panionable and was very popular. 

HENRY CIIAIAIAN BAKER. As 
has been said by a prominent citizen and an 
intimate friend of Mr. Baker: "Henry C. 
Baker stands in the front rank of lawyers 
of northern Wisconsin. He has allowed no- 
body to direct him in his profession." The 
latter sentence is a secret of Mr. Baker's 
success. He has neither allowed politics, the 
narrowing struggle for gain, nor temporary 
notoriety to swerve him from the breadth 
of view' and the high ambition which pos- 
sesses him today, even as it did when he 
entered the field many years ago. He has 
honored the legal profession and it in turn 
has signally honored him. 

Mr. Baker comes of an old New Eng- 
land family. His great-graiulfather was 
Capt. Remember Baker, a \'ennont hero, 
and one of the first to fall in the Revolu- 
tionary war. Mr. Baker was born at Staf- 
ford. Genesee Co., N. Y., Nov. 16, 1831, 
and is a .son of Luther A. and Mercy ( Stan- 
nard) Baker, who were in humble circum- 
stances, the father being a small farmer who 
worked hard to obtain a living for his family. 

The boyhood of Mr. Baker was spent in 
hard work, and he received but scant educa- 
tional advantages, but the fire of ambition 
burned brightly within liis breast, and he 
managed when eighteen years of age to 
enter Genesee and Wyoming Seminary, in 
his native countv. where he remained for .1 



COM.MI'.MORA'rn'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



year, and tlien commeiicctl a regular course 
of instruction in the New York Normal 
Scliool at Albany, from whicli he was grad- 
uated in 1854. Not satisfied, he then began 
the study of law, and in 1857 entered the 
oftice of Hon. Moses Taggert, of Batavia, 
N. V. His preceptor was formerly a judge 
of the Court of Appeals of that State and Mr. 
J'laker had an excellent opportunity to pur- 
sue his studies under learned leadership. As 
sunn as ix)ssil)le, Mr. Baker went to Albany 
with the intention of entering the law school, 
luit decided to accept a position as clerk with 
Willet and Hawley, prominent members of 
the Albany Bar, still pursuing his studies, 
and in 1858 he was admitted to the Bar of 
New York. He then began practice at Ba- 
tavia, N. Y., but in the spring of 1859 he 
came to Hudson, Wis., and soon thereafter 
was made attorney for the Sainte Croix & 
Lake Superior Railway Company. In 1870 
Mr. Baker formed a partnership with J. C. 
Spooner, and later he became solicitor for 
the North Wisconsin Railway Company, 
which afterwards became known as the Chi- 
cago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Rail- 
way Company. In 1880 Mr. Spooner with- 
drew from the firm, and from 1883 to 1885 
Mr. Baker was the Wisconsin attorney for 
the Milwaukee, St. Paul and Sault Ste. 
Marie Railway Company. Since 1888 he 
has devoted his time to a general practice, 
and is senior member of the firm of Baker 
& Haven. In politics he is a Republican and 
might have been a leader in his party had 
he so desired, but he refused advancement. 
Since Irayhood, he has been a consistent 
member of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. 
Baker is an earnest, honorable man and one 
who confers distinction upon the Xorthwesi, 
both as a private citizen and as a memljer 
of the legal profession. 

On Sept. II. t86o, Mr. Baker was mar- 
ried to lillen M. Brewster, of Leroy, N. Y., 
a highly educated and refined lady, a gradu- 
ate of Ingham university. Her grandfather 
was Judge Henry Brewster, of Leroy, N. 
Y. One child has been Ixjrn to Mr. and 
Mrs. Baker: L. A. Baker, cashier of the 
Manufacturers' Bank of New Richmond, 



Wis., who married in 1887 Minnie A. Glo- 
ver, a daughter of Jnb E. Glover, of Hudson, 
Wisconsin. 

D. F. TYLI-IR, banker and dealer in 
real estate at Glidden, Wis., is one of the 
few men who by energy and enterprise have 
contributed liberally to the development of 
his neigh l>)rhood. There is perhaps no gen- 
tleman in Glidden who has done more for 
the well being of the place than has Mr. 
Tyler. He is one of the original pioneers, 
having effected a settlement there in 1876. 
Mr. Tyler is a native of the South, his birth 
having occurred in Nashville, Tenn., in 
1863, at the time when the two sections of 
the country were struggling in the throes of 
the Civil war. He is a son of William and 
Mary Tyler. 

William Tyler es])oused the cause of the 
South and entering her army, he gallantly 
fnught lor what he conceived to be the rights 
<if iiis State, until his death upon the battle- 
field of Wilson Creek. The cause lost, the 
mother with her children, in reduced cir- 
cumstances brought on by war's ravages, 
moved to Illinois, and later to Janesville, 
Wis. In 1876 they came to Glidden, then 
called Chippewa Crossing, a station on the 
Wisconsin Central Railway, which road had 
just been completed. At that time the depot 
was a small structure erected on a flat car. 
The only white people in the vicinity were a 
few homesteaders, of whom only one, Au- 
gust Kehring, is now a resident of the place. 
Mrs. Mary Eox, who was Mrs. Mary Tyler, 
erected the first building in the town, and it 
was occupied by her as a hotel, a hostelry 
widely known in that day as the "Chippewa 
House." This hotel she successfully con- 
ducted until 1883. Hotel keeping in Wis- 
consin in the early days was fraught with 
many difficulties and inconveniences, for 
])rovisions were secured in Stevens Point and 
the only hired help to be obtained were In- 
dians. 

D. F. Tyler remained with his mother 
throughout the trying period in which she 
engaged in hotel keeping, and after the hotel 
was disposed of, he conducted a general 



lOMMl'.MDKA I 1\ I'. I'.IOC.R \rillC.\L RiaORH 



store, wli'cli lie success fully carricil ou uutil 
l8i)i). when he estahlished his h;uik and be- 
g-an dealing in real estate. The hank, a pri- 
vate institution at lirst, in 1003 K-caiue the 
Wisconsin State Bank, of which lie is inesi- 
dent. In u)Oi he iutlividually put in a sy.s- 
tcm of w.iter works which has been of the 
greatest henetit to the town and rellects gre:it 
credit upon the proprietor. In locx") whe;i 
the (diddcii \'encering Co. established its 
plant he hecanie a stockholder, in a Hairs 
other than of a coniniercial nature Mr. 
Tyler lias heeti equally prominent. In local 
politics lie has taken a leading part since the 
town of Jacobs was organized in i8Sj. lie 
is a stanch Republican and freiiuently has 
been honoreil by his jiarty. He has been a 
delegate to numerous county conventions 
as well as to a few State conventions. In 
190J he was elected chairman of the town 
board and relected in 190,^ and 11)04, while 
during President McKinley's administration, 
he servctl as i>ostmaster of Cdidden. I'ra- 
ternally he is an honored member of .Xncient 
Landmark Lodge, !•". & .A. M., at .\shlnnd. 
Mr. Tyler was married to Miss Sarah 
IMcEwen, who has borne him three chiklren. 
Mary K., William M. and Catherine L. 
Mr. Tyler is a gentleman of ]ileasing jK-r- 
sonality, strong convictions aiul goml busi- 
ness judgment, having the contulence and 
esteem of all who know and have business 
dealings with him. 

HO\. IIOWARH C. Kb:xn.\l.L. 
proprietor of the Dulntli Transfer Company, 
was born at Moiiticello. hid.. Aug. j;, 184S. 
and is a son of Charles W. and Fdiza M. 
(Spencer) Kendall, Ixnh natives of Penn- 
sylvania. The Kendall family i? of Englisli 
origin. Charles W. Kendall went to In- 
diana and located at Monticello when that 
part of the State was a wilderness. I'or 
some years he dealt in dry goods there, but 
at the time of his death, in 1875, he was en- 
gaged in banking. He accumulated a for- 
tune from humble lH.*ginnings and com- 
manded the respect and confidence of his 
fellow citizens. His wife survived him many 
years, passing away in 1901. She sprang of 



one of the oldest families in Mary kind, some 
oi her progenitors liaxiin;' emigrated to that 
(.'olony and seltleil in Cecil county in 163J. 
Her grandfather ilieil while serving in (ien. 
Washington's army at X'alley l'\irge. Mr. 
ami Mrs. Charles W. Kendall were the par- 
ents of three sons and three tlaughters, of 
whom we have the following record: Sally 
is the wife of A. \\ . l.ougherv. of Monti- 
cello. Ind. ; Howard C. ; Charles W., of Du- 
luth; May, Mrs. Harris .McDowell, of Mid- 
dletown, Del.; and Maria and Waller, who 
are deceased. 

Howard C. Kendall was educated in the 
iniblic schools of his native place ami in Wa- 
bash College, at Crawfordsville, in the same 
.State. After learning telegraphy on the 
lines of the Pennsylvania railroad he was 
employed for three years as train dispatcher 
on that system. Subset|uently he was suc- 
cessixely employed in the same capacity for 
intervals ranging from six months to three 
years each on the Rock Island system, at 
Hes Moines, Iowa; on the Union I'acilic, at 
Omaha; in the president's otlice of the Bur- 
lington & Missouri; on the Hannibal & St. 
Joe; and the St. Paul & Pacific ^now the 
(Jreat Northern) at Anoka, Minn. His long 
and faithful service on these different roads 
amply entitled him to the position of ticket 
agent at the union depot in nululh. which 
he accepted in 1874 and creditably tilled for 
the next eight years. At the end of that 
period he starteil in the livery and transfer 
Inisiness with which he has ever since been 
connecteil. He began as a partner of James 
Caldwell, but ior some years past has been 
the sole ]iroi)rietor of the establishment. 
Besides doing a general transfer business 
he conducts a tirst-class livery stable, the 
oldest in the city. His teams are well cared 
for, his carriages are the best obtainable, 
and his patrons are always sure of receiving 
lirst-class service. 

In 1S63 ^\r. Kendall patriotically offered 
his services in defense of the Union, enlist- 
ing in Company E. 135th Ind. V. I., and 
served under Gen. Sherman until the close 
of the war, receiving a wound at Nashville 
which disaViled him for a time. Since com- 



C"O.MMIQrOR.\TI\'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



^5 



iny; to Dulutli his lidelity and ability liavc 
been recognized by the mimeious piiljlic 
trusts to which lie has been elected. l'"or 
six years he was a meml>cr of tlie city coun- 
cil and lour years of that time was its pres- 
ident. He has also served four terms in the 
Minnesota Legislature, in 1879-80-81, and 
again in 1891. hi political affiliation he has 
always been a consistent Republican. He is 
a member of the Uniform Rank, Knights of 
Pythias, and among his other fraternal con- 
nections may be mentioned the Grand Army 
of the Rei)nblic and the Improved Order of 
Red Men. He is deservedly po])ular am<ing 
his associates and merits all the tru-t re- 
posed in him. 

In 1894 Mr. Kendall was married to Miss 
Mary Balnier, of Duluth, daughter of George 
and Maggie Balmer, the latter now deceased. 
Mr. Balmer formerly lived in Michigan, but 
is now a farmer of Todd county, Minnesota. 

CAPT. BERNARD DOIIERTY (de- 
ceased) was an extensive landowner and 
lumljerman of Asliland, Wis., where he was 
engaged in the lumber business from 1889 
until his death, Nov. 29, 1903. 

Mr. Doherty was born l''eb. 21, 1834, 
in Toronto, Ontario. His father, William 
Doherty, an Irish farmer, emigrated to Can- 
ada when a young man. He and his wife, 
Catherine, also a native of Ireland, had a 
family of eleven children, of whom Init three 
are still living, viz.: Mrs. James Wall, of 
Green Bay; Mrs. Margaret Buckelew. of 
Washington, D. C. ; and Mrs. M. D. I'eld- 
smith, of Iron River. The mother died in 
1865, the father, a lifelong farmer, surviv- 
ing until 1 87 1. Four of the sons did serv- 
ice in the Union army during the Civil war. 
James was a sailor on the "Mound City,'" 
and was scalded to death at the battle cf 
Fort Charles, Ark. ; he had enlisted in the 
2d Wis. V. I., but at the call for naval vol- 
imteers was transferred to the marine serv- 
ice. Charles enlisted in 1862 in the I7t'i 
Wis. V. I., and died in a St. Louis hospital 
from disease contracted while he lay in the 
ritle-pits during the siege of X'icksburg. 
John enlisted in 1863, in the 3d Wis. Cav., 



and was in the service during the entire war;, 
he met his death in a tire, in 1871, wdiere his- 
father and sister also lost their lives. Ber- 
nard Doherty twice recruited a company,, 
helping to organize Company A, of the 21st 
Wis. V. I., but on account of injuries' re- 
ceived by falling from a spar could n<;t 
pass exaniinatidu and did not go to the 
front. 

Bernard Doherty lirst attended scliool in 
Toronto, but in 1841 he came with his par- 
ents to Milwaukee, and in 1849 the family 
moved to bond du Lac. When quite young 
he started riut in life as a sailor on the great 
lakes, and he rose from the place of maa 
before the mast to the position of sailing mas- 
ter. In 1857 he built his fir.st boat, a: 
schooner, which he named the "Eleanor" 
after his girl bride. In 1867 he removed to- 
Oshkosh, where he built the steamer "Lum- 
bermen" in partnership with the late Hon. 
Philetus Sawyer, and ran her until 1871 
on the Fox river. He then took her inro 
the Mississippi river, where he sold her, and 
returning to Oshkosh built the government 
steamer "Neenah," in 1872, running her 
until 1880. He then reuKjved to South Kau- 
kauna, where he constructed the large gov- 
ernment waterpower. After building this 
work he removed to Ashland and Ijegan the 
boating business in 1882. He built the 
steamer "City of Ashland." the first steamer 
ever built in Ashland, and ran her until' 
1887, when she was lost by fire, and the cap- 
tain was compelled to swim for over an hour 
in the icy waters of Lake Superior. Chilled 
and saddened by the loss of one of his brave 
crew, he abandoned the water forever, and 
bought the Sheffield sawmill, taking up the 
milling business with the same zest that char- 
acterized every enterprise of his life. Until 
two years before his death he held an inter- 
est in the Murray mill, built on the site of 
his own mill, which burned in i886. After 
that he gave his entire attention to his lum- 
ber interests. He was the owner of consider- 
able land, owning a farm of 160 acres in 
Ashland county, and another of 430 acres 
on the Brule fiver. From 1882 he was the 
l)rincipal owner and general manager of tlie- 



24 



COMMEMORATIVI-: BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Brulo River Improvement Co., having' se- 
cured a charter on tliat river. In tiie same 
year he built two larj^e clams on the P>rule. 
I'^ven after the athletic limbs were powerless, 
the active mind reviewed the chanuing- scenes 
oi his eventful life, and he still remained the 
motive power of his business. 

In 1856 Capt. Dohcrty married I'dlen 
Cou,i;hlin, daughter of Patrick and Mary 
Coughlin, both natives of Ireland. Patrick 
<Joughlin was a farmer in his native coun- 
try. He emigrated to America, where he 
died soon after landing in New York. His 
wife lived until 1881. They had a family of 
seven children, of whom only three are liv- 
ing. To Mr. and Mrs. Doherty were Imrn 
the following named children: Edward W., 
who is the owner of a steam laundrv in 
'Grafton, N. Dak.; Erwin J., Edgar, Ella R. 
-and I'-mma, all four deceased : Ca])t. John, 
a sailor on the Great Lakes, who served as a 
soldier in the Spanish-American war ; and 
Sarah M. Capt. Doherty was a Republican 
in politics. Fraternally he was connected 
with the B. P. O. E., Lodge No. 558, of 
Ashland, which took entire charge of his 
funeral services, which were held from the 
residence on Seventh avenue west, on 
Wednesday, Dec. 2. Many beautiful floral 
'emblems were sent to the house, and many 
of the old settlers were present to pay the 
last sad respects to the man they had known 
5ind esteemed for so many years. Mrs. 
Doherty, his noble, self-sacrificing helpmeet 
for nearly fifty years, survives, and makes 
lier h<ime in y\shland county. 

HON. DAVID EVAN ROBERTS, 
■e.x-Probate Judge of Douglas county, Wis., 
and one of the most celebrated jurists of the 
State, has attained his present high position 
in the professional world through his own 
imaidcd efforts. Early privation whetted 
his appetite for learning-, and with an ambi- 
tion that would be satisfied with no less he 
Avorked his way through the best of colle.ges, 
and 1)y close application, wisdom, calm 
judgment and unerring logic he has main- 
tained from the first a conspicuous place at 
Hie 15ar. 



Judge Roberts was Ixirn in l-'lorence, 
Oneida Co., N. Y., Jan. 18, 1854, son of 
Hugh and Jane (Evans) Roberts, natives of 
Denbighshire, Wales. Hugh f^oberts came 
to the L^nited States in 1848, and located oa 
a farm in Oneida county, N. W. where he 
remained thirteen years. He then removed 
to Lewis county, N. Y., but in 1894 he made 
his home with his son in Superior, where 
his death occurred Feb. 12, 1903. He was 
Inn-ied at Constableville, N. Y. Mrs. Jane 
( Evans) Roberts died in New York in 1886, 
aged fifty-six. She came to America with 
her parents in 1839. The early life of Judge 
Roberts w-as similar to that of many of the 
nation's great men of affairs. His early 
years were passed upon a farm, and his at- 
tendance at the district schools was limited 
to those times when the farm work was over. 
He was persevering, however, and in time 
he entered Potsdam Normal School, from 
which he was graduated in 1877. He spent 
two years at Cornell University, earning the 
means to continue his schooling by intervals 
of labor at carpenter work, bark peeling and 
teaching a country school. In the spring of 
1880 he went to Kansas, and from there to 
Colorado. Upon reaching Colorado Springs 
he found his wealth to consist of a dollar or 
two in currency, and a pair of strong will- 
ing arms. Work in the stone quarries was 
plentiful, and he at once set about it, being 
])ronioted to the position of foreman in 
forty-eight hours. This work was not at 
all to his liking, but it was to him only the 
means to an end, and in a year he had saved 
enough to go to Ann Arbor, there to com- 
plete his law course. He was graduated 
from the Law Department of the University 
of Michigan in 1882. The same year he 
located for a short time in Aberdeen, S. 
IXak., and the following year (1883) iie 
came to Superior, opening a law oftice. He 
had accomplished every thing by hard work, 
and he did not feel at all confident that suc- 
cess in his jirofession would come without a 
struggle. To guard against any possible 
failure to secure work in his profession, and 
its conse(|uent financial embarrassment, he 
brought w ith him his kit of cariienter's tools. 



CO^IME^rORATTX'R niOCRAPIIICAL RECORD 



25 



bill fdilune smiled on his clVDrls ;is in the 
past, and tlie tools have never been used. 

In the fall of 1884 he was elected dis- 
trict attorney, and in 1889 he was appointed 
by Gov. Rusk county judge, to till the unex- 
pired term of the late Judge Richard 15ar- 
<lon. The next spring he was elected to suc- 
ceed himself, and he was reelected regularly 
until Jaiuiary, 1902. He can point with 
pride to an extraordinary record in that 
every decision he made, except one, was ap- 
proved by the Supreme court. Judge l-Job- 
crts was noted for his consistent imparliai- 
itv and his great love of truth. Jle was 
perfectly fair in iiis decisions, which he was 
ready at all times to defend with compari- 
sons with similar cases and with reference 
to the law invohed. His memory was, and 
is. remarkable. He has been a student all 
his life, and wliat he has studied he has re- 
membered, not only remembering but so as- 
similating his knowledge that it is ready for 
use at ;i minute's notice. He has been a 
most charitable man all through his profes- 
sional practice. To those to whom the law 
would prove an expensive means of settle- 
ment of trouble he has given his advice free, 
and often has kept family quarrels out of 
c<iurt by his kindly common sense and fath- 
erly advice. 

During Judge Roberts" incumbency he 
probated many estates, and often saved many 
beneficiaries thousands of dollars by wise 
counsel which he offered in the spirit of 
friendliness, and not as a lawyer. As a busi- 
ness man he has not proved himself a fail- 
ure. He has made judicious investments, 
and has prospered in worldly matters. 

In 1884 Judge Roberts was married to 
Miss Kate Rhodes, daughter of John and 
Mary Rhodes. She was born in Trempea- 
leau county. Wis., and educated at Winona 
.Xormal School and Cornell University, and 
befiirc her marriage was a successful teacher. 
Her death occurred May 20. 1899. when she 
was aged forty-two years. Judge and Mrs. 
Roberts became the parents of eight chil- 
dren : Hugh. Helen. John. Jessie. Florence, 
Margaret. David and .Arthur. The Judge 
and his family are all attendants ui)on the 



Episcopal Church, b'raternally he belongs 
to Lodge No. 236, A. F. & A. M., and he 
has passed all the chairs in the K. P. 

HON. Jl-.lIU n. AHDDLECOFF, 
judge of probate, has been for over twelve 
\ears a resident of Duluth. He is a west- 
erner by birth and education, having been 
born in Missouri and educated in the schools 
of that State and the University of Michi- 
gan. 

John \V. Middlecoff. father of Jehu B., 
was a native of Illinois; he was a machinist 
by trade and engaged in milling in Lebanon, 
111., and in Clinton, Mo. He married Eliza- 
beth Land, also a native of Illinois, by whom 
he had a family of ten children, of whom 
eight are living, Jehu B. being the seventh 
in order of birth. Mrs. MiddlecofT died in 
1888; her husband is still living, now in his 
eighty-second year. 

Jehu B. Middlecoff was torn in Clinton, 
Mo., Sept. 18, 1866. He attended Clinton 
Academy, graduating with the degree of B. 
S., and then entered the University of Mich- 
igan, where he received the degree of LL. B. 
in 1891. and that of LL. M. in 1892. While 
at the University he was secretary of the 
law faculty and assistant professor of the 
I'letcher Chair, during the time he was 
working for his LL. M. degree. On July 
4, 1 892. he came to Duluth, and the follow- 
ing January opened a law office in partner- 
.sliip with Henry Lardner. This arrangement 
was continued until Feb. i, 1895, when a 
new partnership was entered into with C. C. 
Teare, which was dissolved in 1898, when 
Mr. Teare joined the army during the Span- 
isli-.\merican war. In 1898 Mr. Middle- 
coff was elected judge of probate, and 
served as such two years, 1899 and 1900. 
] le was a candidate for renomination in 
1900, but was defeated in the convention, 
but he was nominated for 1902 and elected, 
taking office Jan. i, 1903. 

On Nov. 5, 1888, Judge Middlecoff mar- 
ried Jessie Boyd, of Maryland, daughter of 
Robert and Agnes (Ferguson) Boyd. Mr. 
Boyd was foreman at the coal mines in Alle- 
gany county, Md., and died in 1.891 at Lon- 



26 



COMAIICiMORATINli BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



aconing, Md. ]lis wile died when lier 
daughter, Mrs. Rliddlecoff, was very young, 
leaving a family of eight children, 'all of 
whom are living. Judge and Mrs. Middle- 
coff are the parents of the following chil- 
dren : Robert II.. Louis E., Mary E. and 
Lucille. The family arc members of the 
Methodist Church. 

Judge Middlccoff is a member of many 
fraternal organizations, the K. I'., Norcii 
Star Lodge, No. 35, of Duluth; Royal Ar- 
canum, Council No. 1483, of Duluth; Mod- 
ern Samaritans, Alpha Lodge, No. i, of 
Duluth; I. O. ]'., Court Commerce, of 
Duluth ; and an honorary member of the 
Maccabees. He also belongs to the Cham- 
ber of Commerce, the Commercial Club, 
and the Garlield Republican Club, of Duluth. 

MlCllAl-.L BARin'. The profession 
of the law is naturally attractive to men of 
keen and logical minds, and the success at- 
tained by many demonstrates that the ranks 
of lawyers are not so overcrowded as 10 
make persistent and able effort of no avail. 
Among those who have risen steadily in their 
line of work is Michael Barry, a leading 
attorney and influential citizen of Rhillips, 
Price county. He is a native of Ireland, 
born in Oueenstown, July 4, 1846, the son 
of Richard and Mary (O'Keefe) Barry. 

The Barry family for many generations 
have lived at or near Oueenstown, and only 
a few have driflcil away into other lands. 
Richard Barry, a boot and slioe dealer, is 
still living there, now in his eighty-eighth 
year. His wife, who died in "i860, bore 
him seven children, of whom Michael and one 
sister, Mary J., are the only ones in America. 

Michael Barry was educated in Ireland 
and after finishing his education, began his 
business life by working in a shipping office 
and drug store. On coming of age he sailed 
for the United States, and after spending 
a few months at Randolph, Mass., he pushed 
on westward, to Montello, Wis., and from 
there to Bloomfield, Waushara counts', 
where he was engaged for some time in a 
clerical capacity. In 1869 he located at 
Fremont, and during his residence tliere 



read law by himself, being admitted t(j the 
l>ar in January, 1878. 

The year following Mr. Barry decided 
upon Phillips as offering the best opening 
for a young lawyer, and time has more than 
justitied his course. Besides attaining prom- 
inence in his profession, he has taken a lead- 
ing part in county and town politics, and 
has been identilietl with a number of business 
enterprises in Phillips, so that he is as gen- 
erally known as any man in the place. 

Mr. Barry was originally a Democrat in 
his political views, but was never bound 
by party lines in his voting. Of late years 
be has come out completely as an independ.- 
ent. For fifteen years he was a member of 
the board of education for Phillips. He was 
the first deputy county clerk, when the county 
was organized, and was the second county 
treasurer. He has also served for some 
time as deputy register of deeds, and was 
district attorney four years. All these posi- 
tions were filled most satisfactorily, for Mr. 
Barry brought to the duties the methods 
and i)rinciples of a good business man, and 
\\i>n the entire confidence of his constitu- 
ents. 

Besides attending to the extensi\e and 
lucrative practice which he has built up, 
Mr. Barry has done much to develop the 
town. He was one of the incorporators of 
the State Bank of Phillips, and is president 
and a director of it; he was also an incor- 
porator of the Price County Land and Im- 
provement Company, and holds the offices of 
secretary and treasurer in it. 

Still another department of the city's life 
with which Mr. Barry is in close touch is 
that of social organizations. He was a 
charter member of Elk River Lodge, No. 
306, I. O. O. F., and is a past grand ; in the 
Masonic fraternity he belongs to Ashland 
Commandery, No. 22, K. T. ; and is past 
master of Phillips Lodge and High Priest 
of Keystone Chapter. Mr. Barry and his 
family are connected with the Presbyterian- 
Church. 

In 1876 Mr. IJarry married Jeannette L. 
.'^umncr, who was Ix^rn in Michigan, the 
daughter of Ira and Margaret Sumner. Mr. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



-7 



Sumner was one of tlie pioneers of Waupaca 
county, and for nine years held tiie position 
of United States deputy surveyor. Mr. and 
Mrs. Barry ha\-e had live children li\ing, as 
follows : .\rthur R. ; John Sumner, a stu- 
dent in the University of Wisconsin; Mary 
J. and Jessie A., both graduates of the State 
Xormal School at Stevens Point, and at 
present teaching; and Gertrude, a student in 
the Phillips high school. 

The oldest son, Arthur R. Barry, was 
graduated from the law course of the Uni- 
versity of Minnesota in 1900, and since that 
time has been in partnership with his father 
under the firm name of Barry & Barry. The 
firm does a general law, real estate and in- 
surance business. Young Mr. Barry has 
held the position of district attorney since 
1900. He is a promising young lawyer and 
bids fair in time to rival his father. 

HON. ROBERT LAIRD McCOR- 
MICK, now of Tacoma, Wash., retired 
banker and lumberman of Hayward, Saw- 
yer Co., Wis., is of Scotch-Irish descent and 
possesses the industry, thrift and tenacity 
of purpose characteristic of that race. 

The founder of the McCormick family iii 
America was John McCormick, a native of 
Ireland, who emigrated to this country dur- 
ing the colonists' struggle to throw off the 
yoke of British tyranny. He joined the 
Continental army in Pennsylvania, and by 
meritorious service rose to the rank of en- 
sign. His son. John Fleming McCormick-, 
married Agnes White, daughter of Col. 
Hugh White, a gallant veteran of Ixith the 
war of the Revolution and that of 181 2, and 
they became the parents of Alexander Mc- 
Cormick. 

Alexander McCormick, father of Robert 
L., was torn at Great Island, Pa., in 1817, 
and served three years as a private in the 
Civil war, but most of the time was on de- 
tached service, as he was not in robust health. 
After the close of the war he dealt in real 
estate in several of the western States and 
died in moderate circumstances in Sedalia, 
Mo., in 1877. He married Jane Hayes 
Laird, who was bom in Union county, I'a., 



in i8jo. and dictl ni (."linton county, in th.it 
State, in 1849. She was of Irish-English 
descent and among her ancestors were many 
who rose to distinction in the military serv- 
ice of this country. She was a daughter of 
Robert H. Laird, a man of Scotch descent, 
whose religious affiliations were with the 
Quakers. She was also a sister of W. H. 
Laird, of the well known firm of Laird, 
Norton & Company. 

Robert Laird McCormick was born Oct. 
29, 1847, 'it Bald Eagle Farm, Clinton Co., 
Pa. He attended the graded schools of 
Lock Haven, Pa., from 1854 to 1861. In 
April of the last named year he went with 
Company B, nth P. V. I. to Harrisburg, 
but was sent home, as he was much too 
young for the serx-ice. He was afterward 
sent to Saunder's Military Institute, West 
Philadelphia, where he remained during the 
war. Upon leaving this institution he 
studied law with George White, of Williams- 
port. He then entered the general ofiice of 
the Philadelphia & Erie Railway Company, 
where he remained several months. His next 
occupation was that of clerk in a general 
store at Tiffin, Ohio, in which he was en- 
gaged a year. In March, 1868, he became 
cashier of the Laird, Norton Co., lumber 
manufactMrers, of Winona, Minn., with 
which he has ever since been intimately 
associated. Losing his health from confine- 
ment in the office, lie opened a retail lumber 
yard at Waseca, Minn., which, proving 
profitable, he continued until 1882. While 
residing at Waseca he filled the office of 
councilman and mayor and was State sena- 
tor during the legislative session of 1880-82. 

While attending to his official duties in 
St. Paul, Mr. McCormick became acf|uaintcd 
with H. H. Porter, then president of the 
Chicago. St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha 
Railroad. Throu,gh him he became inter- 
ested in the immense tracts of pine timber 
along the line of that road in northern Wis- 
consin. As a result the North Wisconsin 
Lumber Company was organized, of whicli 
he became secretary and treasurer. Asso- 
ciated with them in the enterprise were I"". 
\\'eyerhauser, W. H. Laird, M. G. and 



28 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



James L. Norton. A. J. Hayward and 
others. The company purchased fifteen 
townships of heavily timbered land in what 
is now Sawyer county (named after Hon. 
Philetus Sawyer, ^vho was then vice-presi- 
dent of the Omaha Railroad), and on this 
tract of land built a large sawmill, and laid 
out a town which was named in honor of 
one of its stockholders, A. J. Havward. In 

1883 the sawmill was completed and opera- 
tions began which continued uninterruptedlv 
until Sept. 8. 1902, when it was sold to the 
North Wisconsin Lumber & Manufacturing 
Company. During this period Mr. McCor- 
mick was part owner and active manager of 
the company's affairs in Sawyer county. In 

1884 the company organized the Sawyer 
County Bank, which is claimed to have liad 
the largest individual responsibility of any 
financial institution in Wisconsin. In 1890 
Mr. McCormick organized the Northern 
Grain & Flour Mill Co., of Ashland, Wis., 
and has been secretary and treasurer ever 
since. The company has an office in Chi- 
cago, and two elevators in Manitowoc -with 
a capacity of two million bushels. He i^ 
president of the Mississippi & Rum Riv;r 
Boom Co., of Minneapolis ; secretary and 
treasurer of the Mississippi Lumber Co., of 
Clinton, Iowa; treasurer of the New Rich- 
mond (Wis.) Roller Mills Co.; president of 
the Northern Boom Co., at Brainerd, 
Minn.; president of the Mississippi Valley 
Lumber Association, Minneapolis; vice- 
president of the Flambeau Land Co., Chip- 
pewa Falls, Wis.; vice-president of the St. 
Paul Boom Co., St. Paul. Minn.; president 
of the Mississippi Land Co., Minneapolis; 
president of the Duluth Universal Mill Com- 
pany; and secretary and active manager of 
the Weyerhauser Timber Co., Tacoma. 
Wash., perhaps the largest organization of 
its kind in the world. 

Mr. McCormick also has many interests 
other than business, having served as presi- 
dent of the Hayward Free Library Associa- 
tion and of the State Historical Society of 
Wisconsin; as president of the board of 
trustees of the .\shland Academy, Ashland. 



Wis., and as a trustee of the Congregational 
Church of Hayward. He is an eminent 
member of the Masonic fraternity, having 
held some of the highest offices therein ; a 
member of the Sons of Veterans ; a member 
of the Sons of the American Revolution ; of 
the Society of the War of 1812; and of the 
Minnesota Club. He has always been an 
active and influential Republican. In 1883 
Ciov. J. M. Rusk commissioned him treas- 
urer in Sawyer county, to which office he was 
elected and re-elected, serving in all six years. 
He was subsequently chairman of the county 
board of supervisors for two years. In 
1880 he was a delegate to the national con- 
vention held at Chicago, and in 1900 to the 
national convention at Philadelphia. For a 
number of years he was president of the 
jjoard of education of the town of Hayward, 
and, in recognition of his services in behalf 
of the cause of education, the fine new school 
building erected in the village in 1892 was 
named the McCormick school. 

Mr. McCormick is a writer of some 
ability and several vigorous articles from 
his pen have appeared in the papers and mag- 
azines from time to time. His "Many Rea- 
sons Why the United States Government 
Indian School should be located on Sectioi 
15-41-9, near Hayward, Wisconsin," was 
quite logically arranged and put into clean- 
cut English, and it was chiefly due to his 
influence that the institution was finally lo- 
cated at that place. His "Press History of 
Sawyer County, Wisconsin," published in 
1898, was a thorough treatment of that sub- 
ject. His "Evolution of Indian Education 
in Sawyer County, Wisconsin," is an inter- 
esting and valuable paper which treats of 
the several phases of the problem of Indian 
education. Since July, 1903, he has resided 
at Tacoma, Washington. 

Mr. McCormick was married Sept. 11, 
1S70, to Anna E., daughter of Daniel and 
IMinerva Goodman, of Seneca county, Ohio. 
They have two sur\-iving children : William 
Laird, born in 1876; and Robert Allen, born 
in 1885, who is now a student at Shattuck 
Military Academy. The former represented 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



29, 



liis district in the State Assembly during tlic 
years 1901-02. 

IIOX. WILLIAM LAIKIJ McCOR- 
iMICK, one of the most prominent young 
l)rofessional men of Hayward, Wisconsin, 
was born in Waseca, Minnesota, June u. 
1876. After attending pubUc scliool at 
May ward, Wisconsin, lie went to Shat- 
luck Militar)' School, at Faribault, Minn., 
from which institution lie was graduated in 
1893. Thence he went to Phillips Andover 
Academy, where he completed the classical 
course in 1894, after which lie spent a year at 
Yale. From 1895 to 1899 he was in the 
grain business in Chicago, after which he 
studied law at W^isconsin University. He 
was admitted to the Bar in April, 1903, since 
which time he lias practiced at Hayward in 
connection with the land business. He has 
lieen quite active in public affairs, and in the 
fall of 1900 was elected, on the Republican 
ticket, a member of the Wisconsin General 
Assembly. He supported the administration 
of Gov. LaFollette during the ensuing ses- 
sion. Mr. McCormick is at present serving 
as secretary of the Eleventh District Con- 
gressional Committee. He owns a controll- 
ing interest in the Hayward Republican 
Company, which publishes the Republican, 
the oldest newspaper in the county, and c(in- 
trilnites much of the editorial work. Socially 
he is a thirty-second degree Mason and a 
member of two Greek letter fraternities, 
the Phi Delta Phi and the Phi Kappa Psi. 

HON. GEORGE B. HUDNALL, a 
prominent attorney of Superior and State 
senator for his district, is one of tiie substan- 
tial, self-made men of the State. He was 
lx)rn at Rural, Waupaca Co.. Wis., Jan. 
9, 1864, son of Roah M. and Susan (Day- 
ton) Hudnall. 

James H. Hudnall, his grandfather, was 
tlie son of English emigrants. He l)ecame a 
farmer and planter in Virginia, where his 
son, Roah M., was ixarn, in the town nf 
Warrenton. Roah M. Hudnall came to 
Wisconsin in 1855, locating in Waupaca 
county, where lie acquired a large tract of 



land. His nearest railroad station was Fond 
du Lac. He is still living on this old home- 
stead, wiiich he purchased as wild land. Vor 
some years he was interested in lumbering, 
and during the administration of President 
Cleveland (second term) he served as post- 
master. With these few exceptions his en- 
tire time has been devoted to the clearing and 
improving of his land. Roah M. Hudnall 
married Susan Dayton, who was born in 
Attica, N. Y., daughter of Lyman Dayton, 
a native of Vermont, who for some years 
was a merchant at Attica, N. Y., but who 
in 1850, came to W'aui)aca county. Wis., 
where he purchased land in Dayton township 
which was named in his honor. When the 
Dayton family settled in Wisconsin their 
nearest postoffice was Berlin, thirty miles 
away, while their market was Milwaukee, 
one hundred and fifty miles distant, whence 
everything was drawn by team. 

George B. Hudnall attended the district 
school, and after he attained the age of twelve 
years his summers were devoted to work on 
the home farm. He then attended the high 
school in W'aupaca one winter. Fanning 
was his chief occupation until he was twenty 
four years of age. For three terms he taught 
school, and then began the study of law un- 
der the able tuition of Judge Myron Reed, 
and later with his successor. Entering the 
Senior class of the Law Department of the 
University of Wisconsin, he was graduated 
in the class of 1891. The following year he 
practiced in Waupaca, but since Nov. 20, 
1892, he has been in practfce at Superior. 
He has attained a high place in the estima- 
tion of his fellow members at the bar, for 
his brilliant oratory and his wide reading. 
His integrity is above question, and he has 
made it a point never to accept a case where 
he could not conscientiously say his client 
was innocent. 

In the fall of 1902 Mr. Hudnall was 
elected State senator on the Republican tick- 
et. His nomination was made after a pro- 
longed fight but his election was without op- 
])osition. He made a distinguished record 
in the Senate. He served on the Judiciarx- 
committee, the committee on Military .\f- 



roMMi'MORArixi'. niO(iR.\riiic.\i, i^i^'orh 



fairs, and was cliainnaii of the luigrossiiig 
committee. Among- the hills which he in- 
troduced was Ihe tanums Wisconsin Grain 
Inspection Hill, which attracted much atten- 
tion the cotnitry over, Init which was del'eat- 
otl by one vote in the Senate, i lis speech in 
support of this measure was his;hly com- 
ntended by the press, irrespective of party. 
On Jan. 25, 181)3, I\lr. Ihulnall was mar- 
ried to Miss Sophia Wallace, tlanghter oi 
William and Mary (Jones) Wallace, ot 
lola. Wis., and they have one child, Mar- 
jorie. Mr. and Mrs. llndnall are members 
of the b'irst Presbyterian (.'hm\-h. and he is 
president of the board of trustees, h'ralcr- 
nally he is a Knii^ht Templar Mason and a 
member of the K. \\ 

I'RAXK IXW PAY. who was one ol" 
the enterprising;' and successful business men 
of Huluth for many years, and in his day 
by far the mo.st successful dealer in jewelry 
in that city, had a prosperous career, thoui;li 
he dieil at a contparatively early age. 

Mr. Day was born .\iiril 16, 1S60, at 
Kinnickinnick. St. Croix Lo,. Wis., son of 
]")oiiglas D. and Sarah (.Vrmitage) l~)ay, the 
former of whom was a native of Burlington. 
Vt. The family migrated to Wisconsin 
about 1S51). settling at Kinnickinnick. on a 
farm, and after several ye.nrs' residence there 
removed [o River b'alls. same State, where 
the father is now living in retirement. The 
mother died in June. iSSo. 

l-'rank O. Day was about ten years old 
when the family settled in River b'alls. and 
he attended the public school and acatlemy at 
that place. At an early age he began to 
learn the jewelry business, ami in the fall of 
1S80 went to Bismarck. Dak., where he 
became a partner of his brotlier. llemy 11. 
Day, in that line. In 1S85 be sold his in- 
terest and located at Dnluth. where be 
opened a jewelry store, continuing in the bus- 
iness there until his death, lie was at the 
head of his line in the city. Mr. Day Iniilt 
a store on Superior street, anil made other 
investments in real estate in Dnluth. pros- 
pering in all bis ventures, lie was an enthu- 
siast in promoting the business and public 



welfare of his adopted city, ;uh1 made many 
stanch friends by reason of his integrity and 
straightforward methods, lie was a Repub- 
lican in politics, but not a politician in any 
sense of the word, b'or a number of years 
befiire his death Mr. Day's poor health neces- 
sitated his spending a portion of each year 
in the South, and it was while on one of 
these trips that he passed away, May 12. 
H)oo, at Allnupierque, N. M. Mr. Day was 
a thirly-seciMid degree Mason, and was 
buried w ith all the rites of the fraternity. 

On Jan. jo, 1887, Mr. Day was married 
to Miss Mattie .\. Taylor, and they had one 
child, Cecil l-lgbcrt. .Mrs. Day is still inter- 
esteil in the jewelry business, which is now 
coiulncted under the iirin name of F. I"). Day 
vK: (."o. She is a native of Sarnia, Oittario, 
and came to Minnesota with her parents, 
David and Mary J. (Johnston) Taylor, in 
infancy, the family locating at Red Wing. 
Mr. Taylor now lives in North Dakota, lie 
was born in Ireland, of English and Scottish 
parents, and his wife w'as torn in New 
Unmswick. of English parents. Mrs. Day 
received her education in the public schools 
of Red A\'ing, and taught for several years 
prio!' to her marriage. 

ROL.Wn nORW IX ll.Wl'X. presi- 
dent of the city council of Dnluth, an office 
to which he has twice been unanimously 
elected, and superintendent of the I^a Dow 
Implement Co., is one of the enterprising 
young men of Dnluth to whom the city owes 
much. He comes of good old New Eng- 
land ancestry, and is a native of the Green 
Mountain State, liorn in Sudbury. Rutland 
county, Oct. 17, 1866, .son of John S. and 
Celestia (Arnold) Haven, both natives of 
the same State. 

William C. Haven, his grandfather, was 
born in Connecticut, and learned the trade 
of cooper. Going to Sudbury. Vt.. he car- 
rieil on his trade in connection with farm- 
ing, lie was a typical New England pio- 
neer, rugged and strong, honest and up- 
right. He lived to be more than four .score 
years old. His wife, whose maiden name 
was also Ha\H.'n. wa* not known to be anv 



COM.MIuMORATUI': I'.H )( .l-IAl 'I I iCy\L RI'XORD 



31 



coniiecti(jii of tlie faiiiilw Slic, tuo, ;il- 
taiiictl a good old age. 

John S. Haven learned the cooper's 
trade from his father, hut did more or le>s 
at the carpenter's trade while living on his 
farm. Jle was an accomplished musician, 
and playeil tlic hass viol in one of the lead- 
ing string hands of the State, lie died at 
the age of forty-five. He married Celesti.i 
Arnold, the daughter of a farmer at IJen- 
.son, Vt., where she was horn, and who is 
still living at Hortonville, Rutland (n., 
Vermont. 

J-Joland i). Haven attended the district 
school, and in his youth learned the car- 
l)enter's trade. In 1883 he came west, 
locating in Xorthtield, Minn., where he 
worked at his trade for tliree or four years. 
He tiien spent two years in a sash and door 
factory in St. Paul, and eighteen months in 
Minneapolis. In 1889 he came to Dulutli 
and found employment in a similar fac- 
tory, of which he in time became f(jreman. 
He proved his worth as an e.xcculi\e 
officer, and on J;ui. ]. 1894, he went '■■> 
W'atertown, Iowa, to become superintend- 
ent of the Cedar Valley Manufacturing Co., 
where he spent three seasons, all the time, 
however, retaining his residence in Duluth. 
In March, 1897, he became dispatcher and 
bool<l<ee])er for the Stevens Tug Co.. 
continuing with that concern until Jan. i. 
1902, when he entered the real-estate busi- 
ness, and met with considerable success 'n 
his dealings. Since the spring of 1903 he 
has been superintendent of the La Dow 
Implement Co., a growing industry which 
was started at that time. 

Mr. Haven is an unswerving Rei)ub- 
lican, and has been active in party work. In 
the .spring of 1900 lie was elected to the 
city council from the Seventh ward, and re- 
elected in 1902. He took a pnjminent part 
in promoting the adoption of the new city 
charter, and the ])urcha,sc of the We.st Du- 
luth water plant. He was unanimou.sly 
elected president of the council both terms, 
though j)olitically that Ijody is evenly di- 
vided. During the Congre.ssiona! cam- 
jiaign of 1902 Mr. Haven was secretary of 



the Congressional district committee, and 
li"ik a very active interest in the nomina- 
tion and election of Hon. J. Adam liede. 
(Jn May 2, 1893, Mr. Haven was mar- 
ried to Miss l^elle Hopkins, daughter of 
Albert and Sarah Hoi)kins, of Duluth. She 
was born in Vermontville, Mich., and re- 
ceived a good education in the public 
.scho(jls. She is active in the wrirk of (jracc 
Methodist Epi.scopal Church. Socially Mr. 
Il.ivcn has, since 1891, been a member of 
ilif I. (), (). F., and has passed all the chairs 
in Zenith Lodge, No. 160, in which he is 
at present a trustee. He is an ex-represen- 
tative to the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. 
He also belongs to the A. O. U. W., the 
K. O. T. M., and M. VV. A. He is most 
esteemed by all who know him, whether in 
business, social or jjolitical circles. 

CAllklb'.L K. SCHWIXDT. One of 
the prominent attorneys of Price county is 
Cnbriel E. Schwindt, a (German by birth, 
but educated in this country, to which he 
came in his fifth year. He was born Dec. 
28, 1848, in Waltbethlehem, Prussia, and 
his parents were Jacob and Catherine 
(Kratz) Schwindt. 

Jacob Schwindt was a shoemaker Ijy 
trade, and followed that work several years 
m (lermany before coming with his wife 
Uj America in 1852. They went io Wau- 
kesha county. Wis., and lived in both Dela- 
iield and Waukesha, supporting the family 
by making shoes. He died when only forty- 
nine, at Waukesha, Jan. 24, 1877, and his 
wife survived him only a year. Mrs. 
ScJiwindt's father, Valentine Kratz, was 
one of tlic pioneers of Waukesha countv, 
and .settled on a farm in the town of New 
lierlin in the early forties. Jacob and Cath- 
erine Schwindt had six children, born as 
follows : Catherine, born during the voyage 
to America, and now deceased; John, de- 
cea.sed: (iabricl; Margaret, who married a 
Mr. DcWitt, of Chicago; Lena, now Mrs. 
Joseph Emery, of Chicago; and William^ 
of Waukesha. 

Cai)riel E. Schwindt was .sent to the 
public schools, and then to Carroll College, 



32 



COMMI-MORATIVE P.lCXIRAI'l IICAL RECORD 



from wliicli lie gr;uluated in the litei;nv 
course in 1877. liven before compleling- 
his college course, the young man had be- 
gun reatling law, in the office of Samuel 
Randall, of Waukesha, and in 1878 was ad- 
mitted to the Bar of the Circuit Court, au'l 
two years later, in January, 1880, to the 
Supreme Court. 

For a time Mr. Schwindt practicctl in 
Waukesha, but about 1881 went to Kim- 
ball, Brule Co., S. Dak., where he remained 
until 1886. In that territory he was promi- 
nent in public affairs, and was a delegate to 
the territorial con\ention which drafted a 
State Constitution, the basis of the pres- 
ent one. In that convention he acted as 
chairman of the committee on County and 
Township Organizations, and was also a 
member of the committee on Judiciary. In 
this convention the delegates paid all the 
expenses themselves. In Dakota he was a 
director of schools for several years, and 
also served as municipal attorney. 

In the fall of 1886 Mr. Schwindt re- 
turned to Wisconsin, and after practicing 
for some two years at Medford, went in 
the fall of 1890, to Price county and opened 
an office at Prentice. Twelve years later 
he removed to Phillips, finding that a more 
convenient location, and since going there 
he has given his exclusive attention to law. 

Mr. Schwindt has always been greatly 
interested in politics, both local and na- 
tional and has taken the stump in several 
campaigns, always speaking for the Demo- 
cratic party, to which he belongs. He has 
been the regular nominee of the party for 
district attorney since he went to Price 
county, but has never been an active candi- 
date. During his resid.ence in Prentice he 
was elected village attorney. 

Mr. Schwindt has been twice married. 
He first led to the altar, in 1870, Barljara 
Hart, of Chicago, who lived only three 
years after her marriage, and left one child, 
since deceased. He was married to his 
present wife in 1878. She was a Miss 
Alice Doane, daughter of Richard Doane, of 
Genesee, Wis. To this union have been 
born four children : Orville, agent for the 



Wisconsin Central Railway at Dorchester, 
Wis.; Bernalda, who married Harrv Miller; 
Stella ; and Charles, all of whom have been 
carefully educated and given every advan- 
tage. 

ABR.VHAM G. DESCENT, a capitali.st 
and prominent citizen of Superior, Douglas 
county, who is now living in his old age in 
liractic.'d retirement, was born at Sackett's 
Ilarlior, N. Y., Feb. ig, 1830. 

On both sides of the family I\Ir. Descent 
comes from sea-faring antecedents, as his 
father. Anthony Descent, was a sailor who 
lost his life on Lake Ontario during the in- 
fancy of his son ; his mother's father, Abra- 
ham Grennay. was an officer on one of the 
Atlantic vessels; while his maternal great- 
grandfather, Robert Cameron, was con- 
nected with the British naval service in a 
clerical capacity, that of .secretary at Quebec. 
]\Irs. Mary Ann { Grennay) Descent, wife of 
Anthony Descent, was born in Kingston. 
Ont.. of Scotch-English ancestrw Her 
mother, Mary Cameron, was reared and edu- 
cated in a con\ent at Quebec. 

Abraham G. Descent was a small boy 
when his mother decided to make her home 
for the future in Painesville. Ohio. While 
still in his boyhood, he began his intlustrious 
career by working on the Ohio canal, and 
while thus employed made the acquaintance 
of James A. Garfield, who was then engaged 
there in a similar capacity. As he grew to 
manhood Mr. Descent learned the carpen- 
ter's trade and was kept busily occupied at 
that for some years. 

Tn 1 85 1, thinking that a much better o])- 
portunity for a young man was offered 
farther W^est. Mr. Descent tried a new loca- 
tion, going to Mendota, 111. There his 
mother, who had accompanied him. died, 
and after only four years in that place he 
went to the northward, first to St. Paul, and 
then on to Monticello, Minn., where he took 
up a pre-emption claim. This he sold before 
long, but not until he had platted thereon a 
town site called Silver Creek. In the winter 
of 1858-59 he took a contract to build twenty 
miles of road from Milles Lac toward Su- 




ABRAHAM G. DESCENT 



COMMI'..\)ORATl\'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



33 



])eri(ir. A1)out tlie same lime lie made a 
\cnture in the cattle l)iisiinc.ss, buying a drove 
in Anoka. Minn., whicli he shipped to ilie 
Michigan mines, tlie first consignment of 
tliat kind from tlie Head of the Lakes. For 
that one season Mr. Descent lived in Su- 
perior. l)ut returned at its close to Monti- 
cello, where he made his headquarters until 
iSjj. In that year he took a contract for 
clearing the route and furnishing ties for 
what was later known as the St. Paul & Du- 
luth Railroad. After this temiiorary absence 
he returned to Monticello. where he at first 
opened a general store, and subsequently 
dealt in real estate in Minneapolis, with 
various ventures in other lines of business. 
In iS8o he made a decided change of base 
and for nine years was a resident of Wahpe- 
ton, N. D., where he acquired a farm of 
i.ooo acres and improved it until it became 
one of the most completely equipped in the 
county. Since 1S89 Mr. Descent has made 
his home in Superior, investing in real estate 
and building. He has put up a number of 
buildings which are a substantial addition 
to the city, such as the Albany Block and 
the ^Music Hall, the latter structure the lead- 
ing place of entertainment in the older part 
of the city. In all the enterprises in which 
he has been engaged, he has never made a 
failure nor been defendant in an}' legal pro- 
ceedings. 

Mr. Descent's wife was a Miss Miranda 
Chandler, to whom he was married April 
26, 1856. She was hnrn in Windsor. Can- 
ada, the daughter of William Chandler, an 
extensive railroad contractor and capitalist 
of ^Minneapolis. Mr. and Mrs. Descent have 
had three children : Frank C, who resides 
at Sui)erior : Morris, who died at the age of 
twenty years and a daughter who died in 
childhood. 

Xot being a believer in immortality, Mr. 
Descent is naturally connected with none of 
the established churches of Superior. In full 
sympathy, however, with all that goes to 
make a life moraband ujm'ght, he has from 
early life been a member of the Masonic 
fraternity. He has been a Republican ever 
since the party was organized, and has filled 
3 



several local positions of responsibility, but 
is in no sense an active partisan. • 

HON. ImMANUEL G. SWAN- 
STROM, ex-Senator and prominent real 
estate dealer at Duluth, Minn., was born 
Feb. 7, 1838, at Carlshamn, Sweden, son of 
John E. and Benedicta Swanstrom, both of 
Sweden. John E. Swanstrom was a farmer 
and also owned a large bakery and confec- 
tionery establishment, which he successfully 
operated. His death took place in 1852, 
while his widow died in 1868. Four chil- 
dren were born to them : Emanuel G. ; 
Charles W., deceased; Adolph F., of Du- 
luth ; and Marie S., residing in Sweden. 

After being educated in the schools of his 
native land Mr. Swanstrom went atoard a 
sailing vessel in 1854, and after thirteen 
weary weeks landed in New York City. . 
However, he did ncjt long remain there, but 
starting west went to Chisago county, Minn., 
and then in 1856, to Oneota, now VVest I>u- 
lutli. There he obtained employment in the 
mills and woods until 1879. During this time 
he worked very hard, and, saving his money, 
finally established a grocery store which he 
operated for nine years: be then started a 
similar store at No. i Garfield avenue, Du- 
luth. This he operated until the fall of 
i8go, when he sold his stock, other matters 
engrossing his time and attention. On March, 
1884, President Arthur appointed him 
receiver in the United States Land Office, 
and he served three and one-half years as 
such. Before that time he was county com- 
missioner for thirteen 3'ears. For two years 
he was sent to the Legislature, serving in 
the House during 1873 and 1874, and then 
he served two terms in the Senate, from 1877 
to 1879. In addition to this he has held 
many of the minor offices in the county, an. I 
is one of the leading Republicans of the 
Stale. 

On June 18, 1865, Mr. Swanstrom was 
unitefl in marriage with Miss Jennie L. Al>- 
bott, of Conneaut, Ohio, daughter of Dwigbt 
Abbott, who was Iwrn in Connecticut, but 
came west in 1858. He was a cabinetm.iker 
until his death, which occurred in 1877. ^^ 



34 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



iiiarricd Ann J. Beals of New York, who 
died in tlie fall of 1896. They had three 
daughters: Helen R., married to Samuel 
Harris, of Chicago, 111. ; Mrs. Swanstrom ; 
Kate C, who married Charles Wentworth, 
^nd now resides in Duluth. 

Mr. and Mrs. Swanstrom have had seven 
■children, six of whom are now hving: (i) 
Charles VV., born Sept. 9, 1866, married 
Emma Hall, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and they 
have four children: Gertrude, born Sept. i, 
1888; Emma H., 1889; William J., Feb. 8, 
1892: and Edwin G., Oct. 7, 1894. 
Charles W. has charge of the flax depart- 
ment for the State government at the Board 
of Trade building at Uuluth, and he is a 
member of the A. O. U. W., at Duluth, and 
a very successful and popular young man. 
■{2) Kate B., born June 24. 1868, married 
Joseph C. Helm, of Duluth, and they have 
two children : Viola B., torn April 29, 1890 ; 
and Meredith, Jan. 24, 1893. (3) Adolph 
F., born Sept. 2, 1869, married Kate Stew- 
art, of VValkertown. Canada, and thev have 
two sons: Robert E., born Sept. 12, 1898; 
and Ehvight A., born April 28, 1905. He is 
a real estate and insurance dealer in Duluth, 
where he is a member of the A. O. U. W., 
and a 32d degree Mason. (4) George \'ic- 
tor, born Aug. 15, 1875. died at the age of 
.twelve years. (5) Jennie S.. born Sept. 15, 
T873, married Thomas A. Merritt, of Du- 
luth, and they have two sons : George A , 
T)orn Feb. 3. 1893; and Carleton E., born 
April 25, 1901. (6) Emanuel A., Ixirn Jan. 
2y, 1878, is a stenographer at Duluth. "(7) 
Walter A., born June 29, i88r. is in the in- 
surance business in Duluth. These children 
are all well educated and prosperous, and 
liave grown Into men and women of whom 
Iheir parents may well be proud. 

Mrs. Swanstrom is a member of St. 
l^uke's Episcopal Church, in which she takes 
a great deal of interest, b'or many years 
Mrs. Swanstrom has been president of the 
f^uild. Siie is also a meml)er of the Order 
of tiie Eastern Star and the Woman's Relief 
Corps, and is a lady beloved on all sides and 
deservedly .so, for she possesses a sweet and 
Joving disposition and many of the cardinal 



virtues. The beautiful home occupied by the 
family, 21 18 West First street, was built by 
Mr. Swanstrom in 1884, and in addition to 
it he owns considerable property in Duluth 
and Superior. Starting out in life a very 
poor boy, Mr. Swanstrom has risen in a 
wonderful manner, through industry, thrift 
and good management. 

JOHN P. WRAY. Since 188S John 
P. \\'ray has been a well-known citizen of 
West Superior, where he carries on a large 
gas-fitting and plumbing establishment. Mr. 
Wray's birth occurred Jan. 24, 1855, i" St. 
Paul, Minn., and his parents were John and 
Margaret M. (Griffith) Wray, the former 
an Englishman and the latter a native of 
New York State. John Wray learned the 
plasterer's trade in Lincolnshire and came 
when a young man to New York : from there 
he moved to Pennsvlvania, then to Iowa and 
in 1843 went to St. Paul. About three years 
later he moved to Red Wing, Minn., where 
he lived nearly twenty years. He enlisted 
during the Civil war and died while in the 
army. Mrs. Margaret M. (Griffith) Wray, 
was bom in Utica, N. Y., and is now a resi- 
dent of Granite Falls, Minn. Her father, a 
W^elshman and a Presbyterian minister, 
spent the larger part of his life in New 
York. 

The boyhood of John P. Wrav was spent 
in Red Wing, where he attended the public 
schools, and when he was twenty years old 
he became a millwright, following this occu- 
pation for a number of years. He engaged 
in the plumbing business in Red Wing, and 
on coming to West Superior in 1888. estab- 
lished himself as a plumber and gas fitter, 
his business also including the fitting of 
steam heating apparatus. Mr. Wray has 
su])erintended the fitting of many of the best 
buildings in West Superior and has ac- 
quired an enviable reputation for fine work- 
manship and business integrity. 

In 1876 John P. Wray and Sarah J. 
Hudson were united in marriage. Mrs. 
^^'ray was a daughter of George and Maria 
Hudson, of Red Wing. Two children have 
been b(Trn to this union: J. Griffith, formerly 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



35 



a teacher in Superior, now a student in a 
school of dramatic art in \e\v York City; 
and Kittie C. Mr. Wray was brought up in 
tlie Episcopal faith. He is a Mason and a 
member of Superior Lodge, I. O. O. F., 
where he has passed all the chairs. He has 
always been a Republican in political prin- 
ciple. 

JA.MES PATTEN, the able superin- 
tendent of the St. Paul and Western Coal 
Company, at West Superior, and of the Bos- 
ton Coal Dock and Wharf Company, of Du- 
luth, has been actively connected with the 
coal business since his boyhood. He was 
born in Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., Pa., Sept. 
6, 1852, a son of James and Catherine 
(Whitman) Patten. 

James Patten, Sr., was born at Leming- 
ton Parish, Northumberlandshire, but left 
England in early life and located in the 
United States. He spent a few years on a 
farm in Northumberland county. Pa., but 
was employed for the greater part of his life 
as sui)erintendent of coal mines for the Man- 
hattan Coal Company. His w'as a quiet, in- 
dustrious life, which passed to its close 
shortly before his eighty-fourth birthday. 
His death occurred in Schuylkill county. Pa. 
His five brothers and four sisters all came 
to tlie United States. Mrs. Catherine Patten 
also died in Schuylkill county in 1888, in 
her eightieth year. Several of her brothers 
were actively interested in the coal industry 
in the United States in Pennsylvania and 
elsewhere. 

James Patten recei\ed sucli educational 
advantages as the public schools in the hills 
of ea.stern Pennsylvania afforded. At the 
early age of ten he began as a slate picker 
and has ever since been interested in the coal 
business. He became the superintendent of 
the collieries at Eagle Hill and retained the 
position for fourteen years. In 1891 he re- 
moved to Superior to take the position of 
Superintendent of the coal docks of the St. 
Paul and Pacific Coal Company (now the 
St. Paul and Western Coal Company) and 
has been there ever since. After eight years 
of that service he also assumed charge of the 



Boston Coal Dock and Wharf Company, at 
Duluth. 

In June, 1887, Mr. Patten was united in 
matrimony with Miss Lottie Ketner, the 
daughter of Joshua Ketner, of Schuylkill 
county, Pa., and three children have been 
born to them, Katherine M., James W. and 
Eleanor. In 1899 Mr. Patten built a hand- 
some residence on Banks avenue, in West 
Superior, where he has since then made his 
home. The family are prominently identi- 
fied with the Episcopal Church, St. Albans, 
where Mr. Patten has been senior warden 
for several years past. Mr. Patten is a Past 
Master of the Masonic order. Although a 
Republican in his party affiliations, he some- 
times votes independently. 

SAMUEL CARSON McCORMICK. 
M. D., enjoys the unique distinction of be- 
ing in years of continuous practice, the oldest 
representative of the medical profession in 
the city of Duluth. He was born at Selins 
Grove, Union Co., Pa., Sept. 8, 1837. His 
parents, Samuel C. and Sarah (Taggart) 
McCormick, were natives of Northumber- 
land county, that State. His father w^as 
born in 1800, of Irish parents, and died of 
an acute disease at the age of forty-four 
years. His mother was born in 1804, and 
died in 1869, at Lewi.sburg. Pa. Her father, 
David Taggart, was a well-to-do citizen of 
Northumberland county, of Scotch lineage. 

After acquiring an academic educatif)n 
.Samuel Carson McCormick graduated at 
Jefferson Medical College. Philadelphia, in 
1862, with the degree of M. D. In July of 
the same year he was ap])ointed Assistant 
Surgeon of the 134th Pa. V. I., and con- 
tinued with the army until the close of tlie 
Civil war. On May 27, 1863, he became 
Assistant Surgeon of the 8th PennsyKania 
Reserves, and one year later he was made 
Assistant Surgeon of the United States Vol- 
unteers and ordered to McClellan Hospital, 
at Piiiladelphia. From September. 1864, to 
Aug. 7, 1865, he served as Surgeon of the 
202d Pa. V. I. During his service in the 
war of the Rebellion he acquired much valu- 
able professional experience, and soon after 



36 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



the war he was appointed Surgeon of the 
Union Pacific railroad, and spent about two 
years in that capacity, until its completion, 
in 1869. In April, 1870, he located at Du- 
luth, where he has ever since been engaged 
in the general practice of medicine and sur- 
gery. For a short time he was the only resi- 
dent physician in the city. Soon after his 
arrival he was appointed pension examiner, 
and discharged the duties of that position 
until the formation of the United States 
Board of Examining Surgeons, when he be- 
came a member of that body, becoming the 
president of the Board and continuing as 
such to the present time. He is a member 
of the State Medical Society (of which he 
was at one time vice-president) and of the 
St. Louis County Medical Society. He has 
served as health officer of the City and as 
county physician. He is a Republican, but 
has never been a candidate for elective 
office. 

In November, 1871, Dr. McCormick 
was married to Miss Louise E. Smith, 
daughter of Dr. Vespasian Smith, one of 
the pioneer physicians of Wisconsin, and 
afterward a prominent citizen and mayor of 
Duluth. Dr. and Mrs. McCormick have 
two sons: William S., city controller of 
Duluth; and Clinton P., proprietor of the 
Union Credit Company, in the same city. 
The family is connected with the Presby- 
terian Church. Dr. McCormick has long 
been identified witi: the Grand Army of the 
Republic, having helped to organize the first 
post in Duluth, and is also prominent in the 
Military Order of the Loyal Legion. Vov 
more than forty years he has been connected 
with the Masonic Fraternity, and became a 
Knight Templar at Mauch Chunk, Pa., 
whilst living in that State. He has watched 
the growth of his adopted city with pride 
and admiration, and he merits the good will 
of all its citizens. 

VESPASIAN SMITH, M. D., was 
born in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, Oct. 21, 1818. 
His parents were Virginians, who had moved 
to that locality in the spring of 1805. He 
attended the common schools of Mt. Ver- 



non, and afterward prepared himself for a 
trader, following that vocation for one year, 
when he took up the stydy of medicine, un- 
der the tutelage of Dr. J. N. Burr. Subse- 
quently he entered the Medical Department 
of Western Reserve College, at Cleveland, 
graduating from that institution with the 
class of 1 85 1. Pie practiced for several 
years in New Carlisle and Columbus, Ohio, 
from which latter place he moved to Su- 
perior, Wis., in 1857, when this section was 
little more than a wilderness. He remained 
in Superior until i860, when he received a 
government appointment as physician to the 
Indians at the Bayfield Agency. This posi- 
tion he held for eight years, and they were 
hard years, too. He has been known to 
travel forty miles in an open boat on Lake 
Superior to visit a sick Indian, and he was 
never known to refuse a call, no matter how 
hard it was, or under what circumstances. 
Subsec[uently he was made register of the 
Land Office at Bayfield, which position he 
held for two years. 

With the first year of the building of the 
St. Paul & Mississippi River railroad, after- 
ward the St. Paul & Duluth railroad, into 
Duluth, Dr. Smith located here, and from 
that time till his death he was always a 
prominent figure. He was appointed the 
second Collector of Customs of the port of 
Duluth, holding the office for nine years, 
under three administrations. Dr. Smitli 
probably received more government appoint- 
ments, under more different administrations, 
than any other man in the Northwest, his 
first appointment coming under Buchanan's 
administration, and others following, under 
every administration except that of Presi- 
tlent Cleveland. He was for two terms 
mayor of the city of Duluth, and his popu- 
larity is evidenced by the fact that at his 
first election there was not one vote against 
him, and at the second there were three, and 
he cast one of these adverse votes himself. 
He was elected first president of the St. 
Louis County Medical Society, about the 
same time being appointed a member of the 
State Board of Health, a position he held for 
twenty years. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Z7 



Dr. Smith was a member «f tlie Masonie 
fraternity, and had been associated with 
Masons for years. He was a member of the 
Grand Lodge of Ohio, when the first dispen- 
sation for a lodge in the Territory of Minne- 
sota was granted. 

In 1846, the Doctor was married to 
Charlotte E. Neely, of New Carlisle, Ohio, 
and he died in Duluth, Minn., Oct. 11, 1897, 
being survived by two children, Frank B. 
Smith and Mrs. S. C. r^IcCormick, both of 
Duluth. 

WILLIAM SMITH McCORMICK, 
city controller of Duluth, and a young man 
who is rising to a substantial position in that 
city, was born there Feb. 16, 1874, son of 
Dr. Samuel C. and Louise E. (Smith) ilc- 
Cormick. 

Mr. McCormick attended the public 
schools and Rollins College, Winter Park, 
Fla., and later was a student at McCallister 
College, a Presbyterian institution at St. 
Paul. After spending two years at St. Paul 
he returned to Duluth and entered the First 
National Bank of Duluth, in June, 1892, and 
with the exception of one year, was in that 
employ until elected city controller, in Feb- 
ruary, 1899. He was re-elected in 190 1 and 
1903, so that he has served three consecutive 
terms, in which he has demonstrated his effi- 
ciency both as a worker and as a manager. 

On April 16, 1898, Mr. McCormick en- 
listed in Company G, 14th Minnesota Vol- 
unteers, and served until Nov. 13, 1898, 
spending most of the time at Chickamauga 
Park, and seven weeks in the hospital while 
ill with typhoid fever. He had previously 
served five years in the Minnesota National 
Guard, being simultaneously discharged 
from that organization and the Minnesota 
Volunteers. He helped to organize Camp 
McEwen, No. 36. Spanish-American War 
Veterans, at Duluth. and is now adjutant- 
general of the Department of Minnesota. 
He has numerous other social connections, 
being a Scottish Rite Mason, a member of 
the Military Order of the Loval Legion, of 
the B. P. O. E.. the I. O. F., the \\. W. A., 
and the Modern Samaritans. He is .secre- 



tary of the Association of Old Settlers at the 
Head of the Lakes. Mr. McCormick has 
led an active and useful life, and his past 
gives excellent promise of the future. 

HON. MICHAEL W. RYAN. Public 
officials who use their positions as vantage 
ground for securing the greatest possible 
good to their constituents are rare, and the 
citizens of Medford and Taylor county have 
shown their appreciation of the fact in the 
hearty endorsement that they have given 
this able and public-spirited gentleman. A 
prominent pioneer of the county, he was born 
in the far East, in Burlington, Vt., Dec. 10, 
1847. 

The parents of Mr. Ryan were Stephen 
and Elizabeth (Gillick) Ryan, both born in 
Ireland, in County Tipperary and County 
Meath, respectively, though they met and 
married in America. Mrs. Ryan's parents 
died in Ireland, and she came to this coun- 
try when only fourteen years old, with a 
brother and sister. Stephen Ryan came to 
the United States when a young man, and 
lived for a time in Burlington, Vt., but in 
1850 started with his wife and family over- 
land for California. On reaching St. Louis, 
he was taken sick and died there. His 
widow afterward married Michael Garrity, 
and is now living in Oshkosh, Wis., at the 
age of seventy-five. 

Michael W. Ryan was taken to Wiscon- 
sin by his mother when two years old and 
lived in Milwaukee until 1S57. Thence the 
family moved to Waukesha, and there Mich- 
ael entered the public schools and began his 
education, in due time completing the course. 
Too young to enlist wdien the war broke out, 
he did so later, and Jan. i, 1864, was en- 
rolled in Company I, 3d Wis. Cav. He 
served under Gen. Curtis in Gen. James 
j_>lunt's brigade, and took part in a number 
of battles and skirmishes, in all of which he 
ac(|uitted himself with credit. The greater 
part of the time he was stationed on the fron- 
tier in the Southwest, and was there dis- 
charged, Sept. 29, 1865. 

Mr. Ryan was one of the pioneers of 
Medford, as he settled there in 1874. Fie 



C0i\O[EM0RATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



was employed several years as foreman in 
a sawmill, and then took up the hotel busi- 
ness, which he followed for a long time. He 
built the "Exchange Hotel," and as long as 
he conducted it, it was the leading hostelry 
in the place. Much of his time has been 
spent in public service, and for the past thir- 
teen years he has been connected with the 
post office. One of his business investments 
has been the erection of a two-story steel 
and brick building, to be used for store and 
residence. 

Mr. Ryan has always taken an active part 
in politics, and is one of the leading Demo- 
crats in the northern part of the State, as 
well as in the local ranks. In 1890, 1894 and 
1896, he was sent as delegate to the State 
conventions. He has given thirteen contin- 
uous j^ears in the service of the post office 
department, eight years as postmaster and 
the rest as assistant, an office he still holds. 
Dtu'ing the session of 1893 he was appointed 
postmaster of the Wisconsin Senate. Med- 
ford has honored him by election to the of- 
fices of alderman and mayor, and during his 
two year term in the latter place, Mr. Ryan 
was largely instrumental in securing the lo- 
cation in Medford of several manufacturing 
enterprises. In 1898 Mr. Ryan was elected 
to the Assembly as representative from Tay- 
lor and Lincoln counties ; he served on the 
committees on town and county organiza- 
tion, and health and sanitation, and earned a 
reputation as a hard working member. 

On April 8, 1872, Mr. Ryan was married 
to Mary Magner, daughter of James and 
Mary Magner, of Waukesha, Wis. There 
are three children in the family, all daugh- 
ters, namely : Margaret M., who was born 
in Waukesha, and has been a teacher in the 
Medford schools for the past eleven years; 
Mary E., who married Louis A. Maier, 
cashier in the First National Bank, of Med- 
ford, Wis. ; and Helen P., a bookkeeper in 
Mellen, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Ryan is prominent in the G. A. R. 
and was a charter member of the Post at 
Medford, of which he is a Past Commander. 
In 1896 he was sent as a delegate to the Na- 
tional Encampment at St. Paul. He enters 



with zeal into whatever he is connected with: 
and is everywhere found a valuable aid. 

MATTHEW STEWARD HOSMER, 
M. D. Prominent among the physicians of 
Ashland, who are devoting their lives to the 
alleviation of suffering, stands Dr. Matthew 
S. Hosmer, who for almost twenty years has 
been going on his daily mission of healing 
in that city. He was born Nov. 17, 1856, in 
New Boston, Mich., son of Andrew Jackson 
and Martha (Eldred) Hosmer, the former 
also a native of Michigan, and prominent in' 
Wayne county. 

The Hosmer family is of English stock 
originally, and its first American ancestor 
came to Massachusetts in Colonial times. 
One of his descendants, Abner Hosmer, is 
known to have lost his life in the American 
Revolution. The grandfather of our sub- 
ject, Artemus Hosmer, went westward as 
far as Michigan, and spent his life there as a 
contractor. He died in New Boston, at the 
age of sixty years, and his homestead is still 
in the possession of the family. Artemus 
Hosmer was twice married, and his second 
wife, a Miss Dunn, was of Welsh lineage,, 
though probably born in Canada. 

Andrew J. Hosmer died Aug. 24, 1903, 
in New Boston. He was quite prominent in 
local affairs, and while never an active poli- 
tician, he filled several offices in the public 
service. He and his wife had seven sons 
and four daughters, ten of whom are still 
living: Mary, Mrs. Russell Rice, who died 
in New Boston ; John ; Albert ; Dr. Matthew 
S. ; Andrew J. ; Jennie, Mrs. Speer, of Belle- 
ville, Mich.; James E., of Park City, Utah; 
Charles S. ; Addie, Mrs. Tinkham; Hattie, 
Mrs. Baxter; and Eli, Andrew J., James E. 
and Charles S. are all physicians, and An- 
drew J. was located for some years in Ash- 
land. 

The grandfather on the maternal side, 
John Eldred, was a contractor in New Bos- 
ton ; he was of Scotch-Irish descent, and lived 
to be sixty-two years old. 

Matthew S. Hosmer was thoroughly pre- 
pared for his work in the Belleville high 
school and the Medical Department of the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



39 



University of ]\Iichigan from wliicii lie grad- 
uated in June, 1882. He practiced first at 
Maple Ridge, ^Mich., but after two years de- 
cided to remove to Ashland, where he has 
been located to the present time. Dr. Hos- 
mer has studied about a year in Vienna, 
Dresden, London and BerHn, and he keeps 
himself fullj^ abreast of the times in his pro- 
fession. He has built up a fine practice, is 
the consulting physician of the railroad hos- 
pital, and for four or five years conducted the 
Hosmer hospital. Since 1889 he has been 
on the staff of St. Josei)h's hospital. During 
the past two years he has made a specialty 
of Internal Medicine. 

In 1887 Dr. Hosmer was married to 
Anna Macdonald, who was born near Yion- 
treal, Canada, daughter of John and Mary 
Ann Macdonald. Four children have been 
born to the doctor and his wife, Helen, Ros- 
coe, Margaret and Steward. 

Dr. Hosmer is a well known Mason, of 
Ancient Landmark Lodge, and Ash- 
land Commandery, K. T., No. 22 ; he also 
belongs to the I. O. O. F., the A. O. 
U. W., the Maccabees, U. O. F., the M. 
W. A., and is examining physician for 
the most of these orders, as well as for 
several insurance companies. Politically 
he is a Republican, but his arduous 
professional duties leave him little time 
to devote to public life. Dr. Hosmer has 
never ceased to be a student in his profes- 
sion : and has succeeded in it largely beciuse 
of his absorbing interest in his work and his 
strict attention to it, without which even his 
acknowledged skill might have failed to 
bring him his present assured position. 

SOLON LOUIS PERRIN, one of the 
leading attorneys of Superior who represents 
some of the most important corporate inter- 
ests at the Head of the Lakes, is a native of 
the Badger State, born in the town of Kin- 
nickinnick, St. Croix county, March 17, 
1859. He is the eldest son of William Louis 
and Julia Frances (Loring) Perrin, and 
conies of sturdy New England stock on both 
the paternal and maternal sides. 

John Perrin, grandfather of Solon L., 



was born in Vermont but spent his later life 
on a farm in the State of New York. ..Will- 
iam L. Perrin was born at Malone, Franklin. 
Co., N. Y., but for more than half a cen- 
tury has been a citizen of Wisconsin, having, 
settled in St. Croix county in company with. 
his brother, James E. Perrin, in 1851. For 
a number of years he was active in the public 
affairs of that county and filled the ofiice of 
county clerk from 1875 to 1879. ^" political 
principles he is a Democrat. Mrs. Julia F. 
Perrin died in St. I'aul, Minn., in 1894 at 
the age of fifty-five years. She was born in 
Maine, where her father died, and in com- 
pany with her 'mother, brothers and sisters 
she came to Wisconsin in 1856. The family 
settled in St. Croix county, where she mar- 
ried Mr. Perrin. She became the mother of 
three sons and tW'O daughters who survive 
her except one daughter who died in infancy : 
Frank Leon, a professional journalist at St. 
Louis, Mo. ; Henry Ernest, a practicing 
physician of Star Prairie, Wis.; Mabel S., a 
graduate of the University of Wisconsin, at 
Madison, and now lix'ing at Superior: and 
Solon L. 

The early education of Solon L. Perrin 
was acquired in the district schools and sup- 
plemented by a course at the Hudson high 
school. At the age of eighteen years he en- 
tered the law- office of Baker & Spooner at 
Hudson, and spent several years with that 
firm, the junior member of w'hich is at pres- 
ent the senior United States Senator from 
Wi.sconsin. During the legislative sessions 
of 1879 and 1880 Mr. Perrin was assistant 
chief clerk of the Assembly, a position which 
enabled him to acquire considerable valuable 
experience and an accurate knowledge of the 
methods in vogue in legal and political pro- 
ceedings. In the fall of 1880 he entered the 
law school of the State University and was 
gratluated from that famous institution in 
the following June. He at once entered the 
law department of the Chicago, St. Paul, 
Minneajiolis & Omaha Railroad at St. Paul, 
in which office he continued to be employed 
until September, 1893, at which date he lo- 
cated in Superior. He has since had charge 
of the local business of that corporation, and 



40 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



in addition has acquired a lucrative private 
practice and has been retained on many im- 
portant cases. In 1897 he was appointed one 
of the receivers of the Superior Consohdated 
Land Co. and upon the re-organization of 
that concern in the spring- of 1902, he be- 
came its attorney. A RepubHcan in prin- 
ciple, he has never Ijut once been a candidate 
for official honors nor an agitator of political 
issues. In 1902 he was a pi'ominent candi- 
date for State senator before the convention. 
The vote was a tie for 500 ballots when he 
threw his support to one of his opponents. 
In 1888 occurred the marriage of Mr. 
Perrin and Miss Elizabeth G. Staples, of 
'St. Paul, Minn. She was born at Hudson, 
Wis., and is^ a daughter of Silas Staples of 
that place. Mr. and Mrs. Perrin are the 
parents of two children, Florence Elizabeth 
and James Louis. The family moves in the 
best social circles. Mr. Perrin is identified 
with the local lodge of Elks, and is prom- 
inent in the Masonic fraternity, being con- 
nected with the lodge and chapter at Hud- 
son, and with Paladin Commandery, 
Knights Templar, at St. Paul. 

HENRY A. RUSSELL, M. D. One of 
the leading physicians of Superior is Dr. 
Henry A. Russell, who is descended from 
New England ancestry which can be traced 
back to the early days of this country. Dr. 
Russell was born in Lovell. Oxford Co.. 
Maine, March 10, 1855, a son of Henry and 
Lucy (Stearns) Russell, jjoth natives of 
Lovell. 

In early Colonial days the emigrant Ma- 
jor Jjenjamin Russell published the Boston 
Sentinel during the Revolution, and printed 
all the proceedings of the Continental Con- 
gress, although the government was unable 
to pay for this service at the time. Years 
later an appropriation was made by wliich 
Major Russell was reimbursed. Major 
Russell was an intimate friend of George 
Washington and of other leading men of 
the day. George Russell, a son of Major 
Russell and father of Henry, was a soldier 
in the war of 1812. He afterward settled in 
Maine and was the first postmaster of Centre 



Lovell, a position he held for nearly fifty 
years. He died in 1879, at the age of ninety- 
one years. Henry Russell was a carpenter 
and did a large contracting business in Lo- 
vell, where he died when sixty-six years old. 
His wife, Lucy (Stearns) Russell, lived to 
be seventy years of age; she was a daughter 
of Gen. Solomon Stearns, a school teacher, 
justice of the peace, and a prominent man in 
the Maine militia. 

The Stearns family is one of the 
oldest in Massachusetts. Isaac Stearns 
came over in 1630 in the same ship with 
Governor Winthrop and Sir Richard Sal- 
tonstall, and settled at Watertown, Mass., 
where he became one of the selectmen of the 
town. Gen. Solomon Stearns was of the 
se\enth generation in this country ; he was 
l)orn at Lovell in 1798 and died in 1849. 
Benjamin Stearns, father of Gen. Solomon, 
was born in Massachusetts in 1757. Pie 
married Susanna Frye, a daughter of Hon. 
Simon Frye, first chief justice of Maine, 
from whose family United States Senator 
Frye is descended. Hon. Isaac Stearns, fa- 
ther of Benjamin, served in the French and 
Indian war, and was a member of both 
hiiuses in the Massachusetts legislature; he 
died at the age of eighty-six, in 1808, at his 
home in Billerica, Massachusetts. 

Henry A. Russell studied medicine at 
Washington. D. C graduating from How- 
ard University, March 2, 1881. He entered 
the government service and received the ap- 
pointment of surgeon to the Crow Indian 
Agency in Montana, where he remained un- 
til 1887. In the spring of 1888 Dr. Russell 
settled in Superior, where he has since been 
engaged as a general practitioner. In 1889 
he was appointed a member of the first board 
of United States pension examiners, a posi- 
tion he has occupied ever since with the ex- 
ception of three years; during this time he 
has examined over 1,000 applicants, and he 
is at present secretary of the board. 

In 1 89 1 Dr. Russell was married to 
Anna E. Ross, a daughter of George and 
Sarah Ross (both deceased) of Prescott, 
Wis. Dr. and Mrs. Russell are the parents 
of two children. Dean Frederick and Carl 



COMMIC.MORATIX'E IMOGRAIM I KAL KIXORD 



41 



Ross. The frimily are attendants of tlie 
Congregational Church. Dr. Russell is a 
IMason, P. M. of Blue Lodge and P. II. P. 
of the Chapter, and also belongs to the I. 
O. O. F. He is a member of the American 
Institute of Homeopathy. Formerly a Re- 
publican, Dr. Russell has been since 1898 
an advocate of Prohibition principles. He 
was nominated for mayor on the Prohibi- 
tion ticket in 1900, and in the same year re- 
ceived that party's nomination for Congress. 
.Mthough unsuccessful, he polled the highest 
vote ever received by a Prohibition candi- 
date for Congress in Wisconsin, the vote be- 
ing much in excess of the [rdvty member- 
ship. 

ALBERT STILLMAN CHASh: has 
been identified with the city of Duluth from 
its infancy, has been active in the develop- 
ment of many of her most important enter- 
prises, and a mere mention of the numerous 
concerns in whose organization he has as- 
sisted would be sufficient to proclaim him 
one of the most energetic and successful 
business men of St. Louis county, Minne- 
sota. 

Mr. Chase was born Kov. 4, 1843, '" 
Cattaraugus county, N. Y., and comes of a 
family long established in America, being 
a descendant of Aquila Chase, a prominent 
pioneer of Massachusetts. Dr. Stillman 
Chase, father of Albert S., was born in 
Salem, Mass., received a good practical Eng- 
lish education, and took a course in medi- 
cine at Syracuse, N. Y.. becoming an 
eclectic practitioner. In 1858 he came west 
and located in Rochester, Minn., where he 
died in the fall of 1859, at the age of fifty- 
four years. He was successful as a phy- 
sician, and was highly esteemed wherever 
he was known. Dr. Chase married Wealthy 
Alzina Kelsey, like himself a native of 
Salem. Mass., and her death occurred in 
Cattaraugus county, N. Y., some years after 
that of her husband. 

.\lbert S. Chase joined his father in 
Rochester, Minn., in 1859, and remained 
there until 1862, on Aug. 13th of which year 
he enlisted in Company 11, Sixth Minn. 



V. I., with which he served until May 10, 
1865, when hostilities had ceased. The 
command was in service on the frontier of 
Minnesota and Dakota against the Sioux 
Indians, and in 1863 took part in Gen. Sib- 
ley's expedition to the Missouri river, going 
as far as the present site of Bismarck, N. 
Dak. In July, 1864, the regiment went to 
ITelena, Ark., where many of the men were 
seized with congestive chills which proved 
fatal to a large number. Mr. Chase was 
one of the victims, but survived the attack. 
He was sent to hospital at Jefiferson Bar- 
racks, St. 'Louis, and recovered so far as to 
be able to work on a hospital boat on the 
Mississippi for a time. Later he was taken 
ill with jaundice, and was in ho.spital at 
Prairie du Chien, Wis., until discharged. 

On his return from the army Mr. Chase 
engaged in the boot and shoe business at 
Owatonna, Minn., in compan}^ with his 
brother, K. D. Chase, but owing to the rapid 
depreciation of values which followed the 
war the enterprise was not a success. In 
1870 he located at Duluth, where he se- 
cured a position on the Tribune, having had 
some ex])erience as a "typo" at Rochester. 
In 1 87 1 he entered the employ of the Lake 
Superior & Mississippi Railway Co., and 
after spending a year as clerk in the office of 
that corporation became agent at Chaska, 
Minn. Three months later he w'as trans- 
ferred to Hinckley, this State, as agent, and 
remained there six months, going back to 
Duluth to take a clerkship in the office in 
that city. After six months in this posi- 
tion he became joint agent at Duluth of the 
Northern Pacific and Lake Superior & Mis- 
mssippi Railway Companies, continuing thus 
for eight years, when the business of the two 
companies was divided, and for the next ten 
years he was the Northern Pacific agent 
in Duluth. During this period Mr. Chase 
had bought the charter of the Duluth Street 
Railway Company and begun the construc- 
tion of its lines, he having built most of 
the lines now in Duluth. To this enterprise 
he gave his entire attention for two years, 
o])erating the' street railway until 1891, in 
which year he sold out. Following this he 



4-' 



COMMEMORATl\'l£ BIOGRAPlllCAL RECORD 



was one of live men who took tlie contract 
to build tlie Duliitli Missabe & Northern 
railroad, which was constructed in one year, 
Mr. Chase's remuneration for the work be- 
ing in stock and bonds of the road. He held 
his interest therein until the sale of the en- 
tire road to the Lake Superior Consolidated 
Iron Mines, since when his chief attention 
has been directed to real estate and mining. 
He is one of the incorporators of the Mid- 
night Test Mining Company, which is de- 
veloping gold mines in Arizona ; is a stock- 
holder, director and incorporator of the 
City National Bank of Duluth ; a director 
of the Consolidated Abstract Company : and 
a stockholder in the Minnesota Match Com- 
pany, which is engaged in the manufactiu-e 
of matches on a large scale, in W'est Du- 
luth. 

With all his \-aried experiences in busi- 
ness, in numerous ventures and with dif- 
ferent associates, Mr. Chase has never been 
drawn into a lawsuit of any kind — a remark- 
able record. Public life and official honors 
have never appealed to him. and though be 
has served several times as a grand juror 
he has never desired any elective office, or 
taken any active part in politics. He is a 
lifelong Republican. Since 1864 he has 
been a member of the Masonic fraternity, 
being now a past master of Palestine Lodge, 
and a member of Keystone Chapter. Duluth 
Council, Duluth Commandery, K. T.. and 
Duluth Consistory. Scottish Rite, in all of 
which bodies he has held official position. 

WILLLA.M T. RINEHART. M. 1).. 
general practitioner and proprietor of Rine- 
hart's Hospital, Ashland, Wis., has won 
distinction in both branches of his profes- 
sion, being a recognized authority in each 
wherever his name is known. He was born 
in Waynesburg, Pa., Dec. 27, 1855, and is 
a son of Marshall and Mina Rinehart. 

After completing his literary education, 
Dr. Rinehart mntriculated at Jefferson Med- 
ical College, Philadelphia, where he took the 
regular course of lectures, graduating there- 
from in 1886. Immediately thereafter he 
came West, spending a few months in a 



hospital at Eau Claire, W'is. In April of 
the following year he came to Ashland and 
under the auspices of the American Aid As- 
sociation established a hospital which he suc- 
cessfully managed until 1890, when he re- 
linciuished the management. During tlie 
season of 1891 he erected his present hospi- 
tal building, a commodious and modern 
structure, designed and erected according 
to the best known plans of hygiene. In 1900 
a woman's hospital and a training school 
for nurses were added to the establishment, 
in all having a capacity for seventy-five 
patients and ten students in the training 
school, which comprises a three years course. 
A specialty is made of surgical cases and all 
diseases not contagious are treated. Dr. 
Rinehart's eminence as a surgeon is justly 
due to the success that has attended his 
operations in many most difficult cases, anil 
as a result he is known throughout the 
United States and Canada. Since the es- 
tablishment of his hospital in Ashland more 
than ten thousand patients have been ad- 
mitted and treated. He also enjoys a large 
office practice. The hospital is modern in 
its equipment, with all essential apparatus, 
is heated by hot water and has electric light- 
ing, being in every particular thoroughly 
metropolitan. 

In addition to ilischarging the manifold 
duties of his calling. Dr. Rinehart has found 
time to devote to the health and well being 
of the public in another direction, having 
served as county and city physician a num- 
I)er of years; he has been also health com- 
missioner of the city for a number of years, 
and he is examining surgeon for the Chi- 
cago & North Western Railway Company. 

Dr. Rinehart was united in marriage, 
Oct. 13, 1887, to Anna, daughter of P. A. 
and Tres (Campbell) Chesley, natives of 
Cornwall, Canada, and New York, re- 
spectively. Mrs. Rinehart is a true help- 
meet of her husband, being deeply interested 
in his professional work, with which she 
has familiarized herself by close observa- 
tion and much study. She has from the 
establishment of the hospital taken upon her- 
self the duties of matron and verv largelv 



t:OMMEMORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



attended to its l)usiness management and 
much of the success of tlie institution as a 
business venture may be attributed to her 
skill. 

SIDNEY HARRY WATERMAN. 
The city of Cumberland, Barron Co., Wis., 
is one to be particularly congratulated in its 
chief executive. Hon. Sidney H. Waterman, 
a man of energy, tireless effort in the cause 
of public good, and one who has the city's 
best interests at heart. 

Mr. Waterman was born in Windsor 
county, Vt., Dec. 23, 1844, son of Harry 
and Diana (Johnson) Waterman, both of 
Windsor county, where they lived and died, 
and where their six children were born, as 
follows : Emily, who is now a resident 
of Hanover, N. H. ; Martha, deceased, 
Sidney, deceased; Sidney H. ; Frederick, 
a real estate man of Elk River, 
Minn. ; and Frank, of Buffalo, who 
works on the Erie railroad as conductor. 
Until he was seventeen years of age Sidney 
H. Waterman attended the home schools, 
and then went to Oshkosh, where he worked 
in various sawmills until 1882. In 1865, he 
was united in marriage with Miss Maria 
L. Howard, of Oshkosh, daughter of R. L. 
Howard, a Baptist preacher. The following 
children have come to this marriage : Albert 
H., secretary of the Miller Waterman Co. 
store at Cumberland, married Anna Miller, 
and has five daughters, Abbie, Gertrude, 
Elinor, Isabella and Frances : Alice married 
Timothy Olcott, of Ashton, Iowa, a banker 
and has three children, Sidney, Harvey and 
Ethel ; Grace married W. J. Boyden, a mer- 
chant at Cumberland, and has two children, 
Sidney and Ia)uisa ; Marian is attending the 
State University at Madison. These chil- 
dren were all educated in the home and high 
schools, and are very intelligent and popular 
young people. 

In March, 1882 Mr. Waterman came to 
Cumberland, and operated the Beaver Lake 
Lumber Co. mill for about twenty-two years 
under a contract. In 1903 the Miller & 
\\^iterman Company purcliased what is 
known as the Company's Store in Cumber- 



land, and Mr. Waterman is now the vice- 
president of the ctjmpany. He is president 
of the Cumberland Telephone Company. 
He has a large cranberry marsh in Burnett 
county. Wis., consisting of 125 acres, which 
is very profitable. 

In politics Mr. Waterman is a Republi- 
can, and for seven years has acted as may(jr 
of Cumberland, giving the people a clean, 
honorable and business like administration. 
He has also served upon the county board, 
and is a man who leads in whatever he un- 
dertakes. He is a member of the Blue 
Lodge, No. '223, F. & A. M., and of Lodge 
No. 303, I. O. O. F., both of Cumberland. 
Mrs. Waterman is a consistent member of 
the Methodist Church, and a very charming 
and gracious lady. 

GEORGE H. GIFFIN, one of the most 
reliable and highly respected among the 
business men of Superior, was born in St. 
Lawrence county, N. Y., in November, 
1848, and has been a resident of West Su- 
perior since 1891. 

The earliest American ancestor of the 
Giffins probably came from Wales. By 
Revolutionary times the family had become 
fully identified with their adopted country 
and in full sympathy with its aspirations, 
and we find one of the descendants, the 
great-grandfather of George H., serving in 
the Continental army. David Gifiin. a son 
of the above, was in the war of 18 12 and 
took part in the battle of Plattsburg. He 
.was a native of Massachusetts but settled 
at Colchester. Vt., in early life, wdiere he 
both managed a farm and kept a tavern. 
He was twice married, reared a large fam- 
ily and lived to be over eighty-five years 
old ; his last years were spent in St. Law- 
rence county. New York. 

George Gififin, son of David and the 
father of George H., was born in Colchester. 
Vt., but when only eleven he left home and 
went to St. Lawrence county, where his 
father afterward joined him. Though he 
had little schooling, he was always a great 
reader and kept himself thoroughly in- 
formed on current events, .\bout 1850 he 



44 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGR'APHICAL RECORD 



went to Milwaukee, but after a couple of 
years he returned and spent the remainder 
of his life on his farm in New York, where 
he passed away at the age of seventy-three. 
In early life Mr. Giffin was a Whig, but in 
1856 he voted for Fremont and thereafter 
always supported the Republican party. At 
various times he filled several of the local 
offices. He was a man of most exemplary 
character, but was not forma 11)^ identified 
with any church. His wife, Sophronia 
(Healy) Giffin, was born in St. Lawrence 
county in 1820. Her death in Milwaukee 
in 1850, in the very prime of life, was a 
blow to all who knew her, and a special 
loss to the four children she left. Of these 
George H. was the only son ; Delia, is now 
Mrs. A. L. Sunderland, of Vvestport, Minn. ; 
Julia, married first Mr. O. Witteas, later 
Mr. John Ward, and died in Michigan; and 
Martha, married Mr. R. Harris, of Roberts, 
Wisconsin. 

George H. Gifiin was educated in the 
county schools near his home, and spent his 
summers assisting his father on the farm. 
On reaching his majority he went to Wis- 
consin and settled at Roberts, St. Croix 
county, where he bought wild land and im- 
proved a farm. After a number of years 
there he sold his farm and lived for a couple 
of years in New Richmond, Wis. In 1891 
he removed to West Superior and entered 
the employ of the Superior Rapid Transit 
Co., spending four years in their shops as 
car repairer. Since 1895 he has been with a 
firm dealing in groceries. 

In his political views Mr. Gifiin is Inde- 
pendent, but generally supports the Repub- 
lican party. Fraternally he is most active 
in the interests of the I. O. O. F., with 
which order he has been connected for 
twenty years or more, and in which he has 
passed all the chairs in Subordinate Lodge 
and Encampment. His stability of character 
and reliability in business have inspired the 
confidence of the community and liis per- 
sonal friends are legion. 

In 1872 Mr. Gifiin was married to 
Mary, daughter of John C. and Melissa 
Searle, of Roberts, Wis. Mr. Searle, now 



deceased, was one of the earliest pioneers in 
St. Croix county, settling in Hudson in 
1853. His widow is now living in St. Paul. 
Mrs. Giffin was born in Binghampton, N. 
Y.^ before the migration of the family west- 
ward. She has borne her husband four 
sons, all most admirable in character and all 
except George S. graduates of the Blaine 
high school in West Superior. The family 
are all prominently identified with the Bap- 
tist Church. 

George S. Giffin, the oldest son, served 
as a corporal in Co. I, 3d W. V. I., through 
the Porto Rican campaign. He is a book- 
keeper by profession and a member of the 
city council for the sixth ward. John H. 
is a graduate of Upper Alton College, and 
is now a student at the Baptist Theological 
School in Rochester, N. Y. Nelson H. had 
charge for several years of the circulation 
de])artment of the Superior Morning Leader, 
and later had a similar position in Superior 
with the Duluth Nezvs-Tribuiie. during 
which time an enormous gain was made in 
the circulation of that journal in Superior. 
He is at present bookkeeper for a firm of 
fuel dealers. The fourth son, Bert B., is 
at home. 

WILLIAM BISHOP REA, a highly 
esteemed citizen and successful business man 
of Ashland, Wis., was born in Cumberland 
county, Pa., Sept. 14, 1847. He is a son 
of John Allen and Elizabeth (Bishop) Rea, 
both of whom were born in Franklin county, 
Pennsylvania. 

The father of John A. Rea was born in 
Scotland. In early life he learned the stone 
mason's trade and after his settlement in 
Pennsylvania, he devoted himself to his call- 
ing and numerous buildings were erected by 
him. When about seventy years of age, he 
was fallen upon by a horse which he was 
riding, resulting in injuries that caused his 
death. John A. Rea learned the saddlery 
trade in his youth, following it at Newburg 
and during the Civil war he contracted 
heavily to provide government supplies, em- 
])loying seventy-five or more persons in his 
business. He passed a busy life, was uni- 



COiMAlEMORATl\"E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



45- 



foriiily successful aud was niucli esteemed 
for his many excellent qualities. He was a 
Democrat in politics and during President 
Buchanan's administration was appointed 
and served as postmaster of Newburg. He 
died at the age of seventy-two years. ]M.rs. 
Elizabeth Rea died at the age of sixty-three 
years. To Mr. and Mrs. Rea were born 
three sons and two daughters. Melissa Jane, 
now Mrs. Mowery, of Newville, Pa., is the 
only survivor besides her brother, ^\'illianl 
P.. Rea. 

The boyhood of William Bishop Rea 
Vvas spent in Newburg, where he received 
his elementary education. He was living- 
there during the progress of the battle of 
Gettysburg and although distant thirty 
miles, the roar of the guns was clearly 
heard and the smoke was distinctly visible 
to the eye. When twenty years of age he 
accepted a clerical position in a general store 
at Xewburg, where he remained until 1871, 
when he came West and located in Osh- 
kosh, \\'is., obtaining employment in a 
crockery store and later in the "Empire 
I louse," kept by his uncle, Mr. Rea. Sul;se- 
(|uently he went to Appleton, Wis., theisce 
t') Fond du Lac, and in 1886 located in 
Ashland, where he dealt in groceries for a 
time. He subsequently turned his attention 
to the real estate business and dealt largely 
in city property, as well as timber and farm- 
ing lands, in which business he is now en- 
gaged. In 1 901 he was appointed city as- 
sessor for two years and ga\-e a large share 
of his personal attention to the duties of 
that office. To this position Mr. Rea brought 
to bear capabilities that can only be acquired 
by one wlio has a broad knowledge of the 
real estate business. 

Mr. Rea was united in marriage with 
Carrie A. French, their union having been 
consummated in 1879. ^^''S- Rea is a daugh- 
ter of Rev. Charles French, a Presbyterian 
clergyman, who died in Ashland in 1902, 
aged eighty-three years. Mrs. Rea was born 
at Melbourne, near Montreal. Canada, and 
came to the Umited States with her parents 
during her childhood. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Rea three children have been born, Carrie 



A., Edith E. and Leslie J. The last named 
died at the age of fourteen months. Tke 
family is identified with the Presbyterian 
Church anil its members are prominent in 
social circles. Mr. Rea is secretary of Ash- 
land Lodge, No. 558, B. P. O. E., and en- 
joys the confidence and esteem of a wide 
circle of friends and acquaintances. 

HANSEN E. SMITH has been a prom- 
inent business man of Duluth for a number 
of years, connected with banking, railroad, 
lumbering and mining enterprises. He is 
still ranked among the younger men, how- 
ever, being yet in his thirties, having been 
born Dec. 6, 1S67, of Danish-German 
parentage. 

Hansen Ewertsen Smith was the eldest 
child of his parents. He received his early 
education in the public schools of Michi- 
gan and at Swensbergs School^ at Grand 
Rapids, in the same State. 

In 1894 he established the banking and 
investment business of PI. E. Smith & Co., 
since incorporated and in which he is still 
a stockholder. Mr. Smith is connected with 
various public business and social interests 
of the city, being a member of the Duluth 
Charter Commission; a former president of 
the Water and Light Department; the 
Chamber of Commerce; and director of the 
Commercial Club; he is also a member of 
the Kitchi Gammi Club. 

In 1 89 1 Mr. Smith was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Mary Cecelia Wilson, 
daughter of Edwin Alonzo Wilson, and a 
descendant of a well-known Vermont fam- 
ily, and they have a family of five children : 
Hazel JNIarguerite, Mildred Ethyleen, Ruth 
Winnogene, Inez Lucile and Ruggles H. 

A. J. MYRLAND, district attorney of 
Burnett county, and a prominent business 
man of Grantsburg, was born Jan. 15, 1861, 
in Norway, .son of Ole S. and Othine H. 
(Sellevold) Myrland, natives of Norway. 
Ole S. Myrland was a fisherman, and fol- 
lowed the sea from thirteen years okl until 
his thirty-third year. He came to America 
in 1866, and located in Primrose, Dane Co.,. 



46 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Wis., where he farmed until his death in 
1893. His widow is now hving in Leroy, 
IMinn., with a son. Mr. Myrland was a 
member of the Lutheran Church. He and 
his wife had nine children, only two of 
whom are now li\nng, namely : August J. ; 
and Knute S., a farmer of Leroy, Minne- 
sota. 

August J. INIyrland was educated in the 
home schools, remaining at home until 
twenty-one years of age, when he went to 
Milton College for two years, and then to 
the University of Wisconsin, from which 
he was graduated in 1890. He then taught 
school for two years in Dane county. Wis., 
and was principal of the Belleville high 
school, at Belleville, Wis., for five years. He 
then attended the University Law school at 
Madison, and was admitted to the Bar in 
1S96. He taught school at Glenwood, Minn., 
until February, 1897, at which time he came 
to Grantsburg. 

Mr. Myrland was married in Dane 
county. Wis., Aug. 21, 1890, to Lena B. 
Anderson, of Perry, Dane Co., Wis., and to 
this union liave been born: Arthur L.,' Ruth 
H., Otto E., James C. and Mina M. After 
locating in Grantsburg Mr. Myrland took 
up tne practice of law, was elected district 
attorney for Burnett county in the fall of 
1898, and has served in that ofifice to die 
present time. He has been school clerk for 
seven years, village attorney for eight 
years, secretary of the Farmers' Starch Co., 
for four years, and is interested in a num- 
ber of other business enterprises. Politically 
lie is a staunch Republican, and attended 
the State conventions of 1900 and 1902. 
He is a member of the Modern Woodmen 
of Grantsburg; and of the I. O. O. F., No. 
225, Grantsburg. He attends the I\Iethodist 
Church. 

In April, 1901. Mr. Alyrland purchased 
a one-half interest in the Burnett County 
Sentinel, which was established in 1875, and 
he is now the editor of this publication. 
In March. 1903, he was appointed member 
of the board of Regents of the University 
of Wisconsin from the nth congressional 
di.strict for the term of three vears. 



EDMUND RUVUS OTIS (deceased), 
lor many years a well-known official of Su- 
perior, was a descendant of one of the his- 
toric families of New England. He was 
born near Au Sable Forks, at Clintonville, 
Clinton Co., N. Y., Nov. 28, 1834, and died 
in January, 1902, in Superior. His parents 
were Thomas Jefferson and Rebecca C. 
(Pratt) Otis, natives, respectively, of Ver- 
mont and New York State. 

The American ancestor of the Otis fam- 
ily was Richard Otis, who was imprisoned 
in Boston as a non-conformist for several 
months after his arrival in this country 
from England. On his release he became 
an elector, and was registered as such in 
1661. Somewhat later, Richard Otis with 
two other families founded the town of 
Dover, N. H., where his block house stood 
on what is known as Otis Hill. His son 
Richard was killed in his own home by the 
Indians during the French and Indian war, 
and his daughter was taken as a captive to 
Canada, where she was forced to marry a 
Frenchman. On the latter's death she re- 
turned to New Hampshire and married a 
Mr. Wentworth. Three sons of Richard 
Otis were away in the Maine woods at the 
time of his death, and on their return made 
war on the Indians in revenge. 

John Otis, a brother of Richard, was the 
father of James Otis, the famous patriot- 
orator. Several members of the family 
served in the Revolution and in other wars. 
The father of Thomas J. Otis lost a leg in 
the war of 1812, Thomas J. Otis himself 
was a first lieutenant of New York Artillery 
during the Mexican war, and his sons Will- 
iam and George were in the Civil war. 
William was killed in the service; George 
became a captain in the 2d Wis. V. I., and 
later a colonel. Thomas J. Otis died at 
Austin, Minn., in 1881, at the age of sev- 
enty-three; his wife, Rebecca C. (Pratt) 
Otis, died aged seventy-two, in 1884, at 
McGregor, jowa. Her father, who was a 
carpenter by trade, and died in Reeseville, 
N. Y., lost a leg in the Battle of Lake 
Champlain. 

Edmund Rnfus Otis attended the public 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



47 



schools, a select school at Baxter Springs, 
X. Y., and the Elniira Academy, graduating 
when he was sixteen. He went into a news- 
l)aper office at Corning, N. Y., and after a 
few months hegan writing editorials. In 
1851 he went to Racine, Wis., and spent 
about tw® years there and at Kenosha. In 
1855 he started the Hudson S'lar, at Hutl- 
M>n, Wis., a paper which is still published. 
This paper Mr. Otis sold, and then founded 
the Mineral Point Democrat. When the 
war broke out he was doing editorial work 
on the St. Louis Republican. He at once 
enlistetl in the Home Guards, and later was 
made first lieutenant. Company B, 8th Mo. 
V. I. He became captain of Company H, of 
the same regiment, but after two years re- 
signed on account of ill-health. Capt. Otis 
commanded the skirmish line at Fort Donel- 
son, and led his company at Shiloh and in 
■other engagements, acquitting himself as a 
gallant soldier. Much time was spent on the 
march, entailing considerable sulifering for 
lack of water, food and shelter. A year or 
two after the war Major Otis, as he was 
called, resumed newspaper work at St. Paul, 
and he went in 1886 to Bismarck, N. Dak., 
where for about a year he published the 
Journal. Then he located in .Superior, de- 
voting his attention to newspaper corre- 
spondence and to real estate. His first visit 
to Superior had been in 1856, when he ac- 
companied the president and engineer of tiie 
St. Croix & Superior Railroad Company, 
in the effort to secure terminal grounds on 
Allouez Bay. This road was the predecessor 
of the Omaha railroad, which follows 
practically the same route originally con- 
templated between Superior and St. Paul. 
lYom i8go until his death Mr. Otis served 
as ju.stice of the peace, doing most of the 
business in diat line at the Old Town; more 
than two thousand cases were brought be- 
fore him, and he married over two hundred 
couples. He was also a notary public and 
did considerable conveyancing and abstract 
work at intervals. 

In 1857 Major Otis married Emma A. 
Jewell, who was born in New Hampshire, a 
'.:iughter of TrueAvorthy Jewell, one of the 



early settlers of St. Croix county, Wis. To 
Major and Mrs. Otis were born one son 
and three daughters : Ira C, an engineer in 
the United States surveyor general's office 
at Olympia, Wash. ; Grace, who is Mrs. 
liirchell, of St. Paul; and Alice E. and 
Pearl L. A., of Superior. 

Mr. Otis was nearly all his life a sup- 
])orter of the Democratic party. He was a 
member of the second \illage council of 
.Superior, and prominent in the Grand Army 
of the Republic. 

GEORGE M. CARNACHAN, M. D., 
I)hysician, postmaster and president of the 
village board of Bruce, Rusk Co., Wis., and 
one of the leading citizens of the section, 
was born March 7, 1857, at Glasgow, Scot- 
land, a son of Rev. J. G. and Mary M. 
(Macfarlane) Camachan. 

The late distinguished father of Dr. 
Camachan, Rev. J. C. Carnachan, LL. D., 
was a native of Scotland and spent nine years 
in the University of Glasgow, entering the 
ministry of the Presbyterian Church in 1854. 
In 1856 he came to America, and in seek- 
ing congenial surroundings for settlement, 
selected Tioga county. Pa., where he was 
joined by his family in the following year. 
He entered upon ministerial work and ac- 
ceptably iTiinistered to congregations at 
Troy, Danville and Meadville. He became 
widely known for his piety and learning, 
so much so that the degree of LL. D. was 
conferred on him by the University of 
Naples, Italy, through examination by a 
specially appointed commission. Several 
years previous to his death, failing health 
compelled relinquishment of active work, and 
he ])assed to his linal reward at Meadville, 
Oct. 21, 1903. 

Di-. Camachan is fortunate in inheriting 
many of the qualities of heart and mind so 
conspicuous in his noted father. He was 
given a careful educational training in the 
public schools and Allegheny College, at 
Meadville, Pa., completing the same when 
but eighteen years old. In 1875 he matri- 
culated at the Louisville (Ky. ) Medical Col- 
lege, where he took three consecutive 



48 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



courses, supplemented by two regiilar courses 
pursued during- tlie suniiuer time in the Ken- 
tucky School of Medicine and was graduated 
first honor man and the youngest of a class 
of seventy, Feb. 27, 1878. In a competitive 
test he won the gold medal prize for general 
proficiency, as well as a silver medal as a 
thesis prize. These were honors indeed, as 
he was obliged to contend with an unusually 
brilliant set of young men. So thoroughly 
had he digested the instruction imparted to 
him, that his work was recognized at once 
by his being tendered the position of house 
physician to the Louisville City Hospital, 
after successfully passing a rigid competitixe 
examination. Here he remained one year 
and then opened an office in Louisville, where 
he entered upon a general practice and re- 
mained in that beautiful citv until the fall 
of 1881. 

Dr. Carnachan removed then to Bentley, 
111., where he was in acti\e practice for ten 
years, coming in 1891 to Bruce. This was 
then but a hamlet, its population for the most 
part made up of lumber men and for a long- 
time he was the only settled physician be- 
tween Barron and Rhinelander. Here for 
fourteen years Dr. Carnachan has success- 
fully practiced his profession and has es- 
tablished a reputation as a physician and a 
public-spirited citizen. In 1898 he opened 
his Model drug- store, than which no other in 
northern Wisconsin is better entitled to the 
name. In 1897 he was appointed postmaster 
of Bruce, and in 1902 was elected president 
of the village, being re-elected in 1903 and 
1904. Upon several occasions he has been 
treasurer of the school board and has held 
other relations to the municipalitv. 

In politics Dr. Carnachan is an active 
Republican, taking a deep interest in public 
matters, as becomes a worthy citizen, and 
upon numerous occasions represented his 
party as a delegate at county conventions. 
I'Vaternally he is a member of the Knights 
of Pythias and was the first Chancellor 
Commander of Chippewa Valley Lodge of 
Bruce, Wis. He belongs also to the "bene- 
ficiary order of the Maccabees. Dr. Carna- 
chan is surgeon to both the Arpin and the 



Beldenville Lumber Companies; is examin- 
ing surgeon lor all the insurance companies 
doing business in Bruce and vicinity; for 
almost all of the leading beneficiary organi- 
zations, and is a member of the Board of 
Pension Examiners at Bruce, Wis. He is 
one of the men of afifairs of the locality, one 
whose interests also are centered here. He 
has fostered many of the successful enter- 
prises of the place and has watched the 
growth of its material prosperity from al- 
most the beginning. That he may live many- 
years and see the fruition of his hopes and 
the completion of his enterprises for the 
benefit of this comniunity, is the universal 
wish of his many adniiring friends. 

In 1878 Dr. Carnachan was united in 
marriage with I\Irs. Susan Salisbury. There 
is no living issue to this marriage. Dr. and 
Mrs. Carnachan lune an adopted son, 
Rol)ert W. 

HON. W; S. MANNING, County 
Judge, vice-president of the State Bank, at 
Ladysn-iith, and a prominent dealer in real 
estate, is one of the leading citizens of this 
section of Wisconsin. 

Judge Manning was born Aug. 26. 1855, 
in Sheboygan County, Wis., a son of E. D. 
and Elizabeth (Shaugen) Manning, the 
former of whom was born at Saratoga, N. 
v., the latter at Morristown. New Jersev. 

His father dying in his youth, E. D. 
Manning accompanied his mother, then Mrs. 
Jacob Ling, to this State, and settled in 
Sheboygan Comity, in 1848. In this county 
he married and lived until 1856, when he and 
his wife removed to Baraboo. a year later 
going to Richland county, where they settled 
])ermanently. The father died in i8g8. aged 
seventy years, and the mother is still surviv- 
ing and residing on the old homestead there. 
Mr. Manning was a man of aft'airs and held 
nunierous offices. 

Judge Manning is the eldest of his par- 
ents' fi\e children. He w-as reared on his 
father's farn-i and remained at home until 
niaturity, obtaining his education in attend- 
ance at the common and high schools of 
Richland countv. At the age of seventeen 





'(2yVl'>'UyL^ 






roMMr,:\iOR.\TiVE biocrai'iiical uf.cor:) 



49^ 



lie began teaching in the pnljlic schools, and 
followed tlTis profession for some sixty 
months. During this time he employed spare 
moments in the study of law, and finally en- 
tered the office of Clark & Jackson, as a 
student. Tliey were prominent attorneys at 
riyni'Mith. Wis., and were his office pre- 
ceptors one year. He was admitted to the 
Bar in October, 1880, and immediately 
opened a law office at Muscoda, Wis., for 
the succeeding nine years closely applying 
himself to the demands of his profession. 

In 1889 Judge Manning became asso- 
ciated with E. I. Kidd, formerly State Bank 
examiner, Atley Peterson, State Railroad 
commissioner, J- O. Davidson, now lieuten- 
ant-governor of Wisconsin, W. H. Bennett, 
B. F. Washburn, Ole O. Dahl and A. C. V. 
Elston, in the organizaticMi of the Kickapoo 
Valley and Northern Railway, now the Wis- 
consin Western and a part of the Milwaukee 
system. Mr. Manning was the active man- 
ager of this company, and they completed 
thirty-four of the fifty-one miles between 
Soldiers' Grove and W'auzeka, finishing their 
contract in 1891. In 1895 he went to Ken- 
tucky, where he had a contract for the con- 
struction of twenty-five miles of road, which 
is now operated by the Louisville & Nash- 
ville Company. After the completion of this 
second contract, Mr. Manning returned to 
^^'isconsin, and became cashier of a bank 
at Soldiers' Grove ; he served in that cajiac- 
ity until 1900, when he came to Ladysmith 
as the representative of the J. L. Gates Land 
Co., of Milwaukee. The place was then a 
hamlet, with se\enty-four residents by actual 
count, and was known as the village of War- 
ner. Here Judge Manning was confronted 
with a business opportunity, which he was 
not slow to take advantage of. Prior to this 
there had been much agitation concerning a 
division from Chippewa County, and the 
question had been before the Legislature. It 
needed but the enterprise of an energetic and 
forceful man, like Judge Manning^ to take 
the matter in hand. He saw its expediency 
and became the champion of the bill, and 
went before the Legislature of 1900 as the 
representative of those interested. Lie la- 



bored during the whole session and it waS' 
largely through his efforts that the bill waS' 
finally passed authorizing the division which' 
was accomplished in May, 1901. 

About this time Gov. LaFollettc named' 
Mr. Manning for the position of County 
Judge, his present term to extend until 1906. 
He has dealt extensively in the Gates Com-- 
I)any's lands and continues to be one of the' 
company's representatives, having also large' 
personal holdings. He has been very active 
in encouraging emigration and has been the 
direct means of locating many desirable set- 
tlers in this county. 

In politics Judge Manning is a Democrat,, 
and for many years has been one of the ac- 
knowledged party workers. He has served 
as delegate for his party to State and other 
conventions, and was twice a candidate for 
district attorney. Fraternally he is a Mason, 
one of the organizers and charter members 
of the Mystic Tie Lodge, No. 280, of which 
he was the first master; is a Knight Templar, 
l)e Molai Commandery, of Boscobel, Wis., 
and belongs to the order of Odd Fellows, 
being connected with the Ladysmith Lodge 
nf that organization. 

In 1880 Judge Manning was united in 
marriage with Mi.ss Ida M. Elston, and their 
two children died in infancy. An adopted 
daughter, Frances C. is given parental care 
and a good home. In 1900 Judge Manning 
built a handsome modern house, on a beauti- 
ful point overlooking the Flambeau river. 

EDWARD B. GLASS, one of the 
oldest surviving pioneers of Minnesota and 
a participant in many of the historic events 
at the Head of the Lakes, comes of a long 
line of New England sea-faring ancestors. 
He was born in Guilford, Piscataquis Co., 
Maine, July 31. 1832, and his first visit to 
the Lake region nccurred in 1853, when he 
came to assist in negotiating a treaty with 
the Red Cliff Indians on .\postIe Islands, 
and on this trip he spent a night each in 
Superior and Fond du Lac. 

Sidney Glass, his grandfather, was lx)rn 
at New Gloucester, Mass., and in active life 
followed the sea. He served in the war of 



50 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



the Revolution, and was wDundeil in service 
luuler Admiral John Paul Jones. He at- 
tained the remarkable age of one hundred 
and thirteen years, and died at Guilford, 
Maine. 

Ezekiel Glass, son of Sidne}' and father 
of Edward B., was, like his father, a sea- 
faring man. When the war of 1812 was at 
hand, he entered the army, and participated 
in some of the decisive events of that 
struggle, and was present at the battle of 
Lundy's Lane. He married Sabina Byron, 
also of a representative New England 
family. 

Edward B. Glass left home at the age of 
fourteen years, and went to New Orleans, 
making the journey by water. He obtained 
work on a Mississippi river steamer, ply- 
ing between that place and St. Paul, and after 
a time he entered the Luiited States govern- 
ment employ under Major Harriman, agent 
for the Chippewa Indians at Crow Wing, 
Minn. In tliat connection he remained five 
years, finding much to interest him in his 
work and in the country. After assisting 
to remove the tribe to White Earth, he 
worked some at logging on the Chippewa 
Reservation. At the outbreak of the Sioux 
war, he enlisted under Col. Northrup, and 
for two and a half years served as scout, his 
previous experience with the Indians ren- 
dering his services at this time invaluable. 
At Fort Ransom he helped to rescue the 
prisoners taken by the savages at New Ulm. 
In 1869 Mr. Glass located at Superior, Wis., 
where for four years he engaged in log- 
ging, and then moved to Duluth, Minn. 
There he erected the first hotel on Rice's 
Point, the building still standing a monu- 
ment to the memory of those early days. 
After a year there he spent two years in 
Houghton, Mich., and two years in Canada. 
About 1875 he came to Fond du Lac. where 
he invested in real estate and conducted a 
market garden for many years, meeting with 
much success. A man of strong character, 
it was but natural that he should be con- 
spicuous in public affairs, and in a short 
time after he located in Fond du Lac, his 
name was familiar. He is a Democrat in 



politics, and lor a number of years he servcil 
as deputy sheriff of St. Louis county. He 
is simple and direct in his manner, and his 
integrity has never been questioned. From 
1900 to 1904 he lived in the West End, and 
he now resides in a comfortable home in 
Fond du Lac. 

In 1854 Mr. Glass was married to Miss 
Cynthia Gray, who was born in Calais, 
Maine, and died in Duluth, Minn., July 24, 
1892, aged fifty-five years. She was a mem- 
ber of the Methodist Church. Twelve chil- 
dren were born of this marriage, six of 
whom are living ; Edward, of Two Harbors, 
Minn. ; Angelia, Mrs. W. W. Scott, of Du- 
luth; Norah, Mrs. B. F. Bishop, of Bemidji, 
Minn. ; Fred, of Rice River, Minn. ; Hugh, 
of Two Harbors, Minn. ; and Ida, Mrs. C. 
A. Runquist, of Fond du Lac. Mr. Glass 
has thirty-two grandchildren. Mrs. Glass's 
father, Reuben Gray, also a native of Calais, 
Maine, now resides in Brainerd, Minn., at 
the age of ninety-four years. 

ALBERT A. GEARHART. The city 
of Medford, Taylor county, has been fortun- 
ate that among its earliest pioneers came this 
enterprising and pulilic-spirited citizen, who 
has done much to further the impro\-ement 
and development of the place. Energetic, 
industrious and far-sighted, he is a man 
to command success, and his unswerving in- 
tegrity has won for him the respect of all 
who know him. Going to the present city 
of Medford, when there was but one house 
there, his career has been largely identified 
with that of the town. 

Charles Henry Gearhart, father of Al- 
l;ert .\.. was born in Livingston county, N. 
v., of Pennsylvania Dutch lineage. He mar- 
ried JNIiss Louise Tabor, who was born in 
the same county, of New England parentage. 
Mrs. Gearhart is still living, in her eighty- 
second year, and can still read without the 
aid of glasses. 

Charles Gearhart went to Wisconsin in 
1855 and settled in Waukesha county, where 
he was engaged in lumbering and farming. 
When the Civil w'ar broke out, he enlisted 
in the 6th Wis. Light Artillery, and served 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



51 



about two years. Three of his brotliers were 
also in the Union ranks. Since the war Mr. 
Gearhart has Ijeen occupied as a hotel keeper 
and has managed establishments at Mctl- 
ford, Plaintield and Chelsea, remaining at 
the last place for some time. He and his wife 
are at present residents of Wausau, Wiscon- 
sin. 

Albert A. Gearhart was born at Xunda. 
Livingston Co., N. Y., Aug. 30, 1855, but 
was reared and educated in Wisconsin. He 
was only nineteen when he first reached 
Med ford, and at that time there was one 
small frame house on what is now Main 
street, and a sawmill in the process of con- 
struction, to ser\e as an apology for a town. 
Mr. Gearhart was employed as a shingle 
sawyer in the mill and worked there for a 
number of years, under several successive 
owners. In 1883 Mr. Gearhart removed 
to Chelsea and dealt in general merchandise 
for a time, but finally returned to his fonncr 
occupation and from i88g to 1899 operated 
a sawmill there, in which he produced the 
first hemlock lumber on the line of the Wis- 
consin Central Railroad. He invested quite 
heavily in wild land in the vicinity of Chel- 
sea, and still owns a considerable amount 
of it. 

The Wisconsin Central in 1899 engaged 
Mr. Gearhart as its timber inspector and the 
first of May of that year he returned to 
Meflford, and has since made it his hume. 
.Always a Republican in his political princi- 
I)les, he has done his part in the city's service, 
even as he had previously done in Chelsea. 
In the latter place he served for eight or 
ten years as town treasurer and for nine 
years as school clerk, refusing to be again 
elected to the latter ofifice. After his return 
to Med lord, in the fall of 1900, Mr. Gear- 
hart was elected county treasurer and was 
so efficient an officer that he was returned to 
the place in 1902. At present he is also a 
memljer of the city council, from the second 
ward, and is one of the committee on streets 
for that body, which is making such great 
improvements in the city's thoroughfares. 
It is onlv one of the many instances in which 



his time and powers have been used for Med- 
ford's betterment. 

On May 9, 1878, Mr. Gearhart and Miss 
Catherine Coyne were united in marriage. 
Mrs. Gearhart was the daughter of John 
and Bridget Coyne^ of Fond du Lac. Mr. 
and Mrs. Gearhart are Catholics and the 
family attend the church of that denomina- 
tion. He was a member of the building com- 
mittee which erected the present Catholic 
Church, a fine brick edifice which is a credit 
to the city. Mr. and Mrs. Gearhart have 
one child, a son, named Albert. 

BROXSOX MURRAY PICVTOX, 
President of the Superior State Bank, is 
the son of pioneer residents of the city, 
and is descended from the famous Peyton 
family of Virginia, where his ancestors set- 
tled in Colonial days in the vicinity f)f Rich- 
mond. 

Born in Superior, Aug. 25, 1870, the 
son of Hamilton Murray and Martha (Xew- 
ton) Peyton, Mr. Peyton was christened 
Bronson Murray after his paternal grand- 
father. His father came to Superior from 
Geneva, N. Y., about 1856 and was one of 
the pioneers of the place. For several years 
he conducted a private bank, under the firm 
name of H. M. Peyton & Co.. and also did 
a large insurance business. In 1876 he re- 
moved to Duluth and organized the .Xmeri- 
can Exchange Bank, one of the leading 
linancial institutions there, in which he is still 
interested and of which he has been presi- 
dent for some years. Mr. Peyton is also 
still connected with the lumber firm of Pey- 
ton, Kimball & Barber, one of the oldest 
lumber firms at the Head of the Lakes, 
his connection with which dates back to a 
time pre\-ious to his going to Duluth. Mrs. 
Martha (Newton) Peyton belongs to one 
of the pioneer families of Superior, who have 
played quite as prominent a part in the city's 
youth as the Peytons. She is the mother of 
eight children, Mary, William R., Josephine, 
Bronson M., Martha Murray, Hamilton 
Howe, .'Mice Harriet and John Newton. 
The family are connected with the Episcopal 



52 



CO.M.MK.MORATl\'l£ BlOGKArillCAL RECORD 



Church and are leaders in its various activ- 
ities. 

Bronson yi. I'eyton alteniled first the 
pubHc schools of Superior and then spent 
two years at Shattuck jMilitary School, 
Faribault, Minn. When seventeen years 
old he was given a position in his father's 
Ixmk in Duluth, and after thoroughly learn- 
ing- all the details of banking business, in 
1897 he opened the Superior Bank, of which 
he was owner and manager, until its in- 
corporation as a State Bank in 1903. This 
is the only bank in the old town and trans- 
acts all kinds of banking and insurance 
business. Three years after opening this 
bank, he established the Bank of Chisholm, 
in Chisholm, j\Jinn., of which he was the 
chief owner, until June, 1902, at which time 
he sold his interest in it to A. H. Grieser. 
A Democrat in politics until iS96,' in that 
year Mr. Peyton became a Republican, his 
adherence to sound money views naturally 
drawing him over to the party which repre- 
sented business stability. In neither party, 
however, has he ever been an office seeker, 
though always manifesting great interest in 
local and national issues. 

On July 2, 1902, Mr. Peyton was mar- 
ried to Aima Evelyn Phillips of Amster- 
dam. X. Y. They have one child. Hamil- 
ton Stewart. 

EUGENE F. PRINCE, who is now 
living in practical retirement in Ashland, is 
one of the pioneer settlers of that growing 
city. He was born at Bangor, Maine, Oct. 
17, 1S32, son of John R. and Eliza (Wes- 
ton) Prince, natives of that State. 

John R. Prince was born April 3, 1809. 
and died in Erie county, N. Y., June 16, 
1870. In the spring of 1834 he removed 
to Buffalo, N. Y., becoming secretary of the 
ButYalo Ship Yard & Dry Dock Company, 
with which he was connected for a number 
of years. He then retired to a farm in Erie 
county, where he passed the balance of his 
life. He was a man of much business 
ability. The political questions of the day 
interested him, and while living in Buffalo 



he e.\erted considerable inlluence in behalf 
of the Republican party. 

Eugene F. Prince attended the public 
schools of Buffalo, and at the age of thir- 
teen years began his commercial career as 
an assistant in the office of his father, whom 
he afterward succeeded as bookkeeper and 
secretary of the concern. During the panic 
of 1857 the hrni became financially involved, 
and, resigning his position, he came to Ash- 
land, Wis., bringing with him from 
Buffalo the sash, doors and other finish- 
ings for a house. Arriving upon the 
site of the future city he purchased 
a lot, and cut therefrom sufficient tim- 
ber for the frame of his dwelling, which 
was soon ready for occupancy. This was the 
first frame house erected in the village, antl 
though it has since been remodeled and en- 
larged it is still his home. He also bought 
a stock of goods, and at once engaged in 
the Indian fur trade in conjunction with 
his brother-in-law, Martin Beaser, and later 
with another brother-in-law, Capt. John G. 
Parker, of Ontonagon. Mich., a well known 
pioneer in Lake Sujjerior navigation. Mr. 
Prince contiiuied to be interested in this 
enterprise until 1870, trading posts being 
maintained at several different points on the 
lake, though the business languished for a 
time owing to the general business depres- 
sion, which was not felt in the Upper Lake 
Region until two years after his arrival. 
About this time he was called to Buffalo 
to assist in settling the affairs of his former 
employers, after which he became purser of 
the steamer "Cit}' of Cleveland," which was 
owned by the same parties, and which plied 
between Milwaukee, Grand Haven and Chi- 
cago. In the fall of 1859 he entered the em- 
ploy of another company — which operated 
the steamers "Illinois," "Mineral Rock" and 
"General Taylor" — as purser of the last 
named vessel, plying between Detroit and 
Ontonagon. About Dec. i. of that year, 
navigation having closed for the season, 
he walked through three feet of snow from 
the last named port to his home in Ashland, 
where he spent the winter with a few neigh- 



COMMEMORATIXI-: BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



53 



bers, including Martin Beaser, Asaph Wiiit- 
tlesey, Conrad Goeltz, Austin and Natiian 
Courser, and their famiUes. A few othei 
families spent the winter at Bay City, now 
a part of Ashland. The following April he 
returned on foot to Ontonagon, where he 
took stage to Houghton, thence to Green 
Bay, from which place he was able to pro- 
ceed by rail, reaching Detroit in time for 
the opening of navigation on the lakes. He 
spent several more seasons on the lakes as 
purser of the "Mineral Rock" and other 
\essels, including the ill fated "Pewabic," 
which sank soon after he had severed his 
connection with it, owing to a collision with 
the "Meteor," a disaster in which one hun- 
dred lives were lost. In the fall of i860 he 
removed his family to Ontonagon, and made 
his home there for the next ten years, dur- 
ing a part of which period he was engaged 
in mercantile business at that place. For 
two years more he was agent for the United 
States Express Company at Duluth, after 
which he organized the Lake Superior Ex- 
press Company, with headquarters at Ash- 
land, which has been his home continuously 
since 1872. Upon the completion of the 
Wisconsin Central railroad to that place he 
became the agent of the American Express 
Company, so continuing for eight years. 
He subsequently started a brickyard and 
manufactured the first brick ever made in 
Ashland, and he also dealt in furniture for 
several years. For a score of years past he 
has been a member of the board of educa- 
tion, and for a good part of that period has 
served as secretary of the board. He is en- 
titled to no inconsiderable credit for the de- 
velopment of the excellent school system 
which is the pride of Ashland. In the sum- 
mer of 1 90 1 he took a thorough sc1k)o1 
census, visiting every house in the city in 
person, and thereby adding considerably to 
the income from the State school fund. In 
1873 he was elected clerk of the Circuit court 
and served two terms in that capacity. 
\\ bile living at Ontonagon he served sev- 
eral years as deputy customs collector of 
that port. Whatever official duties he has 
undertaken have been faithfully and capably 



tlischarged. He has always been an en- 
thusiastic disciple of Izaak Walton, and 
sjjends most of his leisure time upon the 
trout streams adjacent to his home. He has 
given much time to horticulture, and has 
demonstrated the practicability of produc- 
ing in abundance many varieties of fruit 
and vegetables in a climate formerly sup- 
posed to be too severe for their successful 
culture. 

Mr. Prince was married, in 1852, to 
Matilda O. Beebe, daughter of Ephraim and 
Elizabeth (Taylor) Beebe, of Cattaraugus 
county, N. Y. Mr. Beebe was a farmer in 
New York, but passed his later life at On- 
tonagon. Of five children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Prince four survive : Eugenia De F. 
( wife of W. R. Durfee, a well-known lum- 
berman of Ashland), John R., Roy B. and 
Faith Winifred. All have been carefully 
educated, and the sons are filling responsible 
I)ositions in business. Mr. and Mrs. Prince 
celebrated their golden wedding Feb. 1 1 , 
1902, all the family being present. 

BYRON RIPLEY, cashier of the Iron 
River Bank, with the public spirit char- 
acteristic of the best Americans, while al- 
ways extensively occupied with the business 
cares incidental to his position, has yet also 
maintained a keen interest in politics, and 
has been active in all movements for the 
public good, his achievements fitting him for 
effective work in any sphere. 

Mr. Ripley was born in 1850, in Brock- 
ville. Ont., where he remained until he was 
eighteen years old, attending the public 
schools, when he went to Conneaut, Ohio, 
and entered an academy from which he was 
graduated later. After leaving the academy 
he remained at Conneaut until 1872, en- 
gaged in the milling business. In that year 
he went to Port Austin. Mich., where for 
nine years he continued his previous occu- 
j)ation as a miller. In 1881 he went into 
the law office of George S. Engle & Com- 
pany, of Port Austin, with whom he read 
law' for four years. At the end of that time 
he left Michigan, and in company w'ith Mr. 
Engle went to Aberdeen, Brown Co., S. 



54 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



D. ; they were engaged there iu a loaning 
and collection agency for a year and then 
Mr. Ripley decided to try his fortunes else- 
where. Removing to Roscoe, S. D., he 
bought a hotel and carried it on for four 
years, operating in connection with it a stage 
line from Ipswich to Le Beau, lOO miles 
west, on the east side of the Missouri rixer. 
In 1890 he undertook the management of a 
hotel in West Superior, at the time when the 
boom was at its height, and then in the course 
of the following year he settled in Iron 
River. 

At that time there was properly speaking 
no town there, as it was merely the western 
terminal of the South Shore ' Road. Its 
growth, however, was rapid, and it soon be- 
came a flourishing little town. Mr. Ripley 
was appointed deputy postmaster, and held 
that position some time. In 1892 he estali- 
lished the first newspaper in town. The Iron 
River Times; at first he was associated with 
Mr. J. A. Munger. of Ashland, as editor. 
I)ut before long he bought Mr. Munger out 
and contunied the publication until he sold it 
m 1897. The paper was Republican in its 
tone. After giving up his newspaper work 
he bought an interest in the bank, and has 
smce been identified with it in the capacity of 
cashier and vice president; its business is of 
a general banking character. 

Mr. Ripley is a strong Republican in 
his \-iews, and while never an active politi- 
cian, he has displayed much interest in pul)- 
hc affairs, and has been a delegate to numer- 
ous conventions. 

In 1872, at the time of his removal to 
Port Austin, Mr. Ripley was married to 
Miss Mary Patrick, daughter of Samuel Pat- 
rick, of that place. Only one son has come 
to them, George W., born in 1879, and now 
cashier of the Iron River Bank. There is 
also resident in Iron River, a brother of Mr. 
Ripley, who came there in 1S93 a"d lives 
on a farm, where his mother makes her home 
with him. The father, Thomas Ripley, was 
a native of Connecticut, but went to Canada 
when a young man, and afterwards removed 
to Huron county, Mich,, where he died in 



HORACE SAXTON, whose memory 
will long be revered by the older citizens of 
the two upper lake cities, was a character 
uni(iue in all those qualities of mind and 
heart that give force and character to the 
man. He was native of a locality out of 
which strong men were born and fitted for 
the arduous duties that devolved on such 
of them as took part in subduing and de- 
veloping the great West. New Haven, 
Conn., where he was born Jan. i, 1806, is 
justly noted as the birthplace of many men 
who became conspicuous in nearly all the 
affairs of life, with which men have to do. 
His life until his tenth year was passed 
there receiving in the public schools an ele- 
mentary education. About 181 6 his pa- 
rents, Horace Saxton, Sr., and his wife, 
Harriet (Pritchard), his mother, moved to 
Talmadge, Ohio, then on the borders of 
western civilization, where the elder Sax- 
ton took up a large farm and passed the re- 
mainder of his life, dying at the age of sev- 
enty-five years. His widow survived him, 
her death occurring when she was nearly one 
hundred years of age. 

Upon the parental homestead, Horace 
Saxton lived with his parents for a number 
of years and aided in the development of the 
farm. After attaining his majority he went 
to Norwalk, Ohio, where he became a 
builder and architect, which business he fol- 
lowed there and at Toledo, Ohio, for a num- 
ber of years. In this business he was quite 
successful, accumulating modest means 
which encouraged him to seek the surpass- 
ing opportunities offered in the great Upper 
Lake Region, then being opened up for set- 
tlement. Accordingly in 1853 '''^ went to 
Superior where he assumed charge of the 
erection of some of the first buildings put 
up by the original town site company. He 
was active in the affairs of the new town 
and in 1855 was appointed keeper of the 
first light house erected at the Superior en- 
try- which was the home of the family for 
nine years. The family moved to Minne- 
sota Point in the spring of 1864, taking up 
its abode near the main land, where the 
canal was since constructed. At that time 



COMMEMORATIX'E BIOClRArHlCAL RECORD 



Uicre were nnly seven houses in Upper ami 
Lower Duliith. He foresaw tliat Diiluth 
was destined to become in the future a busy 
mart of trade and commerce, and accord- 
ingly he invested such means as he possessed 
in what seemed eligible property. After a 
resilience of some years upon the point, he 
moved to a home which he had erected in 
Second street. Into all the affairs of the 
new city he entered with characteristic 
energy, and was a leading spirit in every en- 
terprise that in his judgment tended to 
hasten the development of the embryo city. 
1 lis abilities were recognized by his towns- 
men, and he was called by them to till num- 
erous official positions of responsibility antl 
trust, among which may be mentioned coun- 
ty commissioner and alderman. He was not 
what is now considered an active politician, 
and never a seeker after political prefer- 
ments, excepting those only which he deemed 
it a duty to assume. In his early life he 
was a Whig, and an ardent admirer of Will- 
iam Henry Harrison, upon one occasion 
driving from Xorwalk to Sandusky to en- 
joy the privilege of shaking hands with his 
ideal man and statesman. Mr. Saxttm was 
one of the leading promoters of the Lake 
Superior and Mississippi Railroad, now 
know as the St. Paul & Duluth. His activ- 
ity in this enterprise occasioned his presence 
at several legislative sessions in St. Paul, 
where he exerted his influence for the 
furtherance of a scheme which he deemed 
vitally essential when developed to the 
growth and prosperity of Duluth. This ex- 
perience brought him into direct contact with 
the leading public men of his State, out of 
which grew aciiuaintanceships which endured 
until terminated by his death August 1 1 , 
1895. He was a man of strong convictions. 
He had keen, discriminating judgment, and 
he unerringly detected whatever of sham 
and pretence appeared in a social or busi- 
ness proposition. He was honest to the core, 
and while not a member of any church, he 
rigidly observed the requirements of the 
Golden Rule, doing unto all men as he 
would be done by. 

Mr. Saxton was united in marriage, Jan. 



19, 1837, with Miss Eunice, daughter of 
Ilenry and Eunice (Fairwell) Curtiss, of 
Bridgewater, N. Y. Mrs. Saxton joined her 
husband at Superior in 1855, and is now one 
of the earliest surviving" pioneers at the Head 
of the Lakes. She is still quite vigorous of 
mind and body and describes graphically 
and interestingly many happenings occur- 
ring in the early history of Sujjerior and 
Duluth. It was in her home that the first 
United States Land Ofticcr in Duluth was 
established, as was also the first bank, which 
was opened by George C. Stone and Geo. B. 
Sargent. Mrs. Saxton is a woman of deep 
religious convictions, and was one of the 
first communicants of the Church of the Re- 
deemer at Superior, as well as of St. Paul's 
Episcopal Church of Duluth. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Saxton w'ere born seven children: 
Louisa died at the age of eighteen years; 
Julia died at the age of ten years; Carrie 
died at about the same age; Mary is Mrs. 
Walter Van Brunt, of Duluth ; Cornelia is 
I\Irs. B. Gillette, of Interlaken, Florida ; 
Charles lives in Duluth ; Henry is a resident 
of Seattle. Wash. Mrs. Saxton has seven 
grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchil- 
dren. 

CHARLES L. SAXTON represents a 
well-known pioneer family of Duluth. He 
was born Oct. 10, 1853, in Toledo, Ohio, 
son of Horace and Eunice Saxton, who came 
to the Head of the Lakes with their family 
when their .son Charles was but two years 
old. He received his education in the public 
schools, and at the age of twenty years be- 
gan work with the famous surveyor, (korge 
R. Stuntze, with whom he continued until 
that gentleman's death. For nine years he 
was engaged as deputy county surveyor of 
St. Louis county, Minn., doing much work 
on government surveys in that county, and 
he still follows his jjrofession to some ex- 
tent, for individual jiroperty owners. His 
experience in this line has made him quite 
an authority in this section. For several 
years during his young manhood Mr. Sax- 
ton carried mail' by dog team, on the ice, 
from Superior to Duluth, when navigation 



56 



comm1':mokativi-: r.ioGRAriiiCAL ri>:coru 



was closed, lie has filled other positi(*ns 
of trust than those immediately connected 
with iiis special line of work, and has demon- 
strated his integrity and ability in every 
•case. He is a lilelonL;- Republican in ]ioliii- 
>cai faitii. 

In 1881 Mr. Saxton married Miss Kva 
Petcr.son, daughter of S. W. Peterson, an 
early settler of Duluth, who now lives at 
Chisago City. Minn. Mr. and Mrs. Saxton 
liavc one child, ICnnice L.ouisa. 

CAPT. JAMES DUDLEY ROlUi: 
'(deceased) was a veteran of the Civil war, 
and for many years one of the foremost 
citizens of Superior, Douglas county. He 
was born in Monmouth, Maine, Jan. 20, 
1834, and died at Superior, March 11, 1892. 
Capt. Robie's parents came to Maine from 
New Hampshire, and Gov. Erederick Robie, 
of Maine, was a cousin of the Captain. 

When the war broke out, Capt. Robie 
left his position as overseer of the woolen 
mill at Lewiston, Maine, to enter the service. 
He helped to recruit Company B. 28th M. 
V. I., and was commissioned 2d lieutenant. 
He enlisted Sept. 10, 1862, and was nuis- 
tered out Sept. 30, 1863. He saw much 
service near New Orleans and in Florida, 
and took command of the company tluring 
the illness of Capt. A. G. Stanley. The 
family has in its possession a solid silver 
cup which the Captain brought as a trophy 
from a plantation near New Orleans. After 
the w:>.r Capt. Robie resumed his occupation 
in the woolen mills at Lewiston, his resi- 
dence being at IMonmouth. About 1870 he 
moved to Miller Station. ]\linn.. where he 
carried on a shingle mill and served as post- 
master until 1881. He then located at Su- 
perior, where be conducted a lumber busi- 
ness and dealt extensively in real estate. Tn 
AVest Superior Capt. Robie bought and sub- 
divided considerable property, erected many 
buildings, and did a general real estate busi- 
ness. His own home on Second street, near 
the Nemadji river, was built in 18S8. and 
is perhaps the most substantial residence in 
Superior. 

The tirst marriage of Capt. Roljie was 



to Anna Knight, daughter of Henry and 
I'llizabeth Knight, and a native of New 
Hampshire. She died in Monmouth, Maine, 
leaving one son and two daughters : Horace 
!)., ofVupcrior; lilizabeth, Mrs. H. R. Tink- 
ham, of Duluth, now deceased; and Georgia, 
]\lrs. Howard, of Monmouth, Maine. Capt. 
Rol)ie married (second) March 8, 1880, 
Mrs. M. K. Daniels, of Minneapolis, who 
was a daughter of T. T. Casey, a sea cap- 
lain of Halifax, N. S., who was lost at sea 
while his daughter was an infant. Most of 
her chiklhood was spent with a sister in 
Boston. Capt. Casey was born in Cork, 
Ireland, and located in Halifax in 1830. He 
married Mary Brookshaw, who was born 
in Montreal, of h^rench descent, and died in 
Superior in 1886, aged seventy-two years. 
Capt. Robie was a Republican, attended 
many political conventions and exerted a 
marked influence on behalf of his party. He 
was one of the thirteen charter members of 
.Xlonzo Palmer Post, No. 170, G. A. R., 
at West Superior, of which be servetl as 
commander, and of which he was a most 
active member. Robie Post, at Oldtown, 
was named in his honor. He was also a 
member of the K. P. Capt. Robie organ- 
ised the Robie Drum Corps of which be was 
leader, and by bis request this drum corps 
])liyed "The Star Spangled Banner" at his 
funeral. Capt. Robie was noted for his 
strict integrity, his kindly disposition, his 
benevolence and his untiring energy in wbat- 
c\er lie undertook. 

COL. ELMER E. TENNANT, a repre- 
sentative l)usiness man of Ashland and ex- 
ofticial of Ashland comity, was born in Grand 
Rapids, Wis., May i, 1864. He is a son 
of Richard and Mary (Warren) Tennant, 
of Abbottsford. Wisconsin. 

Richard Tennant was born in western 
Xew York, his American ancestor coming 
frinn the North of Ireland and settling in 
Massachusetts early in the eighteenth cen- 
tury. Rev. William Tennant, an early repre- 
sentative of the family, was a Presbyterian 
clergyman, who with others of the name 
came to this countrv as missionaries. .\m- 



CO.M.MEMORATIVK DIOGRAl'IlICAL RFXORD 



57 



heist Tennant, llie fatlier of Richard, was 
a fanner in New W)rk and later in Wiscon- 
sin. He died at Grand Rapids, in the latter 
State, at the age of ninety-one years. 
Richard Tennant has devoted his life to agri- 
culture. He owns an extensive farm near 
Abbottsford, where he has lived since 1872, 
having been a pioneer settler in that locality. 
He is a man of good abilities, strong in his 
convictions, belonging to a representative 
.t)pe of men. His political affiliations are 
with the Republican party, which has lu^n- 
ored him with a number of local offices. 
Mrs. Mary (Warren) Tennant was born in 
Bath, N. Y. Her father, Joseph Warren, in 
early life followed boating and rafting on 
the Erie canal and the Suscjuehanna and 
Schuylkill rivers. About 1850 he came to 
Wisconsin, dying at Abbottsford in 1898, 
aged seventy-eight years. He was a direct 
descendant of Gen. Joseph Warren of 
Hunker Hill fame. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Richard Tennant were born six children, 
namely : Elmer E. ; Carrie, Mrs. Frank Hunt, 
of Abbottsford; Frank; Arthur; Melville; 
and Donald who was drowned in Minneai)- 
olis, July 8, 1903, aged eighteen years. The 
surviving sons are all of Abbottsford and 
employes of the Wisconsin Central Railroad 
Company. 

Elmer E. Tennant lived with his parents 
at Dorchester before the Wisconsin Central 
Railway reached that point, and received 
his elementary education there in the public 
schools. During the school years of 1884-5 
he attended the State Normal School at 
River Falls. During his early life he suc- 
cessfully taught in the public schools for 
eight years, acquiring an enviable reputa- 
tion as an instructor. In 1886 he came to 
Ashland to accept a position with a whole- 
sale mercantile company as shipping clerk. 
The following year he taught in the public 
schools and for another year he kept the 
books of the Ashland Cigar and Tobacco 
Company. He was also interested in the 
slvie trade for a time and for eight years 
was connected with the First National Rank 
as assistant cashier. 

For several vears Mr. Tennant has been 



especially interested in local military affairs 
pertaining to the National Guard of Wiscon- 
sin. In 1889 he assisted in organizing the 
Ashland Rifles, which later became Com- 
pany L, Second Regiment, Wisconsin Na- 
tional Guard. He quickly acquired ef- 
ficiency in military tactics, a recognition of 
which came Oct. 23, 1895, when he was 
commissioned ist lieutenant of the company. 
.•\t the outbreak of the Spanish-American 
war, April 28, 1898, he with his command 
was mustered into the service of the I""ed- 
eral Government and. May 12th following, 
he was commissioned ist lieutenant. Com- 
pany L, W. V. I. With his command he 
participated in the Porto Rico campaign, 
which had proceeded as far as Abonits Pass 
when news was received that hostilities had 
ceased and he returned to Ponce. With his 
regiment he had participated in the 
skirmish at Coamo. The regiment was dis- 
charged, Nov. 21, 1898. As a just recogni- 
tion of these services, he was appointed by 
Gov. La Follette an aide de camp upon the 
Governor's staff with the rank of colonel, 
June 26, 1901, and participated in the drill 
at the annual encampment at Camp Douglas 
for the .same season. Following his return 
from the Spanish war, he received the nom- 
ination for county treasurer at the hands of 
the Republican party, was duly elected and 
installed and reelected in 1900, serving four 
years in that position. Upon the expiration 
of his term of office in January, 1903, Mr. 
Tennant accepted the general agency of the 
Union Central Life Insurance Company of 
Cincinnati. He filled that position until 
June I, 1904, when he resigned and went 
to Knoxville, Tenn., with a view to engag- 
ing in coal mining. 

Mr. Tennant's marriage with Ella, 
daughter of Robert and Rosa (Hood) Bu- 
chanan, of St. Paul, was consummated Aug. 
23, 1893. Mr. and Mrs. Buchanan are na- 
tives of Ayr, Scotland, now residing at 
Spokane, Wash. Mr. and Mrs. Tennant are 
parents of three children, Harold. Grace and 
Wallace. Mr. Tennant is popular in fra- 
ternal circles, being a member of Ashland 
Commanflery, No. 22, Knights Templar, and 



58 



COMMEMORATIVE niOtiRAPIllCAL RECORD 



for a number of years has Ijeen treasurer of 
Ancient Landmark Lodge, No. 210. lie has 
also fiUed most of the chairs in the local 
lodge of the Knights of Pythias, and is 
identified with the Inde])endent Order of 
Odd Fellows and the Benevolent I'rolcclive 
Order of Elks. 

JOHN J. IIAYDEN, chairman of the 
town board of Butternut, and a druggist by 
profession, is a native of Wisconsin, whither 
his parents went among the pioneers. He 
was born in Shel)oygan county in 1866, son 
of Sylvester and Mary (White) Hayden. 
who settled there before the railroads were 
put through. They now reside in Butter- 
nut. 

John llayden was educated in the public 
schools of Sheboygan county, and when in 
1 88 1 his parents mo veil to Price county, 
then just being opened up, he liegan teaching 
in the latter county, though only fifteen years 
of age. For eight years he continued in that 
work and built up quite a reputation as a 
teacher. At length he gave up teaching and 
went to Valparaiso, Ind., where he enteretl 
the Pharmaceutical dci^artment of the North- 
ern Indiana State Normal School, and was 
graduated in 1891. The following year he 
settled in Butternut and established himself 
in the drug business as the successor of J. 
McDonald. Since then he has given prac- 
tically his entire attention to his business. 

Mr. Hayilen has been active in politics 
for some years and is a strong Re])ublican. 
In 1896 he was elected town chairman for 
four successive years, and at the expiration 
of his first term was re-elected. He has also 
served as delegate to both county and State 
conventions. In fraternal circles Mr. Hay- 
den is prominent, and belongs to the A. I*". & 
A. M., as well as to the Woodmen and the 
I. O. O. F., Butternut Lodge, No. 372. 

In 1896 Mr. Hayden was married to 
Margaret Aliers, and they have two children, 
Arthur and Marjorie. 

Mr. Hayden has the best stocked and 
best conducted i)hru-macy between Medford 
and Ashland, and is himself a fine pharma- 
cist, a perfect master of his business. Well 



educated and of pleasing personalily, he is 
admirably adapted for both business and so- 
cial life, and is very generally popular. 

FRED W. MILLER, president of the 
Miller- Waterman Co., presider.t of the Stale 
Bank of Cumberland, president of the Island 
City State Bank of Cumberland and treas- 
urer of the Cumberland Telephone Co., is 
one of the leading citizens of Cumberland, 
Barron Co., Wis., identified with the nnjoi" 
part of her successful business enterprises. 

Mr. Miller was born Aug. 25, 1870, at 
Cedar Lake, Minn., a son of John F. and 
Catherine (Huser) Miller, the fcM'mer born 
at Fallingbostle, PLanover, Germany. There 
his grandfather was a school teacher for 
many years. John F. Miller was born Ajjril 
9. 1836, and in 1857 came to Carver county, 
Minn., with his mother and step- father, one 
brother and two sisters. Pie obtained his 
education in Germany and had there learned 
the trade of tailor, but never pursued it. 
other interests claiminp- his attention after 
coming to America. He first found work on 
a railroad then building in Minnesota, then 
assisted in clearing the home farm and then 
worked during a season at farm work near 
Stillwater, for which he was paid $19 per 
month. Pie continued to help on the home 
land when not otherwise engaged, until 
1859, when he went to a brickyard in 
Chaska and worked there for $12 per month 
for the first year, receiving more during the 
second year, when he was made foreman. 

In 1865 Mr. Miller married Catherine 
Huser, of Alsace, France, and they had 
eleven children born to them, Ida, Anna, 
Fred W., Lydia, Marie, Clara, William, Al- 
bert, Ella, I5elle and Ernest. 

After his marriage, John F. Miller set- 
tled in Carver county, ^linn., and there 
oijcned a brick yard of his nwn, which he 
oi)erated for three years, and then went to 
Cedar Lake, Hennepin county, as superin- 
tendent in a Ijrick yard for Plill, Griggs & 
Co., and during this period bought as much 
as 60,000 cords of wood per year. He re- 
mained with this company for six years and 
then went into partnership with Col. C. W.. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOCRAl'l 1 ICAL RECORD 



59 



(iiiggs. Tliey conducted ;i woml business 
<it Muntrose on tlie Manitoba, now tlie Great 
Nortliern Raih'oail, siiipping the most of tlie 
wood to St. Paul, and also operated a t^en- 
eral store. In 1880 he came to Cumber- 
land and the business was carried on iiiilil 
1887, from whicli time until his death he 
was interested in the lumber business, lie 
was vice president of the comi)any now 
known as the Beaver Dam Lumber Co., 
which owned a saw null and employed 125 
men. In 1881 the company started the 
largest store in the place and in October, 
1883. Mr. Miller, with J. T. Heath, started 
the Bank of Cumberland, which after 1887 
he conducted alone. He was a very success- 
ful business man and owned a great deal 
of property in that locality and was the one 
to lay out anil plat the best part of the 
town. 

In 1880 Stone & Maxwell started a lum- 
ber business in Cumberland and in the same 
year Griggs, Foster & Miller started the 
jxjst and wood business. In July, 188 1, 
they bought out Stone & Maxwell, called 
the firm the Cumberland Lumber Co., and 
operated a store. Dec. 2, 1881, this firm 
sold the lumber business and the name was 
changed to the Beaver Lake Lumber Co. 
Griggs, Foster & Miller ran a store tmtil 
1888 and then the Beaver Lake Lumber Co. 
sold out to the Beaver Dam Lumber Co., 
this change including the firm store. The 
company store again changed hands. June i, 
1903, being sold to Miller-Waterman Co.. 
of which company Fred \V. Miller is presi- 
dent and treasurer, S. H. Waterman is vice 
president and B. H. W'aterman is secretary. 

I'red W. Miller was six years of age 
when he removed with his parents to Delano, 
Minn., and later to Montrcj.se, where he at- 
tended school. After coming to Cumber- 
land in 1880 he continued liis education in 
the schools there, completing the high school 
course with credit. .After one year of su])- 
plementary study at the Wisconsin Uni- 
versity, he entered into business, starting as 
office Ijoy witii tlie Beaver Dam Lumber 
Co. His close attention to business and the 
good reports he earned from his employers 



as to fidelity rmd trustworthy character, 
brought him the oiler of a position as private 
secretary to Congressman Haugen, a posi- 
tion he filled with the greatest efficiency 
from 1S89 to 1891, the close of Mr. 
llaugen's term. Returning to Cumberland, 
he became bookkeeper for the Beaver Dam 
Co.. and during his father's illness, con- 
ducted affairs in his place with so mucli Inisi- 
ness ability that at his parent's death in 1892, 
he was elected secretary and treasurer of the 
organization, a position he still holds, hav- 
ing entire management. .'\s mentioned, he 
is also at the head of other enterprises, all 
of which are in excellent condition and re- 
flect the ability, the i)ush and energy of their 
responsible head. 

No less has Mr. Miller been prominent in 
city affairs, having served one term as 
mayor, seven years as city treasurer and for 
a long period has looked after the finances 
of the school district. In politics he is a 
Republican, a zealous supporter of the prin- 
ciples of that party and proud of its accom- 
plishments. 

Mr. Miller was married Dec. 16. 1891, to 
Cora Hunter, of Cumberland, and they have 
four children, Catherine, Esther, Marian 
and Maude. Mr. Miller is a consistent mem- 
ber and a liberal supporter of the Methodist 
Church. 

HON. W. H. IRISH. One of the pub- 
lic-spirited citizens of Washburn, Bayfield 
county, whose services to his community 
have been recognized by election to a judi- 
cial office, is Hon. W. H. Irish, county 
judge. He was born in Eastpoit, Maine, 
March 31, 1844, son of Simeon C. and Mar- 
garet Caroline (McDonald) Irish. 

The ])aternal grandfather, also Simeon 
Irish, was a native of Wales, who settled in 
New England previous to the Revolution. 
During that struggle l;e was a loyalist, and 
in consequence removed to Nova Scotia, 
where he received a grant of land from the 
government and settled down for the rest of 
his life, living to be over ninety years old. 
Simeon C. Irish was horn there, but early in 
life went to Maine; he was commander and 



'6o 



I'OMMl'.Mt^RAriVl': lllOGRArillCAJ. Kl'.CURD 



l):irl owner of a \cssol (.'iii^aj^oil in the coast- 
in<^- trade anil also in the West India trade. 
J lis tleath occurred in his seventy-first year, 
in Eastport, Maine, where his wife also ilied 
at about the same time. She was a native of 
New Jersey, of Scotch ilcscent. 

\V. 11. Irish pas.sed his boyhoiul in h'.ast- 
l)ort, Maine, allendinj;- the public .school, and 
then when almul I'ourteen l)es;-an in life lor 
him.self as a laborer. Durinj^- the next nine 
years he was thus enj'aged, also made occa- 
sional trips on the ocean, and was employed 
in clerical pursuits until 1867, when he went 
to Williamsport, I'a., and for two years was 
there ensaii'cd in the lumber business. His 
next move was to Chippewa Falls, Wis., 
where he worked for six years as a hmiber 
scaler, an<.l then spent six years more at 
Cedar ]vdls, Dunn county. 

In 1885 Mr. Irish located at Washburn: 
there his business interests still are in the 
lumber line, as he manufactured lumber for 
several years, and also boujiht considerable 
timber land in Jiayheld county, some of 
which be still owns. Mr. Irish has o"f late 
vears, however, been more ])rominent in 
town and county affairs than be has in busi- 
ness circles. He has served two years as 
register of deeds, lias been several times 
chairman of the town board, and has also 
actetl as chairman of the county board for a 
time, while in January, 1902, he became 
county judi^e, bavins? been chosen at the 
previous judicial election for this position. 
ITpon the incorporation of the city of Wash- 
burn in 1004, he was elected the first mayor. 

.\t the ai;c of thirty years Mr. Irish was 
married to Janet C. Rose, also born in East- 
]iort, and of Scotch descent. Their married 
life w;is not of lono- duration, as Mrs. Iri.sh 
died at Cedar Isiils in 1883, when about 
thirtv vears of ag-e. She left two children : 
William Harvey, of Washburn: and Laura, 
uow Mrs. Francis V{. Jones, of Chicago. 
l\lrs. Janet C. Irish was a member of the 
Conjjre.sfational Church. Juds^e Irish has 
since married asjain, his second wife being" 
Miss Lovisa E. Smith, of Downsville. Wis- 
consin. 

Judge lri<h 1-^ |ironiincnt in fraternal or- 



ganizations; be has been a member of the 
Masonic fraternity since 1867, and belongs 
to both the I. O. O. F., and the M. W. A. 
He was president of the public library board 
for three years, and manifests a lively inter- 
est in everything calculated to improve the 
condition t)f the town. Judge Irish and his 
wife are communicants of the Episcopal 
Church and are leaders in its activities. So- 
cially they are nuich liked, and have many 
friends. 

MERTON J. P.ia.E. treasurer of Doug- 
las county, is a well known citizen of tlie 
town of Jirule. 1 le was born in Houlton, 
Maine, Oct. 10, 1870, his parents being 
Richard and Mary J. (Punn) I'.ell, also 
natives of Maine. 

Mellon J. I'ell passed most of his boy- 
hood in Si)ringfiel(l and Gardiner, Maine, 
where he attended the public .school, this 
eiluc;ition being supplemented by the prac- 
tisal study of surveying and engineering 
under competent engineers in the field. In 
1887 he went with his parents to Wisconsin, 
settling in Bayfield county, where he en- 
gaged in lumber and woods work, cruising 
and sur\eying. He continued to do sur- 
veying in the L'pi)er I^ake Region until 1897 
when he went into the lumber Inisiness on 
his own account. In the autumn of 1901 
be erected a lumbering plant three miles 
from Brule, which he has since enlarged, 
and to which he expects soon to add further 
improvements, the present cutting capacit)' 
being" 30,000 feet per day. He owns about 
1,000 acres of land at this station which has 
recently been n;imed Bellwood. For four 
years, in addition to his other business. Mr. 
Bell conducted the "Bell Hotel" in I'nile. 
a well known and popular hosteln". 

Mr. Bell marrietl Luella K. Wilson, who 
li;is borne him four children. Hazel, Verna. 
\'ei"a and lkM"tha. I'olitically Mr. Bell has 
always been a Republican and has taken an 
active part in public atY'iirs. He was elected 
supervisor of the township of Brule in 1805, 
assessor in 1806 and chairman of the town 
b(vu"d in iQOO. He has been a member of 
the counlv Republican central committee 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



61 



since 1900, was a delegate to the State con- 
vention in Milwaukee and to the Congres- 
sional convention in Menonionie in 1900, 
has frequently been a delegate to the county 
conventions and has an inlluential voice in 
tiie councils of his party. He was installed 
in office as county treasurer, Jan. i, 1901, 
and reelected in the fall of 1902. Frater- 
nally he belongs to Brule Lodge, M. \V. A. ; 
to the K. M. of Brule; and to the 1!. 1'. O. 
E., of West Superior. 

WILLIAM A. LIGHT, superintendent 
of the United States Indian School at Hay- 
ward, was born in Paola, Miami Co., Kan., 
Jan. 3, 1865. His parents were A. B. and 
Kosa (Morgan) Light, the latter coming 
from Ireland to this country in childhood, 
living fust in Illinois, and about i860 going 
to Kansas; the former a native of Livings- 
ton county, N. Y. During the Kansas war 
of 1856, A. B. Light joined a colony of im- 
migrants 111 that State, .settling in I'aola, 
where he engaged in breeding horses and 
cattle, owning and managing for fifteen years 
the first and only livery stable at Paola. He 
took an active part in the political agitatinn 
which made K:uisas a free State, InU was 
never an aspirant for ofiice. A. B. Light 
was a descendant of Gottlieb Light, belong- 
ing to one of the old Knickerljocker families, 
and a Revolutionary soldier who was with 
Washington's army on its retreat from .\cw 
York across New Jersey. 

William A. Light attended the ])ul)lic 
schools, Kansas Normal School, and the 
Business Institute at Paola. then under the 
direction of Prof. John Whorral. In 1882 
he began teaching a district school in Miami 
county, drawing a salary of $60.00 per 
month, the highest salary ever paid a district 
school teacher in that county. P'or six sea- 
sons Mr. Light was an instructor in the 
Teacher's Summer Institute of Paola and of 
Miami county; he was superintendent of 
city schools at Osawatomie, for two years, 
and at Mound City, Kan., for another 
year. In 1894 he retired to a farm on ac- 
count of his health. The following year he 
entered the Indian service at Rosebud, S. 



D., as teacher, his wife taking the position 
of housekeeper, and there he spent three 
years. He then went to Keam's Canyon In- 
dian School, in Arizona, and in February, 
1899, was appointed superintendent of the 
Otoe Indian School, at Otoe, Okla. The 
following .August he became superintend- 
ent of the Ponca School, from which in 
December, 1899, he was promoted to the 
Pawnee School, having had within the year 
an increase of about fifty per cent in salary. 
In 1901 Mr. Light resigned his position in 
the Pawnee School, intending to go into 
business in the Kiowa and Comanche 
country, then just opened to settlers, but 
abandoning this idea he applied for rein- 
statement in the Indian service, and after a 
few months in an Indian school in New 
Mexico, accepted the position of superin- 
tendent of the Ilayward Boarding School, 
April 4, 1902. 

This school was completed in 1901 and 
opened in September of that year, its first 
superintendent being George Shaefer, of 
Menonionie, Wis. It is a United States In- 
dian Industrial School, and consists of a 
group of modern brick buildings, steam 
heated, and with excellent water, gas and 
sewer arrangements, the plant representing 
an expenditure of $100,000. A modern hos- 
pital building and a superintendent's resi- 
dence are to be added in the near future. 
During the first year the average attendance 
was ninety-six, but by October, 1902, it had 
increased to one hundred and sixty-five — 
ninety boys and seventy-five girls, from five 
to seventeen years of age. These pupils are 
selected from the most intelligent Indian fam- 
ilies in northern Wisconsin, the majority 
being from Sawyer county. Alwut fifty 
acres of the section of land belonging to the 
school is now under cultivation, and more is 
being improved as rapidly as practicable. 
On April r, 1904, the school was segregated 
from the La Pointe Indian Agency, placed 
directly in charge of Superintendent Light 
and designated the Hayward Training 
School. The superintendent was made a 
bonded disljursing officer for the De|)art- 
ment, by the Secretary of the Interior. The 



62 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



attendance lias been increased to i8o. Su- 
perintendent Light intends to give special 
attention to dairying, the soil being well 
adapted to that industry. Half of each day 
is given to industrial training, as the object 
of the school is to fit its students for busi- 
ness and make them self-supporting citizens ; 
as most of the Wisconsin Indians are land- 
owners special attention is given to agri- 
culture, but other trades, including carpen- 
try, blacksmithing, shoemaking and harness 
making, are also taught. The girls are in- 
structed in cooking, housekeeping, sewing, 
etc., and make all of their own clothing on 
the premises. The total number of employes 
has recently been increased to sixteen, viz. : 
Superintendent, William A. Light; physi- 
cian, G. A. Grafton. M. D. ; principal 
teacher, Edmund E. Perry ; two teachers, 
Mrs. E. P. Perry and Mrs. Libbie C. Light ; 
industrial teacher, Frank O. Setter, an In- 
dian; matron. Miss Jane Johnson; assistant 
matron, Mrs. Rose Setter, an Indian ; 
seamstress, Mamie Noble ; laundress, Sarah 
I. Sampson; cook, Mary Farley; -car- 
penter, Charles F. Stetler; engineer, Willis 
I'\ Buck ; nurse, Mary Gillen ; farmer, Ar- 
thur M. Car])enter; and liaker. Lucinda (_i. 
Davids. 

Mr. Light married Sept. 5, 1888, Libbie 
C. Sharon, a native of Ohio, daughter of 
John and Mary J. Sharon. Mrs. Light was 
educated in the public schools of Ohio and 
Kansas ; previous to her marriage she taught 
in the public schools, and has ever since 
been associated with her husband in the 
Indian service, being at present teacher in 
the Flayward Training School. She is the 
mother of three sons; .\rthur, Jcjhn and 
Dewey. The family is connected with the 
Congregational Church. Mr. Light is a 
member of the .\. (). U. W.. and is also 
a Mason. He is a ivepublican in principle, 
although not an active politician. 

D.WID DOBI!-:. Among the enter- 
])rising citizens of Douglas county few are 
as well known as Da\nd Dobie, who now 
resides at Lake Nebagamon, and is recog- 
nized as one of the foremost business men 



of that thriving and picturesque village. 
During his residence of about fifteen years 
in this county, he has been identified with a 
number of undertakings of paramount im- 
portance to its people, which, with his active 
interest in public alYairs, have made him one 
of the most influential citizens of the town 
and county. 

Mr. Dobie was born at Auburn, Ontario, 
Dec. 5, 1855, and is a son of Joseph and 
Ann (McLarty) Dobie, natives of Scotland, 
who came to Canada, in early life. The 
father of Joseph Dobie, who had been a 
farmer in Dumfriesshire, settled in Lower 
Canada about the year 1840. The last 
named gentleman spent most of his life on 
a farm at Auburn, where he died in 1899, 
at the age of eighty-four years. He was a 
man of remarkable physical activity and re- 
tained his youthful strength and vigor in 
old age. Lie was always prominent in relig- 
ious work and officiated for many years as 
an elder of the Presbyterian Church. His 
wife, who was born in Argyllshire, Scot- 
land, passed away alx)ut 1865. Of the nine 
children born to this worthy couple, eight 
still survive. 

After leaving the public schools of his 
native place, David Dobie took a course at 
Goderich high school and another at the 
Toronto Normal School, after which he 
spent eighteen months in teaching. In 1881 
he came to Wisconsin and began his com- 
mercial career as bookkeeper for a firm of 
which his brother Malcolm was a member, 
conducting a general store and lumber busi- 
ness at Shell Lake. The next year he went 
to Hayward and took charge of the interests 
of the concern at that place, consisting of a 
branch store and logging business. In this 
])osition he displayed such ability and faith- 
fulness that in 1884 he became a partner in 
the firm, which was known as Dobie & 
Stratton, and retained an interest therein 
for several years. In 1888 he located at 
West Superior, where for a time he dealt 
in real estate. He spent several more years 
as a logging contractor and also operated a 
logging railroad traversing the best timbered 
portions of the town of Nebagamon and 



COMMEMORATIVE BlOGRArillCAL RECORD 



63 



connecting with tlie waters of the St. Croix. 
As tlie adjacent timbers have been cleared 
away, tliis railroad has been abandoned, but 
much of the route is being utilized for 
wagon roads, most of the e.xpense of clear- 
ing and grading a highway being saved 
thereby. About one hundred million feet 
uf logs were handled on this railroad. In 
recent years Mr. Dobie has given his chief 
attention to dealing in farm lands. He has 
disposed of a number of thousands of acres 
and has been instrumental in locating many 
settlers in Douglas and adjacent counties. 
In 1900 he helped to incorporate the North 
Wisconsin Colonization Company, of which 
he is presiilent, the main ofhce of the con- 
cern being at Superior. There is probably 
no other individual who has done as much 
to bring about the rapid increase in the rural 
I)opuIation of Northwest Wisconsin, and his 
fair and honorable dealings have won and 
retained the confidence and good will of the 
l)eople. Since 1894 he has resided at Lake 
Nebagamon and has represented this towii 
on the county board of supervisors, of which 
body he is now the chairman. He is a Dem- 
ocrat in political ])rinciple but his supporters 
are by no means limited to the members of 
tiiat party. While living in Superior, he 
was twice the candidate of his party for 
mayor of that city but was unable to over- 
come the immense Republican majority 
which prevails there. 

On August 29, 1884, David Dol)ie was 
married to Miss Bella Logic, daughter of 
Rev. John Logic, a Presbyterian minister 
of Valletta, Ontario. Mrs. Dobie was 
born at Rogersville, Ontario, and has Ije- 
come the mother of five children, David 
l.eslie. Walter L., Norma. Jessie and Katie. 
Mr. Dobie helped to organize the Presby- 
terian Church of Lake Xebagamon, with 
which all the members of the family are 
connected. They are among the leaders in 
the social life of that attractive village, 
w Inch is destined to l)ecome one of the most 
])opular summer resorts in Northern Wis- 
consin, being unexcelled in natural advan- 
tages. Mr. Dobie is also identified with the 



Masonic Order and enjoys the wann per- 
sonal friendship of the best class of citizens 
of Douglas county. 

JARED W. TAYLOR, one of the in- 
lluential men of Barron, and since 1901 its 
mayor, has been identified with the town 
since the beginning of his business career 
and has been a potent factor in its upbuild- 
ing. 

A nati\-e of \Visc(jnsin, Mr. Taylor was 
born at Oxford, Marquette county, Dec. 11, 
1856, the son of Henry H. and Martha E. 
(Emerick) Taylor. The mother, who is 
still living at Oxford, was born in New 
York, but her parents were among the early 
pioneers of Walworth county, Wis., and she 
was reared there. Henry H. Taylor, who 
was also born in New York, came much 
later to Wisconsin, settling at Lake Geneva, 
in 1845, where he practiced law, worked on 
his farm and did carpentering, tlius combin- 
ing, as so many pioneers were compelled to, 
several occupations. In 1849 'i^ moved to 
Oxford, where he settled on wild land but 
soon had a good farm improved. Oxford 
at that time was little more than a name, 
with no railroad connection nearer than 
Milwaukee. Mr. Taylor served as justice 
<if the peace and notary public, did most of 
the legal business for the community for 
many years and enjoyed the entire confi- 
dence of the people. Always active for the 
Republican party, he was prominent in local 
politics, several years filled clerical positions 
in the State senate, and was once a candidate 
for a seat in that body. His death, which 
occurred in 1882, was an untimely one, for 
he was but fifty-six years old at the time. 

Jared W. Taylor attended the public 
school at Oxford and then remained at the 
home farm till 1884. He and a brother 
then located at Barron, where they built a 
fiouring mill, the first men to utilize the 
water power there. This mill, the first roller 
mill in N<jrlhern Wisconsin, has continued 
under Mr. Taylor's ownership ever since 
and at present has a capacity of 100 barrels 
of flour a (lav. ' For a few vears he also con- 



64 



COMl\IEMOR.\TI\'l': BIOCiRAIMlICAT. Rl'XORD 



ducted a general store in Barron and did an 
extensive trade. 

Mr. Taylor has always been an enthns- 
iastic and active worker in the Republican 
ranks and has acted as delegate to several 
senatorial and congressional conventions. 
In 1896 he was elected city treasurer of Bar- 
ron for a term of two years and in 1901 be- 
came mayor of the city. The following year 
he was re-elected for two years more, a most 
flattering proof of the esteem in which his 
fellow-citizens held him. His outside in- 
terests, however, are not confined to politics, 
and he is prominent in fraternal circles also; 
since 1876 he has been a member of the I. O. 
O. F.. helped to organize an encampment at 
Barron and for eight successive vears has 
been a delegate to the grand lodge of Wis- 
consin, lie is also a member of the 
M. W. A. 

Mr. Taylor was married in November, 
1881, to Miss Hannah E. Ross, the daugh- 
ter of Mrs. Elizabeth Ross, of Washington 
county, Wis. Three sons and one daughter 
have been born to this union : Henry Ross, 
Mildred, Lawrence and Sherman. The 
family is connected with the Methodist 
Church. In all relations of life Mr. Taylor 
holds the confidence of the community, an 
honor he has fairly earned by his pro1:)ity, 
his ability and well-directed energy. 

GEORGE ROBERT HUGHES, one of 
Superior's talented and influential citizens, is 
a veteran of the Civil war, and a descendant 
of some of the oldest and most patriotic fami- 
lies of this country. Mr. Hughes was born 
in Jackson, Ohio, Sept. 4, 1840, a son of 
James and Elizabeth (Mather) Hughes. 

James Hughes was a native of Prince 
Edward Court House, Va., his Welsh ances- 
tors having located in Virginia in the Col- 
onial days. Members of the family took part 
in the Revolution, and were concerned in 
other notable events of Colonial history. 
James Hughes received his education at 
Hamlin College, Virginia, where he made a 
specialty of the study of law. In the early 
thirties he went to Jackson, Ohio, where for 
several years he practiced law, and where he 



founded the Jackson Standard, wdiich is still 
published ; he was several times elected to the 
Ohio legislature. During the Mexican war 
Mr. Hughes gained rank of colonel. In the 
spring of 1849, ^^X appointment of President 
Taylor, he went to St. Paul in the employ of 
the Government. After the death of Presi- 
dent Taylor Col. Hughes started the T\Iinnc- 
sota CJu-fluiclc in the spring of 1849, '^^'^^ '^^ 
soon sold this paper and moved to Hudson, 
Wis., which was then one of the rising towns 
of the Northwest, trading his property in St. 
Paul (on which the "Merchant's Hotel" now 
stands) for pro])erty in Hudson. He became 
the publisher of the Hudson Republican, and 
later of the Pathfinder and of other journals, 
at the same time practicing law and taking 
an active interest in politics. During the 
early 'fifties he was nominated on the W'hig 
ticket for lieutenant-governor of Wisconsin. 
Col. Hughes died in Hudson in 1873, aged 
se\enty-three years. His w^ife, Elizabeth 
(Alather) Hughes, died at Minneai)olis in 
Januarv, T893. Mrs. Plughes was born in 
Brooklyn, Windham Co., Conn. Her father, 
Eleazer Mather, who was a hatter, lived and 
died in Connecticut ; he was the father of 
William W. Matlier, a noted geologist, of 
Jackson, Ohio. They were lineal descendants 
of Richard Mather, who was silenced for 
nonconformity in England and came to 
Alassachusetts in the early days of that Col- 
ony. Among the posterity of Richard 
Alather were many professional men and 
ministers, including the famous Cotton and 
Increase Mather. Roger Williams, the 
fmmder of Rhode Island, was also an ances- 
tor of Eleazer Mather, the families being 
united by marriage. 

George Robert Hughes is the second of 
twelve children born to his parents. Nine of 
these children are living, and four of them 
took part in the Civil war. Eleazer M. 
Plughes. now of Boardman, ^^"is., served in 
the 4th Wis. V. I. and was for some time 
confined in Libby i)rison; Edward P. is an 
attorney in Anoka, Minn. ; James S. (de- 
ceased) was in the 2d Miimesota Volunteer 
Infantry. 

The education of George Robert Hughes 




GEORGE R, HUGHES 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



65 



Avas acquired mainly in liis father's printinj^ 
office, and began when lie wa?; nine years 
old. In 1856 he entered the office of the 
River Falls Journal, then just started by 
L. A. Taylor and his bmtlier, H. A. Taylor. 
the latter the noted "Hod Taylor," imw 
assistant I'nited States treasurer. In the 
spring: of 1861 Mr. Hughes enlisted in the 
llndson City Guards, later in Company G, 
4tli Wis. y. I., which was afterward 
C(|uipi)cd as the 4th Wi.sconsin Cavalry. He 
served as a jjrivate from April 20, 1861, to 
Jan. 24, 1864. when he was commissioned by 
Gen. Banks as second lieutenant of Company 
D, 99th U. S. C. T. Previous to this he went 
with Gen. Butler from Hampton Roads to 
Ship Island, thence to New Orleans, and 
participated in the downfall of Forts Jackson 
and St. Phillips, in the cami)aign about New- 
Orleans, the 4th AVisconsin being the first 
regiment to land in that city ; he also partici- 
pated in the battles of Baton Rouge and Port 
Hudson, and in many light engagements and 
skirmishes in that vicinity. Lieut. Hughes 
was employed for a time on the famous 
Vicksburg canal, and accompanied Gen. 
Banks' Red River expedition as one of the 
engineer brigade, which had full equipment 
for engineering [jurposes, including a pon- 
toon bridge. During the construction of the 
fort at Morganzia P>end, La., he served as 
assistant to the field officer of the trenches. 
Col. Uri B. Pearsall, under orders of Gen. 
Emory, and while thus engaged, in June, 
1864, had a sunstroke, from the effects of 
W'hich he has never fully recovered. After 
rejoining the 99th Regiment, Lieut. Hughes 
until the end of the war commanded his com- 
pany. He was in command at Concordia 
and at Chattahoochee, Fla., during the recf>n- 
struction period at the close of the war, until 
he was mustered out, April 23, 1866, having 
been for over five years in continuous service. 
While stationed in Florida Lieut. Hughes 
administered the oath of amnesty to hundreds 
of Confederates, and received many compli- 
ments from all sides for the imj)artiaiitv 
which he displayed in maintaining the strict- 
est order. The citizens offered to purchase 
and fit out a printing office if he would under- 

6 



take lo publish a prqicr, which was declined' 
for the reason that he was an old-line Re- 
publican, while they wanted the paper to Ijc 
neutral in politics. 

On Oct. 20, 1868, IJcut. Hughes mar- 
ried Ariana H. Knovvles, a daughter of Per- 
ley and Betsey (Giles) Knowles, of River 
Falls, Wis., who was born in New Llamp- 
shire, and died in River Falls, Nov. 24, 1882. 
Perley and Betsey (Giles) Knowles were- 
married in Boston in 1835, ^"^1 lived to- 
gether for sixty-three years. In 1856 they 
settled at River Falls, where Mrs. Knowles 
died in 1898,' and Mr. Knowles April 22, 
1899, when over ninety-one years of age. 
Two children have been Ijorn to Lieut, and 
Mrs. Hughes : George Knowles served 
through the Philippine war in the 4th United 
States Cavalry, and was discharged with 
the rank of sergeant-major; on April 24, 
T903. he was married to Annie Klein, and 
resides in Superior, Wis. Jessie Ariana 
married N. A. Sheldon. Dec. 24, 1901, and 
now resides in Chicago, Illinois. 

In the fall of 1866 Lieut. Hughes was 
elected register of deeds of St. Croix county.. 
and was twice re-elected. Later he became 
a real estate dealer and did a business in 
loans, insurance and abstracts. After his 
wife's death, in 1882, Lieut. Hughes spent 
about five years in St. Paul. In the spring 
of 1887 he came to Superior, where he com- 
piled the first set of abstracts of Douglas 
county ; the following spring he made an- 
other set of abstract books for the Superior 
Abstract Company, which he has since 
Iviught out. continuing the business himself. 
Since the spring of 1902 Lieut. Hughes has 
been justice of the peace of the First ward 
of Superior. He is secretary of the Albany 
Realty Company, which owns much prop- 
erty in New York and Superior. 

Lieut. Hughes has always been active in 
the G. A. R. and was a member of the invi- 
tation committee for the State Encam])ment 
at Superior in June, 1900, contributing 
much to the success of that event. He also 
belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the 
Masons. Lieut. Hughes is a strong temper- 
ance advocate, and has been active in the. 



66 



COMMEMORATIVE UlOCiRAI'l UC.VL RECORD 



Proliibition cause in local matters, l)ut on 
national issues he is a "dyed-iii-the-wool" 
Republican. 

JIENRY D. WEED, the pioneer phar- 
macist of nortiivvest Wisconsin, and a high- 
ly respected citizen, who has lived in Ash- 
huui almost from its first settlement, was 
born in Pulaski, Orange Co., N. Y., Sept. 
9, 1829. He is a son of Henry Weed, who 
married a Miss Dickinson, both of whom 
were natives of the Empire State. The 
Weed family is of English descent and its 
founder in America was the great-grand- 
father of Henry D. Henry Weed was a 
mason by trade, who left his native State 
about 1S34 for the Illinois country, then just 
beginning to I>e settled. He lived for a few 
years at Pontiac, and then returned to Bing- 
iiamton, N. Y., where he died in 1840. 
Mrs. Weed was born in Utica, N. Y., a 
(laughter of Ebenezer Dickinson, a farmer. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Weed were born three 
children of whom Henry D. is the only son 
and the only one residing in Wisconsin. 
Mrs. Weed died in 1835. 

Henry D. Weed attended the public 
schools of Binghampton, N. Y.. receiving 
his later education in an academy at Ithaca, 
in the same State. At the age of sixteen 
years, he began to learn the drug business 
in Ithaca, which he was engaged in in 1830 
when the California gold excitement was 
at its height. Becoming enamored of the 
(>rospect of acquiring wealth easily he set 
out by way of the Isthmus for the new Eldo- 
rado. There he realized in part at least his 
dream of riches, acquiring the modest for- 
tune of $5,000 in one year. After a short 
stay in Chicago he proceeded to Rock Island, 
III., where he established himself lin the 
■<lrug business and remained several years. 
lie then took an overland trip to California, 
remaining there four years and was engaged 
in mining and other pursuits. He returned 
l)y way of the Isthmus in 1863. In 1864 
lie went from Winona, Minn., to Montana, 
where he spent three years mining for gold 
and silver with good success. Returning 
.to Minnesota he engaged in the drug busi- 



ness at Rushford, where he remained until 
1872, when he came to Ashland and 
opened the only drug store between Superior 
anil Ontonagon. The building in which he 
began business and which he still occupies 
was the first luisiness house contracted for 
in the city. 

Mr. Weed was first married in 1855 to 
Miss Lizzie Cole, of Waukegan, who died 
the following year, aged twenty-three years, 
leaving one child which died six months 
later. His second marriage was with Emma 
Benjamin in 1867. She died in 1890, aged 
forty years. She bore her husband one 
daughter, Fanny, who died at the age of 
fifteen years. Mr. Weed has always been a 
staunch Republican but never an aspirant for 
public office. 

HON. A. WANZER has been a resi- 
dent of Hurley, Wis., since 1891 and since 
1898 has served as county judge for Iron 
county. He was born Feb. 11, 1840, in 
New York City, son of Moses and Mary 
(Wittemore) Wanzer, the former a native 
of Connecticut and the latter of Vermont. 
Moses Wanzer was brought up on a farm, 
and had little opportunity for schooling. He 
went to New York City when a young man, 
where be became a wholesale clothing manu- 
facturer, an occupation in which he was 
engaged until his death in 1856. His wife 
survived him until 1866. 

A. Wanzer was brought up in New York 
City and attended boarding school in N'onk- 
ers, N. Y., until he was seventeen, lie then 
began his business life as a clerk in a whole- 
sale hardware house in New York City, 
where he remained five years. After that he 
went to Houghton, Mich., being employed 
there in different capacities for two years. 
He next accepted a gxnernment position in 
Minnesota, as superintendent of the Winne- 
bogorish Dam, remaining three years. He 
then went to St. Paul and opened a grocery 
store, but meeting with indifferent success, 
sold out this business and accepted the ap- 
pointment of inspector of streets in St. Paul, 
which he held for four years. In 1891 he 
came to Hurley, being employed as book- 



COM.Mi:.MORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



67 



keeijcr in tiie mines, and at tlic same time 
carrjing on an insiu'ance business. In 1898 
he was elected on tlie Republican ticket 
county judge of Iron county, in which posi- 
tion he is now filling his second term. 

Judge W'anzer was married (first) in 
1868, to Maud I'unston, of Houghton. 
Mich., and she became the mother of the 
following children : Albert, deceased ; Mary, 
at home; and Edward J., in the mining in- 
dustry at Stambaugh, Mich. Mrs. ^Iaud 
(F"unston) W'anzer died in 1S75, and the 
Judge married (second) Emma D. Dodge, 
of Jackson, Mich. The children of the sec- 
ond union are Fanny and James, both at 
home. 

ROBERT SYKES. master mechanic 
of the Rice Lake Lumber Co., of Rice Lake. 
Barron Co., Wis., and one of the i)rominent 
men of the place was born at Cilasgow. Scot- 
land. Aug. 12, 1 85 1, a son of Samuel and 
Martha Sykes. The Sykes family came to 
the United States alx)ut 1856. and after his 
arrival Samuel Sykes worked for a time at 
Albany. N. Y.. but later went to Canada 
and operated a locomotive for a number of 
years. In 1865. being attracted to Chip- 
pewa Falls. W'is., he went thither and was 
employed as a machinist there and in north- 
ern Wisconsin. His death occurred at 
Chetek. Wis., m 1886. when he was aged 
sixty-six years. His excellent wife passed 
away at Alliany. not long after reaching the 
United States. 

Roliert Sykes attended school until he 
was seventeen years of age. when he began 
operating a sawmill, but in 187 1 entered the 
employ of the Ingram Company and was a 
faithful and competent mechanic. In Oc- 
toJjer, 1887. he removed to Rice Lake and 
assumed charge of the Rice Lake Lumber 
Co. machinery, which position he still effi- 
ciently fills, being one of the best master 
mechanics in that section of country. 

In addition. Mr. Sykes is also interested 
in land investments, and is a man of promi- 
nence anfl influence in the place. In [Kilitics 
he is a Democrat and was honored by elec- 
tion to the council from the third ward. 



In March, 1872, Air. Sykes married 
Miss Hannah Anderson, born in New Hamp- 
shire, daughter of Mans Anderson of Eau 
Claire. Two sons were born of this mar- 
riage : Walter, who occupies the position 
of engineer of the Rice Lake Lumber Co., 
and Grove, a student at the Lewis Institute, 
Chicago. Fraternally, Mr. Sykes has been 
connected with the Masonic Order for 
twenty years, and belongs to the local lodge 
and chapter, as well as to Tancred Comman- 
dery No. 27, K. T.. at Chippewa I-'alls. 

J. WTNSLOW HACKER, residing on 
the corner of West Fifth street and L ave- 
nue. Superior, is one of the oldest settlers 
in that place, having come there July 7. 
1857. His birthplace was in Kennebec 
county. Maine, but most of his boyhood was 
spent in Cumberland county, that State: his 
])arents were Jeremiah and Sarah (Read) 
Hacker. 

The Hacker family is of German origin. 
J. Winslow Hacker being of the fifth genera- 
tion from Isaac, the immigrant ancestor. 
Jeremiah, son of Isaac, w-as lx)m in Salem. 
Mass.. in 1723. and died at Bnmswick. 
Maine, in 1801. His son, Isaiah, married 
(first) Lydia Gocfdard, by whom he had 
four children. George. Jeremiah, Sarah and 
Isaiah, all deceased. Jeremiah, son of Isa- 
iah and father of J. Winslow, married Sarah 
Read, a native of Windham. Maine, whose 
father, Noah Read, was a Revolutionary 
soldier. Two brothers of Noah Read were 
also in the Continental arjny. Jeremiah 
Hacker died at the age of forty-nine, when 
his son. J. Winslow. was ten years of age ; 
his wife died in June. 1839. They left 
seven children, three sons and four daugh- 
ters, of whom two daughters and three sons 
survive, viz. : Mrs. Emily A. H. Cook, of 
Springfield. Mass. ; Mrs. Hannah H. Wins- 
low. also of Springfield: Isaiah N.. of West- 
])rook. Maine: Francis, of Brantford. Can- 
ada; and J. Winslow. 

J. Winslow Hacker lived in Maine until 
he was aI)out seventeen, when he went to 
Providence. R. I'., and later spent some time 
at Cape Cod. With his brother I^ancis he 



68 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



learned the daguerreotype process, and en- 
gaged in tliat business for about three years. 
In 1857 he came West, where he has since 
remained, employed in various occupations. 

Mr. Hacker married, Aug. 13, 1871, 
Malinda Ellen Mark, who was born in Jan- 
uary, 1843, in Clarion county, Pa., and 
whose childhood was passed in that State 
in Venango county. In the autumn of 
1864 she came to Red Wing, Minn., her 
parents, Simon and Mary (Rice) Mark, 
coming' the following year and residing 
there the remainder of their lives. Mrs. 
Hacker was one of six children, five daugh- 
ters and one son, and four of the sisters 
are still living. To Mr. and Mrs. Hacker 
have been born a daughter and two sons, as 
follows: Lydia E., a teacher; Guy Wins- 
low; and Francis W. Mr. Hacker is a Re- 
publican and has voted for evei^y Republi- 
can candidate since Fremont. He was 
brought up a Quaker, but Mrs. Hacker is a 
Methodist, and one of the earliest members 
of the M. E. Church of Superior, which she 
joined in 1871. The family are among the 
well known and esteemed citizens of Su- 
perior. 

Before Mr. Hacker had come to Supe- 
rior, two of his brothers had been there, 
Francis coming in 1854, all the way from 
Stillwater, Minn., in a canoe. He remained 
there but a few days, traded his watch chain 
for a town lot, returned East and came back 
to Superior in 1856. The next year he 
returned to Massachusetts to be married, 
and in the spring of 1858 came again to 
Superior. The following winter he spent 
at Fox Lake and in the spring of 1859 went 
to Eagle River, Mich., where he was deputy 
sherifif of Keweenaw county in i860 and 
1 86 1. In the fall of 1862 he went to Prov- 
idence, R. I., where for many years he was 
a photographer, and he now resides in 
Brantford, Canada. 

Isaiah Flacker, another brother, a car- 
penter by trade, came to Superior in 1855 
and built a house on the lot for which Fran- 
cis had traded his watch chain. He pre- 
empted 160 acres, the southeast quarter of 
section 27, town 49, range 14, which is now 



witliin the city limits of Superior. In the 
summer of 1856 he went to Bayfield, Wis., 
and in December, 1857, made an overland 
trip to St. Paul with a dog train. He then 
moved to Maine, where he now lives in 
Westbrook. 

J. Winslow Hacker, is one of the pio- 
neers of Superior and Douglas county and 
has a fund of interesting anecdotes relating 
to the early days. He has still in his pos- 
session many specimens of the daguerreo- 
types which he took as a young man, which 
are remarkably bright and well-preserved, 
and are interesting as survivals of the early 
process of photography. 

LORIN W. PALMER, a citizen of 
Duluth who represents one of the pioneer 
families at the Head of the Lakes, was born 
May I, 1832, in the town of Henderson, 
Jefferson Co., N. Y. His ancestors were 
among the pioneer settlers of New England, 
tlie Palmer family having been founded in 
America by two brothers who came hither 
in the "Mayflower," on her second voyage, 
and settled in Massachusetts. One of them 
subsequently moved to Stonington, Conn., 
where annual reunions of his descendants are 
held. 

Vose Palmer, grandfather of Lorin W., 
served for a time in the Revolutionary war. 
He was a farmer by occupation, and moved 
to Herkimer county, N. Y., where he be- 
came a prominent citizen, and where his 
descendants are still numerous. He died at 
the age of about sixty. Vose Palmer mar- 
ried Betsy Stuart, who came from the royal 
family of Scotland. 

Samuel S. Palmer, father of Lorin W., 
was bora in Connecticut, and settled in Jef- 
ferson county, N. Y., while a young man. 
In 1832 he migrated westward to Wood 
county, Ohio, where he lived for many 
years, and in 1857 he tried his fortune still 
farther west, settling in the then infant city 
of Duluth. For several 3'ears he was keeper 
of the Government lighthouse at the Supe- 
rior entry. He died April i, 1878, aged 
almost eighty-three years. While in Ohio 
he was always active in local affairs, and 



CO.M.MF.MORATR'E BIOCiRAPIIICAL RECORD 



69 



quite prominent in tlic locality of his home. 
Mr. Palmer married Silenda S. Chapin, who 
was born May 20, 1797, and whose parents 
lived on a farm in Herkimer county, N. Y. 
She died Sept. i, 1841, in Ohio, leaving a 
family of eleven children, as follows : Eva- 
line S., who is the wife of Mark Curtis, of 
Vpsilanti, Mich. ; Samuel A., of Pontiac, 
Mich.; Vose, who died June 28, 1897, at 
Sucker River, ]\Iinn.; Jotham C, born Jan. 
21, 1825, who died at Duluth; Maria IL, 
Mrs. Samuel Gay, who died at Etna Green, 
Jnd.; Francis E., of Ishpeming, Mich.: 
Lorin ^\'. ; Leander C, of Marquette, Mich. ; 
Thaddcus and Theresa, twins, who died in 
childhood ; and Alonzo S., who served four 
years in Company F, 15th 111. V. I., and died 
on Minnesota Point, near Duluth, of in- 
juries received in the service. By a second 
marriage Samuel S. Palmer had two sons : 
Roswell H., who is a resident of Duluth ; 
and Lester C, deceased. 

Lorin W. Palmer passed his boyhood 
on his father's farm in Ohio, and received 
his education in the public schools of the 
locality, such as they were at that early day, 
attending three or four months in the win- 
ter. He also spent two winters in high 
school at Perrysburg, Ohio. In 1859 he 
went to Etna Green, Ind., where he was em- 
ployed in a sawmill, and later he bought and 
operated a sawmill at Inwood, that State. 
During the Civil war Mr. Palmer volun- 
teered, and was at first rejected, but during 
1865 he was accepted, and served three 
months in Company I, 59th Ind. V. I., doing 
picket duty at Hilton Head. S. C. In the 
fall of 1856 Mr. Palmer went to the Head of 
the Lakes, and spent a year or more at 
Sucker River, ]\Iinn., also helping to survey 
the line of the St. Croix railroad, between 
Superior and Deer River, Minn. In the 
fall of 1863 he rclurnctl to Su])erior, where 
he remained about ten years, during which 
time he was employed in sawmill work, and 
for a short time engaged in teaching, and 
he came thence to Duluth in 1875. He has 
since made his home in that city, and for a 
number of years gave his attention to dock 
building, filling contracts for the construc- 



tion of a number of docks. In recent years 
he has lived retired, enjoying the fruits of 
his active years. Since coming west he 
has devoted his time principally to business, 
but while living in Indiana he was quite 
prominent in local affairs, and served one 
year as township trustee of Etna township, 
Kosciusko Co., Ind. He has been a Repul> 
lican from the formation of the party, voted 
for Fremont in 1856, and during that cam- 
paign was an active participant in a fight 
over a political meeting. 

Mr. Palmer has always been interested 
in church work, and he assisted in organiz- 
ing the First M. E. Church of Superior, of 
which he was the first steward and a mem- 
ber of the first board of trustees. The fam- 
ily is now connected with the First M. E. 
Church in Duluth, of which Mr. Palmer has 
been steward since the year 1880. His 
social connections are with Duluth Lodge, 
X'o. 110, .\. O. U. W., in which he has 
filled all the chairs, and with Willis A. Gor- 
man Post, G. A. R., of which he is past 
commander. 

On Jan. 6, 1859, Mr. Palmer was united 
in marriage with Letitia Hughes, who was 
born in St. Catharine's, Quebec, and died 
March 28, 1871, at Superior, at the age of 
thirty-one years. She was a member of the 
Methodist Church. On May 5, 1872, Mr. 
Palmer married for his second wife Miss 
Margaret Hughes, a sister of the first, and 
she still survives. By the first union there 
were five children, namely: Clara S.. Mrs. 
James Cooper, of St. Paul, Minn. ; Delia 
M.. who is engaged at teaching in Brainerd, 
Minn. ; Letitia, who died at the age of seven 
years : and Stewart and Charles, who were 
drowned when five and three years old, re- 
spectively. Three children blessed the sec- 
ond union : Evalyn S.. Mrs. \V. T. Giese. 
of McGregor, Iowa ; Edward L., who is a 
bookkeejier, with Booth & Co.. at Duluth; 
aufl Lester W.. stenographer for a lumber 
firm in Duluth. 

David and Sarah (Barrett) Flughes, 
parents of both the wives of Mr. Palmer, 
were bom in Caermarthenshire, ^Vales. and 
emigrated to Canada, locating at St. Cath- 



COMME^rOR.Vn\]' BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD 



arine's. Quebec. There Mrs. Hughes died 
in 1845. Mr. Hughes subsequently lived 
at Detroit, Mich., and his death occurred 
m Harlx)ur Creek, Erie Co., Pa., in 1887, 
when he was aged seventv-nine years. He 
was a carpenter and cabinetmaker bv uccu- 
pation. 

ADELLIN P. ANDRUS, M. D., one 
of the older physicians and surgeons of 
Ashland, has been in professional prac- 
tice there since 1888. and in that time has 
gamed a following that has not only placed 
hmi very near the heail of his profession in 
Ashland, but has made his helpful presence 
famdar in other towns within a circle of 
fifty mdes. The doctor was born in Bino-- 
hampton, N. Y., in 1854, the son of Simon 
i. and Susan Jane (Morrison) .Vndru-^ 
both natives of the same town, and both 
descendants of English stock. 

Dr. Andrus passed his boyhood on a 
farm alwut ten miles from Dixon, BI where 
he lived until he was twelve years old an<l 
where he secured the rudiments of his edu- 
cation in the public schools. After complet- 
ing his general studies he spent several vears 
in Chicago and in Daxenport, Iowa fil lino- 
clerical positions, and then at the age of 
twenty-three began his medical studies. He 
read first under the guidance of Dr W H 
Burt, of Chicago, with whom he worked 

t'^v ^T'r^^ ,'f ^"'^ ^"^^™S the Hahnemann 
Medical College in Chicago. He completed 
the three-year course of lectures in that insti- 
tution, and was graduated in 1880, where- 
upon he began his career as a physician bv 
locating at Fairfield, Wis. There he was 
occupied with a general practice for eight 
years, but at the end of that time sold his 
practice and settled in Ashland. The re- 
moval was a wise one, for Dr. Andrus has 
been very successful and now has a large 
and devoted following of patients. 

In 1879 r^f- Andrus was married to 
Miss Helen Moore, of Chicago, now de- 
cea.sed. His second union, to Miss Maria 
Gilbertson, of Jackson county, was formed 
m 1880. They have two children, Grace 
and Adellin. 



On political c|uestions Dr. Andrus up- 
holds the Republican party, and has always 
manifested great interest in local politics, an 
interest which has taken a practical and 
active form. He has served his community 
in many capacities and has filled each posi- 
tion most satisfactorily. For two years he 
was chairman of the county lx)ard, was 
supervisor of the 4th ward four years, for 
the same length of time was president of the 
county board of agriculture, and two years 
ago was elected president of the city council, 
which last office he still fills. Professionally 
he is examining physician of the United 
States pension board, appointed in 1901 ; a 
local surgeon for the Wisconsin Central 
Railway, a position he still holds ; and in 
May, 1903, was chosen president of the 
Wisconsin State Homeopathic Society. In 
his church relations Dr. Andrus is a mem- 
ber of the First M. E. church, and holds offi- 
cial position in the society. 

The doctor's sympathy with the aims 
(if fraternal organizations and his apprecia- 
tion of the benefits to be derived from them, 
have led him to identify himself with several 
orders, among them being the Masonic fra- 
ternity, in which he has attained the degree 
of consistory Mason. He is also a member 
of the A. O. U. W., M. W. of A.. 1. O. 
l*"., and the B. P. O. E., all these orders 
being represented in .Ashland. 

Dr. Andrus has a fine residence, very 
completely appointed, while there is no bet- 
ter ecjuipped office than his in .Ashlaiifl. 

GEORGE WILSON ADAMS. In the 
ranks of those who come to us from other 
lands are many whose industry and intelli- 
gence make tb.em valuable citizens, but those 
from England seem as a rule to possess a 
keener understanding of our national spirit 
than others, and to appreciate more fully 
the essential purpose of our institutions. 
While this is but natural, it is none the less 
gratifying and each recurring proof of the 
fact is welcome. George Wilson Adams, 
one of the pioneers of Medford and a promi- 
nent lawyer, has displayed especially strong 
loyalty to his adopted country. Mr. Adams 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



71 



was lK)ni in Hazely, Oxfordshire, England, 
March 4, 1845, ^'^" ^^ George and Anna 
(Walker) Adams, natives of the same lo- 
cality. 

George Adams came tc; the United 
States in 1854, and located at Beaver Dam, 
Wis., then an obscure trading i)ost, where 
he took up wild land and improved it. 
Later he took up another farm near Lowell, 
Dodge county, a fine piece of property, and 
made his home there till his death in 1890, 
at the age of seventy-seven. Mr. Adams 
was a man of simple tastes and quiet life, 
not anxious to be in the eye of the public. 
His wife survived him only a year, dying in 
her seventy-third year. They were members 
of the Episcopal Church. The children 
lj<irn to this couple numbered twelve, of 
whom four served in the Civil war, namely : 
Edward, who was in the army four years, 
and died later in Minnesota, from the effects 
of his service; William, who was shot and 
instantly killed at Atlanta, while serving be- 
side his brother, George W. ; Benjamin, 
who fought four years, and is now a resi- 
dent of Martin county, Minn. ; and George 
Wilson. Eour brothers of Mrs. Anna 
-Adams also served in the Union ranks : 
William; George, who was in a Wisconsin 
regiment, and died in the service; Benja- 
min ; and Henry. 

George Wilson Adams spent most of his 
time on the farm until the war broke out. 
He enlisted in Company C, i6th Wis. V. I., 
in 1862, and served until his honorable dis- 
charge at the end of the war. He took part 
in Sherman's Atlanta campaign, an<I the 
subsequent marches, and was with the army 
at the (irand Review at Washington. He 
was constantly in the ranks for three years, 
though he was slightly wounded July 21, 
1864, at Atlanta, when he was struck in the 
knee and knocked down, but not really dis- 
abled. 

After the war Mr. Adams commenced 
his education, and went to the schools of 
Beaver Dam, Waterloo and Lake Mills be- 
ff)re entering Wisconsin University for a 
scientific cour.se. During his Junior year he 
was taken ill, and upon recovering gave up 



his scientific work and began the law course, 
from which he was graduated in 1873. He 
taught for a year at Lowell antl Keeseville,. 
and then entered upon the practice of his 
profession in the office of Judge Ogden, at 
Waupaca. In the spring of 1875 he accom- 
panied Judge Ogden and his son, to Med- 
ford, where they were in partnership for 
two years. Later he was a partner of E. 
H. Schweppe, for a couple of years, but 
since then has been practicing alone. 

Upon going to Medford Mr. Adams and 
John Ogden published the Taylor Cnunty 
I\'czvs, the first paper in the county, and they 
had to ship in tlieir press and type from 
Waupaca, and their first issue was in 
February, 1875. It was afterwards sold 
to Dr. Hubbell and discontinued. Later 
Mr. Adams again started the News, pub- 
lished it during 1881-82, and then sold 
out. Another business interest he has 
had is a tract of 120 acres of wild 
land adjoining the city, which he has im- 
])roved and converted into valuable jM'op- 
erty. 

Mr. Adams has been married twice ; first 
in 1876 to Augu.sta Stewart, daughter of 
C. K. and Susan Stewart, of Elbe, Wis, 
Mrs. Adams was born in Concord, N. H., 
and died in Medford in 1883, aged thirty- 
six. She left a daughter, Morence, who 
died when four, years old. Mrs. Adams was 
a devout Congregationalist. For his second 
wife Mr. Adams married Ella S. Stewart, 
a sister of his first wife, to whom he was 
united in 1885. 

Mr. Adams has always l)ecn an active 
Republican. He was the first chairman of 
the town of Medford, and of the county 
board, when the county was organized 
March 22, 1875. He has laid out many 
roads, and had charge of the building of 
the court house and other county build- 
ings. He was district attorney for twelve 
years and court commissioner for six. Mr. 
Adams has spoken through the State in 
many campaigns, has been a delegate lo 
many State and Congressional c<inveiitions, 
and for a long time was chairman of the 
county committee. He was a charter mem- 



72 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ber of James Shields Tost, No. 145, G. A. 
R., and was its first commander. Tlie fam- 
ily attends the Methodist Church, where 
Mr. Adams is chairman of the Ijoard of 
stewards. 

HON. ALBERT L. BUGBEE, probate 
judge of Washburn county, has been a resi- 
dent of Shell Lake since 1882. His birth 
occurred in Spring-field, Mass., March 31, 
1850, son of Jesse and Mary (Ashley) Bug- 
bee, the former a native of Connecticut. 

The Bugbee family is of English origin, 
the emigrant ancestor settling in Connecti- 
cut in Colonial days. Great-grandfather 
Bugbee was a soldier in the Continental 
army, and his son, Jesse, lived and died on a 
farm near Hartford, Conn. Jesse Bugbee 
(2), father of Albert L., went to Massachu- 
setts when a young man, and in 1871 moved 
to Oshkosh, Wis., where he passed the re- 
mainder of his life, dying in 1878. at the 
age of seventy-three. Mrs. Mary (Ashley) 
Bugbee died in Springfield, Mass., in 1858, 
when fifty-three years of age. She was 
born at Long Meadow, near Springfield, 
where her father, a farmer, lived and died. 
Her mother, Mrs. Mary Ashley, came to 
this country from England. 

As a boy Albert L. Bugbee attended the 
public school in Long Meadow, where Sen- 
ator Wolcott of Montana was one of his 
fellow students. Later he was a pupil in 
the Springfield high school. In 1867 he 
went to Oshkosh, where he studied law with 
Judge Burneil. He moved to Burnett 
county in 1873. ^'^'' ""^'^^ admitted to the 
Bar there in 1882. On first coming to Bur- 
nett county he invested in cranberry lands, 
on which he raised several crops. He has 
had a general law practice in Shell Lake 
since locating, there, in 1882, giving some 
attention also to fire insurance, and acting 
as agent for the Fidelity & Deposit Co., of 
Maryland. He has filled various official 
positions, having been the first register of 
deeds for Washburn county, serving two 
terms as district attorney, and since 1897 
filling the office of county judge. For four 
years Judge Bugbee was postmaster at Shell 



Lake, by appointment of President Harri- 
son. He has taken part in many political 
conventions, and is one of the most influen- 
tial Republicans in the county. 

In 1874 Judge Bugbee married Millie 
Otis, daughter of Joshua and Mary Otis, of 
St. Albans, Vt. Mrs. Bugbee died July 4, 
1899, at the age of fifty-five. She was a 
communicant of the Episcopal Church, of 
which Judge Bugbee is also a member. Fra- 
ternally the Judge is connected with the 
Masons. 

JOHN SMITH (deceased), one of the 
pioneers at the Head of the Lakes, had lived 
in that region from 1856, and his life from 
early manhood was identified with the de- 
velopment of that section of the country. 
Mr. Smith was born in Devonshire, England, 
in 1826, came to America in 1851, and died 
at New Duluth, July 6, 1898. 

The parents of John Smith died when 
he was young, and he was reared l)y an 
aunt, Mrs. Sarah Baker, of Devonshire. He 
liad rather meager opportunities for receiv- 
ing an education there, but afterward in 
America he made up for many deficiencies 
by hard work at a night school, and by read- 
ing and studying by himself, so that event- 
ually he acquired sufficient training to equip 
himself satisfactorily for his life in the West. 
On first coming to this country Mr. Smith 
located in Syracuse, N. Y., where he found 
employment with a Mr. Tucker, proprietor 
of a general store. After four or five years 
in that city he joined a party going to Su- 
]ierior. Wis., and thereafter cast his lot with 
that frontier country. Soon after arriving 
there he was engaged by the government to 
carry the mails between Twin Lakes and 
Oneota, for two years making these 
trips on foot, twice a week, a dis- 
tance of sixteen miles. From Fond du 
Lac to Oneota he used a boat in 
summer, but in winter that portion of his 
route became the most dangerous of all, 
and in the discharge of his tasks he incur- 
red many risks, frequently breaking through 
the ice. Subsequently Mr. Smith removed 
])ermancnllv to the Minnesota side, and at 



CO.MMEMORATni' BIOGRArillCAL RECORD 



7i 



first worked in the sawmill owned by Mr. 
Wheeler. He had gone to the lake regions 
with small means, but as he gradually ac- 
cumulated more he made investments which 
proved generally fortunate and resulted in 
his acquiring a competence. 

At the beginning of the year 1863 Mr. 
Smith took up a claim in the vicinity of 
Twin Lakes, cleared a few acres, built a 
shanty on it and in time "proved up" on the 
land. Later he bought no acres, a part of 
which land is now the site of Xew Duluth, 
and settled there. The tract was known as 
the Gumeau Claim, and was purchased by 
Mr. Smith after it had re\-erted to the gov- 
ernment, lie built an addition to the cabin 
that had lieen originally put up, and made 
the place his permanent abode, developing it 
into a fine homestead. In 1891, when the 
land Ixjom of Xew Duluth was at its height, 
he sold a portion of his land to the Xew 
Duluth Land Company', taking the com- 
pany's stock in payment. 

On May 8, 1870, Mr. Smith married 
Miss Anna Banks, daughter of Mrs. Carrie 
Ranks, who died in Christianstad, Sweden. 
IVIrs. Smith had come to Oneota in 1869. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Smith came three children : 
( I ) W'illiam George, the eldest, born April 
4, 1 87 1, was given a fine education, attend- 
ing first the public schools and afterward the 
State School of Agriculture at St. Anthony 
Park, and then went to the State University 
at Minneapolis, from which he was gradu- 
ated in 1895. He was then appointed to 
take charge of a sub-station at Marshall, 
Minn., a part of the State E.xperimental 
l""arm, and is now filling an important posi- 
tion in the Agricultural Department at 
Washington ; he has traveled extensively 
throughout the L'nited States. (2) Miss 
S.\R.\i! .\., second child of John and .\nna 
Smith, was torn Feb. 7. 1873, went to the 
public school, and was graduated from tlie 
Duluth high school, spending one year at 
Cornell College, Iowa. She has since 1893 
been engaged in teaching in Duluth. She 
held the position of principal of the Xew Du- 
luth school for the past four years, and is in 
every way qualified to discharge the duties 



of that position, for not only has she the 
executive ability required, but is gifted with 
unusual powers as a teacher. Her home is 
a beautiful and spacious one, overlooking the 
St. Louis River, and Miss Smith presides in 
it with the dignity and grace that always 
characterized her bearing. (3) Louise, born 
Aug. 6, 1877, died Xov. 23, 1880. .\ little 
girl, Esther Louise, born in Duluth Jan. 16, 
1892. has also been adopted regularly into 
the family. 

John Smith was a Republican in politics, 
and was actively interested in municipal af- 
fairs. He filled various local offices, among 
them that of treasurer for the Fond du Lac 
school district, which he held for twenty 
years. He also served several years as 
town treasurer of Fond du Lac, and was 
elected for two terms of two years each to the 
office of county commissioner. ]\Ir. Smith 
was widely acquainted among the old set- 
tlers, and had many warm friends among 
them. He had good business qualities, and 
w-as successful in most of his undertakings, 
earning a place among the substantial men 
of the region. 

EMERY FOUNTAIX. Among the 
respected citizens of Taylor county, repre- 
senting pioneer families, is Emery Foun- 
tain, wdiose grandfather was an early settler 
in Fond du Lac. Emery Fountain was 
born in Canada, at St. Johns, Chrysostom, 
near Montreal, July 28, 1854. 

Jacques Fountaine, the pioneer, made his 
home for some time in Fond du Lac, but 
eventually returned to Canada where he died 
at the age of eighty-four. He w-as a car- 
penter by trade. His name w-as properly 
not Fountaine, but Langlois, and many of 
his descendants bear that name, but as he 
w-as adopted w-hen a little boy by a man 
named Fountaine, he himself used that rather 
than Langlois. 

Isaias Fountaine, father of Emery, w-as 
born in St. Pierre, Canada, and spent the 
earlier part of his life in that country. After 
coming to Wisconsin he resided at Fond du 
Lac. and was engaged in saw and planing 
mills for some years. Tn 1878 he removed 



74 



COMMI'.M( )K.\1'1\"I': I'.IOCiRAlMlICAL RECORD 



to Stetsonville, where he lived until his death 
in January, 1889, at the age of tifty-nino 
years. Mis original trade was that of a tan- 
ner, and while in Canada he had also been 
a farmer in a small way. His wife. Mrs. 
Louise (LaCroix) I'^mntaine, died in Can- 
ada in 1861, a comparatively young woman, 
though her motlier lived to be nearly ninety. 
Besides Emery, their children were : Cae- 
sar, of LaCrosse, Wis. ; Mrs. Julius Leclaire, 
of Dorchester. Wis.; and Mrs. Delia Hen- 
neberry, of Boise, Idaho, isaias Eountaine 
was a devoted Catholic, and as there was 
no church at Stetsonville, when he first 
went there, mass was read in his house for 
a while. When a church was finally erected, 
it was upon a site, covering one acre, which 
had been donated by Mr. I'ountainc. I'or 
a long time, tdo. his house was used as a 
town ball. 

Emery Fountain, for so he spells the 
name, began working in a sawmill when he 
was thirteen years old, receiving fifty cents 
a day for his work, and he has ever since 
been connected with the lumber industry. 
When be went with his father to Stetsonville 
in 1878, he found ready employment there 
in a sawmill, and worked for nine years with 
one concern (E. K. Buttrick), being bead 
sawyer for five years. Since 1801 he has 
been bead sawyer in the mill of the EUing- 
son Eumher Company. 

Mr. iHHintain has various real estate in- 
terests. Almost immediately after his ar- 
rival in Taylor county, he located a home- 
stead of eighty acres near Stetsonville, 
which he still owns, as well as a place of 
thirty acres in the village upon which be 
resides. Mis present bouse is one of two 
which be built. 

For bis wife Mr. lunintain chose a 
native of Canada, like himself. Miss Capi- 
tola Hibbard, born in St. Gabriel, Quebec. 
They were married Nov. 27, 1879. Mrs. 
I'^ountain was a daughter of Richardson and 
Dilima (Tberrien) Hibbard, who took up 
their abode in Stetsonville in March, 1879. 
Mr. Hibbard was a farmer and dieil in May, 
1896, aged seventy. His widow is .still liv- 
ing and is in her seventv-fifth vear. Two 



children ha\e been born to Mr. and Mrs.. 
I'nunlain, Adrien and Louise. 

Mr. b'ountain is a Democrat in his polit- 
ical principles, but as a citizen who looks 
tt) the essential welfare of his community, 
he takes an indeiiendent position on local 
issues. He and his family are members of 
the Catholic church, and for three years he 
was treasurer of the church funds. Mr. 
Fountain is a skilled artisan in his line, and 
is a man held in the highest esteem in Stet- 
sonville. 

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF LADY- 
SMrrH. One of the marvels of Northern 
Wisconsin is the rapidity with which towns 
first spring into existence, and then quickly 
become centers of comnrercial enterprise; 
among these, both in population and indus- 
trial development Ladysmith may be justly 
said to have few ecpials. The name nf the 
original hamlet was Flambeau b'alls, which 
was changed in a few years to Warner and 
that in turn in 1900 to Ladysmith, in honor 
of the wife of C. R. Smith, president of the 
Menasha Wooden Ware Company, an ex- 
tensive plant est.ablished in the town that 
year. 

The history of the town may be said to 
have begim in 1885, when the Minneapolis, 
St. I'aui & Sault Ste. :\Iarie Railroad Com- 
pany began operating trains between Min- 
neapolis and Deer Tail (now Tony). In 
March of that year the original settlers ap- 
peared, in the persons of Mr. and Mrs. 
Robert Corbett. The only building within 
the limits of the future town was the "Pren- 
tice Hou.se," then in the course of construc- 
tion, and but a few families were living in 
that region. To the north on the I'lambeau, 
was I'.runo X'inette, who kepi a stoi)ping 
place in the early logging days; James Ma- 
loney, deceased ; Antoine Flaunt, a home- 
steader, and Ludger Lebarge, all with their 
families. Toward the south lived Peter 
Sannes. still a resident in the town ; John 
McBride; H. K. McMastcr, formerly of 
Flambeau ; Louis Cloutier, Fritz Ducom- 
mun, and "French" John Murphy. Mr. 
Corbett, on his arrival, at once erected a 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



small sawmill and this became a magnet 
drawing otliers to the sjjot, first of all Mr, 
J. \V. J-'ritz. who opened the first stock of 
goods in the town in i88S. The only other 
places of business for some time were the 
"Prentice House." built and conducted by 
Bruno N'inette. and a saloon owned by Mr. 
John Lindoo. By 1897 a second mercantile 
concern was estal)lished by O. C. Sabin ; two 
years later Mr. E. M. Worden opened busi- 
ness; and a grocery store conducted by Mr. 
John Corbett and M. \V. D. Armstrong, fol- 
lowed. 

The town grew \ery slowly, however, 
through the early days, and numbered only 
about 200 inhabitants when, in September. 
1900, it was proposed to create Gates county 
out of Chippewa county. The bill for sucli 
separation was passed by the Legislature in 
May, 1901, and Ladysmith was made the 
county seat. The legality of the measure 
was disputed and the opposition asked that 
an injunction be given restraining the new 
b(«rd from issuing bonds to defray the ex- 
penses of erecting a courthouse, until the 
question of location had been voted upon by 
the people of the county. The case came be- 
fore Juflge Parri.sh, of the Circuit Court, 
who dissolvetl the injunction, and when the 
appeal was taken to the Supreme Court of 
the State late in 1901, the flccision of the 
lower court was sustained. Meantime 
Ladysmith had l^een incorporated as a vil- 
lage, and the po|)ulation had leaped to 500. 

Tne legal proceedings had focused atten- 
tion upon the new town and roused the dor- 
mant energies of the people, while outside 
capitalists i)erceived the many natural ad- 
vantages of the place for manufacturing in- 
terests. During the year 1901 several new 
concerns were started : the \Ienasha Wood- 
en Ware Company constructed a dam for 
utilizing the power of the rapids, and the 
following year, built their extensive manu- 
facturing plant; at the same time the Mena- 
sha Paper Company erected their pulp and 
paper mills, and from these enterprises came 
an impetus fairly electrifying. The town 
grew as if by magic and people came flock- 
ing in by the scores and liundreds, the ma- 



jority of them well supplied with funds. 
Within three years 1.500 people had estab- 
lished themsehes there in comfortable 
homes, while the total population rose 
(1904) to 2,000. With its many modern 
structures, the town presents an appearance 
of beauty and stability equalled by oidy a 
few towns in northern Wisconsin. 

Among the public buildings erected, the 
Court-House stands prominent ; it is a hand- 
some well-equipped building, put up in 
1901-02, at a cost of $30,000. The high 
school building is a modern brick structure, 
fully up-to-date in all its equipments, and 
cost $15,000. It contains eight rooms, and 
nine teachers are employed in it. In 1903 
the city water works were put in. built ac- 
cording to the com])ressed air system, and 
having a throwing capacity of 2,500 gallons 
a minute. Two miles of mains have already 
been laid, and the total cost of the plant has 
been $14,000. The business houses include 
the Finst National Bank, established in 
1900, with a capital of $25,000; the presi- 
dent is Mr. G. E. Newman and the cashier 
Mr. H. W. True. In the fall of 1903 an- 
other bank, also with capital stock of $25,- 
000, was opened in ladysmith. with Mr. 
R. O. Sinclair as president, Mr. W. S. Man- 
ning vice-president and Mr. J. O. Sinclair 
as cashier. The Ladysmith Light & Power 
Companv was incorporated in 1902 l)y O. 
E. Pedei-.son, L. E. McGill, W. S. Manning 
and O. E. Sabin, with a capital stock of 
$10,000. Their first plant, built in the fall 
of 1902, was burned March 18, 1904, but 
was soon replaced by the present expensive 
one. on the Westinghouse Alternating Cur- 
rent System. At that time the Company 
was reorganized under the same name, and 
with the same amount r)f stock, Mr. L. E. 
McGill being put in as president, Mr. E. A. 
Forbes, of Rhinelander, vice-president and 
Mr. O. J. KaufTman, secretary and treas- 
urer. The two principal hotels of the town 
are die "Gerard" and the "Central." both 
modern in construction and thoroughlv 
first-class. 

Additional proof of the growth of the 
town is found in its postal receipts, which 



C().M.Ml';.Me)RATl\"E l^.lOCiRALM 1 ICAL RKCORD 



increased from $i-'5 in 1900 to $3,600 in 
1903, thus putting- it into the thirtl class. 
Tliese receipts were independent of the 
money order liusiness, which in 1903 aggTC- 
g.'itcd $J7,ooo. The mills ot" the town aver- 
age an annual output of more than 1,000 
cars, while the in-freight is nearly as large. 
rros]">erity has also followed the Farmers 
Mutual hire Insurance Compau)' of dates 
cmmty, which was organized in July, ujoj, 
with Mr. K. Townsend as president, and 
Air. L. l.eharge as secretary. The company 
comprised 317 members, carries insurance 
on farm jiroperty aggregating $^57,975. 
antl has met every loss most promptly. 

The business development of a town is 
naturally its most striking aspect, but Lady- 
smith has not been 1>ehind in its growth 
along educational and religious lines. The 
tirst school was (Opened in 1887 in the "L'ur- 
bett Hotel," now the "Mauley House." witli 
Miss Mary CIrantlmaitre. of Chippewa Falls, 
now I\Irs. Charles Wood, of Flambeau 
Farm, as teacher. I'^rom that beginning the 
growth has been steady, until now tlK hue 
liigh school buikling is inadc(iuate for the 
demands ui)on its space. 

The town supports two regular newspa- 
pers, 77/1- fl'rckly Budget and The Gates 
County Journal, both of which have excell- 
ent plants and are ably conducted, the form- 
er by Mr. ^[. C. Martin, anil the latter by 
Mr. D. H. Richards. In the churches five 
denominations are represented, all of which 
the Congregational, Baptist, Christian, Cath- 
olic and Lutheran, own comfortable houses 
of worship. 

Although the growth of Ladysmith has 
been more than rapid, all signs indicate that 
its prosperity is nothing ephemeral, Iiut 
rather that it rests upon a solid and rational 
basis that i)romises continued development 
in the future. 

WILLI AAf N. FULLER. Cumberland, 
Barron Co.. W'is., has among its distin- 
gui.shed residents many representatives of 
the legal profession, whose talents have made 
them known througliout the State, ^^'illiam 
N. Fuller belongs to this class, although he is 



still a young man, having been born .\pril 
28, 1870, at Star Lrairie, St. Croi.x Co., 
Wisconsin. 

J. V. l-'ullcr, liis father, was torn at Ap- 
pleton, Maine. Growing up in the East the 
father learned the trade of carpenter, hi 
1855, he came to Illinois, and still later to St. 
Croix County, Wis., settling at Star Prairie 
in 1851). Upon first coming to Wisconsin, 
J. F. l'\dler worked at his trade, but later 
opened a general store at Star Prairie, con- 
tinuing same successfully until ALiy, 1882, 
when he removed to Cumberland, Barron 
County, and for sixteen years was engaged 
in the same line of business. In January, 
1903, he was honored by appointment as 
postmaster of that place. For two terms he 
served very ably as president of the village, 
:\nd for three terms has been an alderman, 
lie has always been active as a Republican 
in politics, directing wisely and intelligently, 
and his success in every walk of life is due 
to his good judgment and untiring energy, 
combined with strict integrity. 

J. ¥. I'-uller married (first) Sarah Phil- 
brick, of Waldo, Maine, by whom he had 
one child, Ai De Forest, municipal judge at 
Tower, Minn. Mr. Fuller married (second) 
Lydia Nicholson, a native of Providence, R. 
L, and they became the parents of: Elmer 
B. H., of Highland, Minn., weighmaster and 
night agent for the Duluth t^ Iron Range 
Railroad; and William N. 

William N. Fuller, after completing a 
course in the public schools, attended the law 
department of the L^niversity of Wisconsin 
in 1889 and 1890, from which he was grad- 
uated in 1 8()0, and he immediately located at 
Cumberland, Wis., and began the practice of 
his chosen profession. Within a year, so 
generally were his abilities recognized and 
appreciated, he was elected •municipal judge, 
and served ably in that honorable posi- 
tion until T896. He was also elected 
district attorney in 1896, and held that re- 
sponsible office until 1903. Like his father, 
he is a prominent Republican, and very ac- 
tive in the support of the party. 

On Nov. 30. 1892, Mr. Fuller was mar- 
ried to Miss Grace Pinkerton, of Arena, 



CO.MMEMORATIX'E BIOGRArillCAL RECORD 



n 



\\\<,., ami lliree children have been burn to 
them : Donald P. ; William T., who died at 
the age of two and one-half years; and Rich- 
ard C. 

Fraternally, Mr. Fuller is a member of 
the K. of P., belonging to Lodge No. Oj 
of Cumberland ; and of the Modern Wood- 
men. Mrs. Fuller is a consistent member 
of the Congregational Church. 

JAMES II. VAX METER, contractor 
and builder of Hudson, St. Croix Co., Wis., 
was born at Bowling Green, Breckenridge 
Co., Ky., son of Miles H. and ]\Iary P. 
(Litsey) Van Meter, of Grayson county, 
Kentucky. 

{^\.) Jacob Van Meter was one of the 
pioneers of Kentucky with Daniel Boone, 
and was a very wealtliy and honored gentle- 
man. 

(II) .Xbraham \'an Meter, one of the 
children of Jacob, was a large slave owner 
and prominent man of Kentucky, where he 
owned and operated a large plantation. 

(III) Miles H. Van Meter was a builder 
and contractor, and also conducted a large 
farm, being a very busy man. In 1836, he 
went to Lasalle county. 111., and then for 
thfrteen or fourteen years, he was in Ken- 
dall county. 111., after which he came to Wis- 
consin, reaching Hudson May 2. 1852. At 
that time there were few people in the place, 
and for the first year or two, he worked in 
the woods, and then, as others began to 
gather alwut the little center, he found ready 
employment in contracting and building, 
and became so busy that he started his son, 
James H., learning the carpenter's trade 
when he was thirteen years of age. For 
three or four years the father and sons 
worked together. In 1856, the elder Mr. 
\'an Meter built the "Hoyt House," which 
was the first hotel put up in Hudson. This 
he ojjcrated in conjunction with his contract- 
ing, and built many of the better class of resi- 
dences and office and business blocks in the 
city. In 1898 he died, while his wife passed 
away in 1875. Always a prominent Rejnibli- 
can, for four years he was county treasurer, 
and held numerous offices of less importance. 



At one time he was captain of militia, and 
was a \ery highly respected man of his time. 
In the Baptist Church, he always took an 
active part, and was one of its most liberal 
contributors. 

The following children were born to 
himself and wife: Davis R., a contractor 
and builder of Washington, 111. ; Marion L., 
of Urbana, 111., a contractor, builder and 
money loaner; James H. ; Cassandra P., 
widow of A. L. Dyer, a jeweler of Hudson, 
Wis. ; John H. is an extensive farmer of 
Dickey county, N. Dak., one of the firm of 
Van Meter Bros., whose home farm of 640 
acres one mile east of Ellendale Station, is 
devoted to stock raising and farming; Pat- 
rick Henry, killed at Chickamauga in 1863, 
while he was a member of Company A, ist 
W' is. V. I. ; Abe C, editor of the St. Croix 
Republican at New Richmond, at the time 
of his death in 1901 ; Mary E., of Hudson; 
Edward W., living at Aberdeen, S. Dak., 
where he is city engineer and architect. 

James H. Van Meter, although attend- 
ing the public schools, was also engaged in 
learning the trade of a carpenter, and at a 
time when most young men must begin to fit 
themselves for their life business, he was 
ready to commence work. 

On Nov. 5, 1855, Mr. Van Meter mar- 
ried Mary E. Van Meter, of Tazewell county, 
III., daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Dor- 
sey) Van Meter, who moved from Hardin, 
Ky., to Tazewell county. 111., about 1844, 
and bought land in that locality. There 
Mrs. Van Meter's father remained un- 
til he died, actively engaged in farm- 
ing. Eleven children were in the fam- 
ily of which Mrs. Van Meter was 
a memljer : James, deceased ; Gillie, de- 
ceased ; Morton, deceased ; W^illiam, de- 
ceased; Martha, deceased: Mary, who died 
Feb. s, 1905 (Mrs. Van Meter) ; Sanford, 
deceased ; Joseph, deceased ; Henry, in busi- 
ness at Great Falls, Md.; John, living at 
Parsons, Kans. ; Nancy, of Roberts, Ford 
County, Illinois. 

Mr. anfl Mrs. James H. Van Meter, 
have hafl the following family : Emma, who 
married Rod. Hurlburt, a railroad agent and 



.78 



COMMl'-MORATlVli l!IO( iRA I'l IICAL 



MCOl'lD 



has tlirce children, licssic, Ra)-m()nd and 
Vera; Hattie A., who married (jeorge A. 
Williams, of St. Paul, Minn., a machinist, 
and has two cliildren, Maude J. and Clin- 
ton; William S., a carpenter and contractor 
of Hamlin, Minn., who married Ella Mus- 
ser; Howard C, ex-railroad dispatcher, now 
a resident of St. Paul, a Christian Science 
doctor, in the New York Life Building, and 
who married Etta U. Hollister; Victor, 
who died at the age of twenty-one years; 
Cliffortl I"., at home, operator of the Omaha 
railroad at Hudson. These children were all 
carefully educated in the home schools, and 
arc bright, intelligent and successful. 

After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. \'an 
Meter settled down at Hud.son, where he 
worked at his trade nnlil he enlisted, Aug. 
2, 1862, in Company A. 30th Wis. V. 1., 
at Hud.'ion, and was jjlaccd in the Second Bri- 
gade. He was sent south to Bowling Green, 
Ky.. and was one of the guard in charge of 
the pri.soners at Nashville, lieing in the ser- 
vice of the provost marshal, and after three 
years and three months, he was honorably 
discharged Oct. 9, 1865, at Madison, Wis. 
During his term of service he was thrown 
from a horse and ruptured. 

Returning from his strenuous life, he re- 
sumed his more peaceful occupation of work- 
ing at his trade, and so continued until 1881. 
when he went west to Dickey county. X. 
Dak., .-ind he .-md his brother John took up 
an entire section, 640 acres, and they were 
very successful. Mr. Van Meter continued 
there until i8()0, during which time, he built 
and owned a number of houses, and he also 
became well-known as a builder and con- 
tractt)r. invested in real estate, and handled 
l)ro])erty for others. Since returning to 
Hudson, Mr. Van Meter has done a i)ortion 
of the contracting and building, and also 
handles real estate, being especially success- 
ful in that line. While he has never aspired 
to public ])refermcnt, Mr. Van Meter is a 
very stancli Re])ublican. Both he and Mrs. 
Van Meter are Christian Scientists. Start- 
ing out in life with a pair of strong, willing 
hands and a thorou.gh knowledge i^f his 
trade, Mr. \'an Meter, ihrongh hard work. 



thrift and good mana.gement, has become 
one of the most substantial men of the com- 
munity, and enjoys the unqualified respect 
of iiis acquaintances and friends. 

RCSSEL W. ERENCH, a pioneer 
business man of Ashland and one of the 
most esteemed citizens of that growing place, 
was bom in Dummerston, Vt., Marcli 20, 
1830. Ilis parents, Russel and Julia (Cat- 
lin) French, came of that class of New Eng- 
land families, whose posterity have been in- 
strumental in shaping the moral and intellec- 
tual develoj)ment of thousands of western 
cities and towns. William I""rench, one of 
his paternal ancestors, lost his life in sup- 
porting the cause of liberty, during one of 
the first engagements of the Revolution. His 
grandfather, who Ijore the same name as 
the last named patriot, was a gunsmith by 
trade, and a rifle made by him is still pre- 
served by his descendants. He and his wife, 
Lydia, passed their early lives in the east- 
ern States, and died in New York. Atout 
1833 Russel French, Sr., removed from Ver- 
mont to Cattaraugus county, N. Y., aci|uir- 
ing a farm on the Holland Purchase, which 
was his home for the balance of his life. I-'or 
some years he devoted his attention to teach- 
ing, and being an excellent penman, made a 
specialty of instruction in that art. He was 
long an elder of the Presbyterian Church, 
.and ;i most exemplary citizen, being one of 
the few men in his day who totally ab.stained 
from the use of liquor. His only brother, 
Ozro French, became one of the early mis- 
sionaries to I-'arther India, and with his wife 
si)ent twelve years in the effort to enlighten 
the i)eople of that country. Both Russel 
iM-ench and his wife reached the age of 
eighty-four and reared a family of nine chil- 
dren. ei.ght of whom are still living. Of this 
number. Helen, widow of Charles Ballard, 
of ,\shlan<l. ;ind Russel W. are the only 
residents of Wisconsin. 

Ivussel W. I'rcuch attended an academy 
in Springville. N. Y.. and at the age of six- 
teen years Ijegan to learn the tinner's trade, 
which he subsc(|ucntlv followed for a time 
;it .\sht;ibnla, ( )hio. Since 1853 lie h;is been 



COMMI'MORATIXK BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



79 



a citizen of Wisconsin. He worked some 
_\e;us as a jonrneyman in La Crosse, and 
thence went to Sui)erior. Tliere Ijeinsj few 
public conveyances above the head of navi- 
gation at St. Paul, he traveled on foot most 
of the balance of the journey, and opened a 
tinshop in Superior, then a frontier village 
"f about four hundred inhabitants. This 
business he carried on successfully until 
1872, when he removed to Ashland, bring- 
ing the first stock of hardware to that place. 
Such was the demand for his wares that 
about one thousand dollars worth of goods 
were sokl before being removed from the 
dock where they were landed. He also 
l)rought the frame of a building in which 
he has ever since done business, and 
which was at once erected upon the north 
side of Second street, now the principal 
thoroughfare of the city, but then a mere 
roadway, which had just been cleared 
through the forest. Though he afterward 
met witli some discouraging circumstances 
owing to the Ixisiness depressions which 
prevailed throughout the country, his busi- 
ness has generally prospered and his integ- 
rity is un(|uestioned bv his associates. The 
present firm is R. W. k'rench & Son, and be- 
sides an immense stock of hardware, they 
carry all kinds of agricultural implements. 
Thongii in his se\enty-sixth year at this 
writing, Mr. French still practices the indus- 
trious habits wliich have characterized his 
wliole career, and lie s])ends the greater part 
<if each day at iiis place of business. 

On Oct. 19, 1853, Mr. French was mar- 
ried to Rosetta Mary Magher, daughter of 
John ^L^gher of Ashtabula, Ohio. She was 
l)orn near Rome, X. Y., Feb. 5, 1832, and 
died at Superior, Wis., Nov. 6, 1871, in the 
faitii of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. and 
Mrs. I'rench had eight children, of whom the 
following is the recf)rd ; I-llla Rosetta, wife 
• if S. W. Tanner, of Ashland; Emma, Mrs. 
(Jswald Dundas. of .\shland : Fda, deceased, 
wife of Alexander McDougall ; Fred, who is 
connected with the office of the United States 

Marshal, at Madison, Wis.; Clara! Mrs. 

\di>ljilnis Harvey, now deceased; Mary, 
-Mr-, I. C. Xdble. of Butte, Mont.: ['rank, 



associated with his father in business; and 
Rose, wife of Edward Johnston, of Manis- 
tique, Mich. Mr. French's posterity in- 
cludes about twenty living grandchildren 
and two great-grandchildren. On Aug. 14, 
1873, he was married to Mary L. Vosburgh, 
a native of Cattaraugus county, N. Y., who 
(lied Sept. 22, 1874, at the age of thirty-nine. 
His present wife was Mrs. Mary J. ILasey, 
a native of Maine, to whom he was united 
Oct. 26, 1876. 

The next year after settling in .Vshland, 
Mr. French helped to organize the i'"irst 
Congregational Church of that city, which 
was afterward merged into the Presbyterian 
Church, and he has ever since been an elder, 
and all his family ha\e been reared in the lat- 
ter faith. He and all his family are natural 
musicians, and have always particijiated in 
the nnisical services of the church. He was 
a charter member of Ancient Landmark 
Lodge, No. 210, A. F. & A. M. He distinct- 
ly remembers the election of W'illiam Henry 
Harrison, whose party he supported until 
the organization of the Re])ublican party, 
since which time he has been identified there- 
with. He has had but little time or inclina- 
tion for political agitation, and his only of- 
ficial service has l)een rendered as a member 
of the town board at Superior, and of the 
school board at Ashland. After a residence 
of nK)re than three decades in Ashland, he 
is recognized as one of the most useful, ex- 
emplary and conscientious citizens of that 
city. 

NICHOLAS LUCIUS, Jr.. postmaster 
and mei^chant at Solon Springs, and clerk 
of the town of Nebagamon, Douglas county, 
was lx)rn in 1S66 on a farm near Tifhn, 
Ohio. His parents, Nicholas and Mary .\nn 
(Marks) Lucius, were natives of Luxem- 
liourg, Belgium, and came to America in their 
childhood. In 1886 Mr. Lucius. Sr.. took up 
a homestead claim near Solon Springs, which 
he has developed, having at present seventy 
acres under cultivation. His family consists 
of three sons and one daughter. He served 
throughout the Civil War in Company K, 
123(1 O. \'. I. : was a prisoner in Libby. .\n- 



8o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



dersonville and Danville i)risons and was unc 
of six men who escaped from Andersonxille, 
but was recaptured. 

l''or three years after comins;- to Solon 
Springs, Nicholas Lucius, Jr., acted as guide 
to fishing parties up the Brule river, and in 
the neighboring- country. Jn 1889, in part- 
nership with I'eter E. Waterbury, he started 
a store, which they still carry on, doing a 
general merchandise business. They own 
a tract of 160 acres on the western shore of 
Lake St. Croix, which they have platted for 
a townsite, and which they are beautifying 
for a summer resort, four modern cottages 
having been erected already, and extensive 
impro\-ements being in contemplation. This 
is one of the ])rettiest spots in Northern 
Wisconsin, an ideal place for sportsmen 
and health and pleasure seekers. It is ^oo 
feet higher than Lake Superior and here 
the Brule and St. Croix rivers, which stocked 
with fish, How in opposite directions, find 
their source. I lere is a spring of pure, soft 
water and groves of cedar and balsam add 
their charm. 

Mr. Waterbury, so closely associated 
in business with Mr. Lucius, is a native of 
Illinois. He served as a private through 
the Civil War, in Battery C, 2d 111. Light Ar- 
tillery, coming after the war to Wisconsin, 
where he engaged in lumbering on the Wis- 
consin river. In 1888 he came to Douglas 
county to take charge of a fashionable club 
house. He has held many local official posi- 
tions, serving one term as justice of the 
peace, one term as a member of the town 
board, one term as clerk, and several terms 
as county game warden, being at present 
deputy State game warden. He is a member 
of the G. A. R., of the I. O. O. E. and of 
the I. O. F. In politics he is a Republican. 
He has one son, Frank. 

Since coming of age Mr. Lucius has 
taken an active part in politics, of late years 
being associated with the Republican party, 
though formerly a Democrat. In 1888 he 
was appointed deputy town clerk, holding 
the position until 1891. He was elected 
constable in 1889 and held that oflke until 
1895 ; he was the first secretary of the school 



board, retaining the position a number of 
years, and since 1895 has been town clerk. 
He has also been a frequent delegate tc 
county and congressional conventions. He is 
a member of the I. O. O. F., Nebagamon 
Lodge ; of the M. W. A., Hawthorne Lodge, 
and of the Sons of Veterans, of West Su- 
l)erior. 

SAMUEL S. VAUGHN, strong of 
character, inflexible in purpose, left the im- 
press of his life work wherever he went, but 
in northwest Wisconsin he was most potent 
as a business and social factor. In 1849, 
more than half a century ago, in all the 
strength and vigor and enthusiasm of }'oung 
manhood, he first came to the Superior coun- 
try, locating at Copper Harbor. 

Air. Vaughn was born in Berca, Ohio, 
Sept. 2, 1830, son of Ephraim Vaughn, who 
left his native New England hills to become 
a pioneer settler in the Western Reserve. 
Samuel S. Vaughn had but meagre educa- 
tional advantages, the home farm being re- 
mote from schools. He early learned the 
need of industry, and as a boy assisted in 
clearing the land and making it ready for 
ciUtivation. At the age of nineteen he left 
home, and started for the West in search of 
fortune and adventure. His brother Joel 
had left home some years before, and had 
located at Copper Harbor, Wis., and thither 
young Samuel turned his steps, b'or two 
years he was employed in a clerical capacity 
by his brother, but he felt himself capable of 
better things. The ability to execute plans 
of his own was his, and, accordingly, in 
1852, he went to La Pointe, Wis., and there 
engaged in trading W'ith the Indians, meet- 
in.g with such success that he continued in 
the same line of work for several years. His 
business experience, however, demonstrated 
to him the need of a better education, and 
with his characteristic detennination to ac- 
complish what he saw was essential, he 
closed out his affairs, returned to his old 
home in Ohio, antl for one year applied him- 
self diligently to slud\-. In that time he ac- 
c|uired what, for the times, was a .good prac- 
tical education. Subsequent to his return. 




SAMUEL S. VAUGHN 



COMMEMORATIVE BlOGRArillCAL RECORD 



5-1 



in 1856^ Bayfield was settled, and there lie 
lucaled. ereclinj^ the first store building in 
the town. Later he jjuill a sawmill, and was 
soon actively interested in all the affairs of 
the new town, lie was one ot the hrst to 
heconie interested in the lirst railroad enter- 
prise, and was a director of the old Winne- 
ljaj(o & Lake Sn])erior, and of the Portage 
& Lake Snperior railroad comijanies, which 
resulted in the building of the W^isconsin 
Central railway. Mr. Vaughn was the lead- 
ing spirit in the <jrganization of the St. 
Croi.x li Lake Superior Railway Company. 
He foresaw the building of a city at the heail 
of Chaquamegon Bay, and, acting on his 
unerring judgment, he jjreempted a claim 
which is now well known as Vaughn's sub- 
division of Ashland. This he laid out in 
1871, and in iSjj he began making exten- 
sive improvements thereon. In company 
with Charles Fisher, he built the first com- 
mercial dock in .Xshland. 

Despite his numerous business enterprises 
Mr. Vaughn was actively interested in the 
jjolitical and social life of the town. In 187 1 
he served in the State Assembly, and he held 
a number of local offices. He was very pub- 
lic-spirited, and was ever keenly alive to any 
movement that aimed at the progress and 
best de\elopment of Ashland. Previous to 
his death he had perfected plans for the gift 
of a public library to the city, and he charged 
his wife to carry out his wishes. This was 
done, and a fine memorial building, the rent- 
als of which amount to about $3,000. was 
erected, and devoted to maintaining the fine 
library, which contains about 5.000 well 
chosen volumes. 

On Oct. 22, 1864, Mr. \'aughn was mar- 
ried to Miss Emeline Patrick, of Solon, 
rjhio, who was a devoted companion to her 
husband, and an earnest fellow worker with 
him in all his many undertakings. From 
their happy home they dispensed an abun- 
dant hospitality. Mr. Vaughn was gifted 
with a remarkable memory, anrl being a 
wide reader, he drew around him a coterie 
of gem'al friends to whom he was not only 
an entertaining, but an instructive compan- 
i<jn. I'raternaliy, he belonged to the Odd 
e 



I'ellows and the Masons. He was strictly 
a moral man. While nut a member of any 
church, he so ordered his life that it was 
in harmony with divine teachings, and he was 
libcnil in aiding the furtherance of Chris- 
ti.inity. He despised cant and sIkjw, but to 
the ijoor and unfortunate he was a ready 
helper, and a kind and obliging friend. 

When Samuel S. Vaughn died, Jan. 30, 
1886, Ashland sustained an irreparable 
loss. Resolutions of respect and sympathy 
were passed, and a feeling of universal sor- 
row^ prevailed: A better close to this brief 
testimonial cannot be found than in the res- 
olutions offered by the Business Men's As- 
sociation : 

VVhekea.s, in tlic deatli of S. -S. VaiiKlin this As- 
sociation sustains a loss of one of its charter mem- 
bers, as well as one of the mcjst influential ^nd 
prominent citizens, therefore be it 

Rcsok'cd, That it is the sense of this associa- 
tion that we tender to his wife and family our sin- 
cere and heartfelt sympathy in this their great af- 
fliction. 

Kcsnh'cd, That we measure his loss to the com- 
munity to he deeply regretted and deplored, and that 
we ever will bear him in mind and honor his memory 
as one of the foremf)St in promoting the best interest 
of this Association, of our city and its business en- 
terprises. 

Kcsoh'cd. That a copy of these resolutions be 
entered upon the minutes of this Association, that 
the Secretary be instructed to present an engrossed 
copy of them to his wife as a testimony of our high 
esteem for her husband, and be it further 

Kcsohrd. That these resolutions lie published 
in the Ashland News and the Ashland Press. 

OLE M.VTTSON, sheriff of Burnett 
cpunty, W^is., is a native of Sweden, Ixjrn 
June 24. 1859, son of R. M. and Anna 
(Thyboch) Olson, also natives of that coun- 
try. R. M. Olson was a farmer and road 
contractor in his native country, and came 
to America in 1868, locating at Mendota, 
Minn., for one suminer, at the end of which 
time he removed to Balsam Lake, Polk Co., 
Wis. Taking up 160 acres of land on the 
county line, on Sections 3 and 4. Lake tow-n- 
ship. he there settled in the woods, erecting 
a log cabin. He cleared a great deal of land 
and followed farming until his death in 
1887. His widow still survives, and lives 
w ith her son. They were members of the M. 



82 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



E. Church. Two children were born to R. 
M. and Anna Olson, namely, — Christina, 
who married Lars Peterson, a farmer of 
Polk Co., Wis.; and Ole, our subject. 

Ole Mattson received but three months 
schooling, having to work hard as a boy, 
and he remained at home until 1888. He 
erected a mill at Tradelake, which was des- 
troyed by fire in 1897, and this he rebuilt, 
still operating it. In 1902 he was elected 
sheriff of Burnett Co., Wis., lor a term of 
two years. He has also served as supervisor 
and chairman of Tradelake, and has always 
voted the Republican ticket, which party has 
continued to recognize his usefulness. 

Mr. Mattson was married, in 1S83, to 
Selma Peterson, a native of Sweden, and 
they have had eleven children, ten of whom 
are living: Edith, Elmer, Mornitz, Ernest, 
Rurick, Alice, Nora, Lydia, Russell, Noble 
(deceased) and Helen. Mr. Mattson is a 
member of the Modern Woodmen of Grants- 
burg. He attends the M. E. Church. 

ALBERT NEWCOMB HOPKINS, 
wiio has been an official weighmaster in the 
Duluth grain market since 1887, is one of the 
best known men in that line in the city. 

Mr. Hopkins was born May 6, 1838, in 
Livingston county, Mich., and he is a de- 
scendant of one of the oldest families in 
America, his first ancestor on these shores, 
Stephen Hopkins, having come hither in the 
"Mayflower." His posterity in the United 
States is now numerous, and includes many 
noted men, among them Johns Hopkins, the 
founder of the uni\-ersity that bears his name. 
John Hopkins, grandfather of the gentle- 
man whose name introduces these lines, 
moved from Montpelier, Vt., to Steuben 
county, N. Y., and improved a large farm 
there. He reached the great age of ninety 
years. His brother James was a soldier in 
the Continental army, was captured and 
taken as a prisoner to Canada, where he was 
kept for about two years. 

William B. Hopkins, father of Albert 
N., was born in Vermont, and was a small 
boy when the family located in Steuben 
county, N. Y. In 1831 he migrated to Mich- 



igan, locating first at Ann Arbor, and he was 
one of the pioneers in that region, which was 
so thinly settled at the time that supplies had 
to be brought from Detroit, with an ox team. 
Mr. Hopkins continued to farm there until 
his removal to Livingston county, Mich., 
where he cleared another farm, and thence 
he moved to Eaton county, where he built a 
gristmill which he operated until his death. 
He passed away in 1865, aged seventy-two 
years. Mr. Hopkins was a modest man, and 
had no desire for public life or office, but he 
was deeply interested in politics, and was a 
delegate to the First Republican State Con- 
vention held in the United States, in Julv, 
1854, taking an active part in its delibera- 
tions. He married Maria A. Newcomb, a 
native of New York State, born in Cattarau- 
gus county, who died in Vermontville, Mich., 
in 1872, aged seventy-four years. She was 
a daughter of David Newcomb, originally 
from Great Barrington, Alass., wdio was a 
descendant of an old Colonial family. 

Albert Newcomb Hopkins attended the 
public schools in Michigan and Vermont- 
ville Academy, completing the course at that 
institution when twenty years old. Subse- 
quently he was connected with his father, 
in the milling business, until he enlisted, 
Sept. 3, 1 86 1, as a member of the regimental 
band of the 2d Michigan Cavalry, in which 
he played baritone until the battle of Pitts- 
burg Landing, when he packed his instru- 
ment to assist the surgeons. The instru- 
ments were captured and destroyed, and Mr. 
Hopkins then entered the ranks as a member 
of Company B, same regiment, with which 
he served until his discharge. May 6, 1863, 
at Corinth, Miss., because of disability 
brought on by a hemorrhage of the lungs. 
Pie took active part in the battles of New 
Madrid, Island No. 10, Farmington, and 
other ones of less note. 

Mr. Hopkins did not recover rapidly 
after his discharge from the service, having 
poor health for several years. In 1871 he 
came to Duluth, and after a year in the city 
showed marked improvement. Returning to 
Vermontville, he engaged in the livery busi- 
ness, carrying mail, etc., until 1S79, when he 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



8' 



again c:ime to Minnesota, this time locating 
at Crookston, wtiere he took up a preemp- 
tion and lumber claim on which he spent 
eight years, cultivating the land. During 
four years of this time his crops were dam- 
aged by bail. In the year 1887 he again 
came to Duluth, where he has ever since re- 
mained, having occupied his present position 
ail these years. His long association with 
this business iias made him familiar with its 
e\ery detail, and he is one of the most com- 
petent ( rfticials in the Duluth market, where 
he is well known. 

In 1866 Mr. Hopkins married Miss 
Sarah Fairfield, daughter of Walter and 
Mary Fairfield, of Vermontville, Mich., and 
of the children born to this union four are 
living: Belie, now Mrs. R. D. Haven; 
Louise, Mrs. Carl Gill>ert; Flazel, who is a 
graduate of the Duluth high school, class of 
1904; and Raymond, w'ho is a student of 
that school. In religious connection the 
family is identified with Grace M. E. Church. 
Socially Mr. Hopkins belongs to J. B. Cul- 
ver Post, G. A. R.,of which he was one of the 
ciiarter members, and is a past commander. 
His political support has always been given 
to the Republican i)arty, of which he is a 
stanch ad\ocate, and he has been a delegate 
to several State conventions, being ardently 
interested in the workings of the party. 

JOHN B. TROWBRIDGE. M. D., B. 
C. E., is one of the leading ])hysicians and 
business men of Hayward. He was born at 
Knowlesville. Orleans Co., N. Y., Nov. 12, 
1853, his parents I>eing Harley and Delia 
M. (Hatch) Trowbridge, both natives of 
New York State. 

The emigrant ancestor of this family was 
William Trowbridge, who came from Eng- 
land in 1624 and settled in Ma.ssachusetts, 
going a few years later to New Haven, 
Conn., where many of his descend- 
ants still live. The family has dis- 
tinguished itself in military and civic 
affairs, and has prospered in business. 
The father of Harley Trowbridge settled 
at Truxton, Cortland Co., N. Y., where 
he died in early life. In 1856 Harley 



Trowbridge came to Wisconsin, and settled 
at Viroqua, where he became a wagon manu- 
facturer. After a time he went into the fire 
and life insurance business, wdiich he car- 
ried on successfully for many years. He is 
now living in retirement, being eighty years 
of age. From early manhood he has been a 
deacon of the Congregational Church. Mrs. 
Delia M. (Hatch) Trowbridge is still living 
at the age of seventy-five. She w-as born at 
Barre Center, near Albion, N. Y., where her 
father, a farmer, died at the age of sixty- 
five. 

John B. Trowbridge attended the high 
school at Viroqua, Wis., and later took the 
civil engineering course at the University of 
Wisconsin, graduating in the class of 1876. 
Soon after he began the study of medicine 
with Dr. William A. Gott, of Viroqua, and 
was graduated from Rush Medical College, 
Chicago, in 1882. Before completing his 
studies he began practice at Cashton, Mon- 
roe Co., W^is., and in the spring of 1883 
located at Hayward, where he was the pio- 
neer physician, and where he has ever since 
had a general medical and surgical practice. 
He was also one of the partners in the first 
drug store in Hayward, in which he still re- 
tains an interest; his first partner, C. H. 
Clapperton, having been accidentally killed, 
the firm is now Trowbridge & Tompkins. 
Dr. Trowbridge is also health officer and 
county physician, and has been local 
surgeon of the Chicago, St. Paul, Min- 
neapolis & Omaha Railway Company since 
coming to Hayward. He is also the 
sole surgeon examiner for the L'nited 
States Pension Department in Sawyer 
county, there being no board of examiners 
in that county. He is a member of the 
.American IMedical Association, of the Wis- 
consin State Society, and of the Inter-county 
Medical Society, of which he is an ex- 
president, and is president of the Washburn- 
Sawyer-Burnett County Medical Society. 
He takes an active interest in all these so- 
cieties, being a regular attendant of their 
meetings and contributor to their funds. 

In 1882 Dr. Trowbridge married Isn- 
belle Clapp, a native of Kasota, Minn., 



84 



C0M:\IEM0RATIVE biographical RlLLUi 



daiigliter of George C. and Marietta (War- 
ner) Clapp, of that place. Four children 
have come to this union, as follows : Helen 
B., a student at Carlton College, North- 
field, ]\linn. ; Harley G., also a student of 
Carlton College; Isadore M. and Arthur 
Raymond. The family is connected with 
the Congregational Church. For a number 
of years Dr. Trowbridge has been secre- 
tary of the board of directors of the Hay- 
ward Free Library. He is Master of Key- 
stone Lodge, No. 263, A. F. & A. ]\L, also 
a member of the chapter R. A. M.. at Rice 
Lake, and a charter member of Hayward 
Lodge, No. 333, L O. O. F., in which he has 
passed all the chairs. Politically he has al- 
ways been a Republican. 

JOSEPH LUCIUS, a well-known citi- 
zen of W'innebijou, Douglas coimty, holds 
the responsible position of superintendent 
of club property on the famous Brule river. 
There the W'innebijou Club is located, and a 
number of citizens of St. Paul, St. Louis 
and other cities have built their private 
lodges for summer rest and recreation. 
Among these Mr. Lucius has charge, in ad- 
dition to the club house, of the Mikanok 
Lodge, the Mushikinnie, the ^^'endigo, the 
Gitche Gume, the Riverside, the Nississhin 
and Au-Sable. 

Mr. Lucius was born in Kirby, Wyan- 
dot Co., Ohio, Feb. 3, 1S71, but is of Bel- 
gian ancestry on both sides of the house. 
The paternal grandfather, Joseph Lucius, 
a civil magistrate in his own country, came 
to America bringing with him his family of 
seventeen children. He settled in Ohio 
where he soon died. His son, Nicholas Lu- 
cius came to the United States about 1852, 
and made his home in Kirby, Ohio. In the 
Civil War he served in Company K. 123rd 
O. V. I., took part in a number of battles, 
and was several times v,ounded. In 1884 
lie removed to Plymouth, Ind., and two years 
later to Wisconsin. He took up a home- 
stead claim at Solon Springs, Doug- 
las county, and has since resided there, 
on what is now one of the best farms in the 
county. He is now about sixty-two years 
of age. 



Nicholas Lucius married Mary Ann 
.Marks, born near the border line between 
Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxem- 
bourg, the same region from which her hus- 
band came. The maternal grandfather, 
George Marks, also came to this country, 
where he followed the trade of a butcher, 
and died in Tiffin, Ohio, at the age of about 
eighty years. 

Joseph Lucius attended the public schools 
in Ohio until his parents moved West. A 
year or two after they had settled in Wis- 
consin, he went to the head of the lakes- 
where he was employed in the shipyards the 
most of the time until 1895. Since then he 
has lived on the Brule river, where he kept a 
summer resort for several years, but in 1899 
he was made superintendent of the club prop- 
erty there. Most of the buildings and boats 
on that romantic and historic stream have 
been built by Mr. Lucius, while he has also 
built many boats to order for use all through 
the L'pper Lakes. He is a contractor and 
emplo}-s a number of men. 

Mr. Lucius" own residence, commenced 
in 1902, is an ideal rustic home, finished both 
outside and in with natural cedar. This, as 
well as the club houses he has built, is fitted 
with water works and other modern con- 
veniences. Mr. Lucius is a natural mechanic 
and does much of the work himself, while 
his own workshop contains tools for almost 
any kind of mechanical work. His oversight 
of'the club property and private homes in- 
cludes not only the building, repairing, etc., 
but the general care of them through all sea- 
sons. 

In 1893 ]\Ir. Lucius married Helen 
Rutherford, daughter of Dominick and Mar- 
geretta Rutherford, of Stillwater, Mhm. 
Dominick Rutherford was born near Bath, 
N. Y., but came to Stillwater with his par- 
ents, James and Elizabeth Rutherford, in 
1858. The family were the first settlers 
on the St. Croix river. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Lucius have been born one son, Holbrook, 
and a daughter, Josephine. 

;Mr. Lucius is a man held in great re- 
spect by all who know him and the trust re- 
posed in him has alwavs been amply justi- 
fied. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



JAMES MARSHALL, the pioneer llor- 
ist of Superior, is a Scotchman by birth, 
a native of Glasg-ow, born in 1857. His par- 
ents, John and Elizabeth (Younger) Mar- 
shall, are still residents of Scotland. Their 
union was blessed with five children, three 
sons and two daughters, all livingf except 
one son, John, who lost his life by drowning. 

At the age of fifteen, James Marshall 
began his apprenticeship to the business of a 
florist and served for five years at very 
small wages. During that time, however, 
he learned his work thoroughly and included 
in his study the culture of flowers, vege- 
tables and fruit, as it was the custom in 
Scotland to combine those three branches. 
In 1887 Mr. Marshall came to the United 
States, with a view to locating in either 
Winona, Minn., or West Superior, as in his 
native Scotland he had heard fa\'orably of 
both places. On reaching the West, he de- 
cided to settle in Superior, as that was a new 
town and offered a favorable outlook. 

The greenhouse which Mr. Marshall has 
built in West Superior is eighty feet long by 
twenty feet wide and seven feet high, heated 
by hot water system. The building is mod- 
ern in construction, with a double glass roof 
and 300 cubic feet between for dead air 
space. He has been at his present location 
No. 1012 Ilughitt ave., since 1897, carry- 
ing a general stock, which includes palms, 
ferns, sparrow-grass sprangles, rose*^, car- 
nations, smilax, etc., and he has built up a 
flourishing trade. 

Mr. ^larshall still retains the true Scotch- 
man's love for his native land and is a mem- 
ber of the Scottish order, "Clan Cameron." 
as well as of the British-American Club of 
A\'est Superior. 



moved to Northern Michigan, where he en- 
gaged in mining. After eight years spent in 
the mining industry, he went to farming in 
Minnesota. He has now retired from active 
life and he and his wife live with a married 
daughter in Minneapolis. Mr. Williams is 
in his seventy-fifth year, his wife ten years 
his junior. They were the parents of the fol- 
lowing children : C. H. ; Emma, wife of H. 
I. Longworth, of Minneapolis; George, a 
farmer in Ramsey county, N. Dak..; Ella, 
wife of C. P. Colby, of Minneapolis ; Susan, 
deceased; Howard, an employe in the mines 
at Eveleth, ]\linn. ; and Earl, an engineer 
in the same mines. 

C. H. Williams passed his early boyhood 
in Ann Arbor, where he attended the public 
schools until he was sixteen. He then ob- 
tained employment in the office of a mining 
company in Northern Michigan, where his 
father was engaged, working there for a 
year. After that he went to Stearns county, 
Minn., where he engaged in farming. He 
sold his farm after a time and came to Hur- 
ley, securing a position in the office of the 
Car}' Mine, where he remained for four 
years, and he was superintendent of the 
same mine from 1895 to 190 1. In 1900 he 
was elected county treasurer of Iron county, 
and is at present serving his second term 
in that office. 

. Mr. Williams married Jan. 19, 1879, 
Florence A. Kemp, daughter of Steven 
Kemp, a farmer of Fairhaven, Minn. To 
this union have been born the following child- 
ren : Arthur and Fred, both engineers in the 
Cary Mine at Hurley; Lillian, Roy, Eugene, 
Mabel, Roderick and Everett, all living at 
home. 



C. H. WILLIAMS, county treasurer of 
Iron county, has lived in Hurley since 1889. 
He was born in Ann Arlxir, Mich.. Nov. 
16, 1855, son of H. G. and Susan (Stoup) 
^\'iIliam5. His father was an Englishman 
l)v birth and came to the United States in 
his youth. For a few years he made his 
home in Ann Arbor, where he married, his 
wiie being a native of that place, and later 



DAVID W. MOWATT. To those who 
knew the late David W. Mowatt words must 
fail to express fitly the full measure of his 
manhood and to do justice to the power 
and influence with which it has permeated 
the community, whether in its business, so- 
cial, educational or religious activities. 

David W. Mowatt was born in St. An- 
drews, N. B., Dec. 5, 1827. His Ixiyhood 



86 



COMMEiMORATlVE BIOGRArHICAL RECORD 



was passed in his native place and there in 
the pubhc school he recei\-cd his education 
in the English branches. When about twen- 
ty-five years old, moved by a spirit of enter- 
prise and a love of adventure, he went to 
Australia, where for two years he worked 
in the gold mines of that region, meeting 
with only moderate success. The craving 
to see more of the world was still strong upon 
him, and to satisfy it he turned his thought 
to the sea as most likely to gratify his de- 
sire to see the different parts of the world ; 
accordingly he engaged on a sailing vessel, 
first as an ordinary seaman, rising later to the 
responsible position of shipmaster. He was 
largely in the East Indian trade, yet his voy- 
ages extended to the circumnavigation of the 
globe, and his sea-faring life continued sev- 
eral years. 

When Mr. Mowatt returned he settled 
at Chatham, Ont., and became identified with 
the lumbering business as superintendent for 
a lumbering company ; he remained there 
until 1863 and gained an insight into the 
business and a knowledge of it that were 
of great value to him in his future career. 
That year he went to Manistee. Mich., to ac- 
cept the superintendency of a large lumber- 
ing company, remaining there until 1885, 
actively engaged in business and meeting 
with a degree of success commensurate with 
the sturdy efforts put forth to get on in the 
world. 

Mr. Mowatt had ijy his industry and 
keen business acumen acquired a fair work- 
ing capital and in 1885 he came to Ashland, 
deeming it a good field for his future opera- 
tions, in which time proved the correctness 
of his judgment. That year he bought a 
saw mill, forming a partnership with J. 
R. Case. This mill they subsequently re- 
built and together successfully operated it for 
three years, when Mr. Case disposed of his 
interest to C. F. Thompson, of Chicago. 
The new partnership continued another three 
years when Mr. Thompson retired, and Mr. 
Mowatt from that time until his death con- 
ducted the mill upon his own responsil^iility. 
During the seventeen years of his active 
business career in Ashland, Mr. Mowatt es- 
tablished a reputation for fidelity to princi- 



ple and S(.)und judgment that is well worthy 
of emulation. 

The marriage of David W. Mowatt with 
Miss Hattie Riker, of Manistee, Mich., was 
celebrated in 1864. Of a large family born 
of this union, five are living, viz. : David 
J. ; Mrs. Jessie I. Mann, of Hpughton, Mich. ; 
Neville P., of Chicago; Althea M. ; and 
Ethel J. Mrs. Mowatt is a daughter of John 
and Lucy (Dexter) Riker, of New York. 

Mrs. Mowatt' s grandfather, Thomas 
Riker, was a commissioned officer in the 
Revolution ; he served for seven years, and 
during that time was home only once. He 
and his wife were pioneers in Michigan, 
settling there at a very early date. 
David J. Mowatt, father of David W., 
was a native of New Brunswick, and a cou- 
sin of Sir Oliver Mowatt, of Canada. He 
was a prominent church man, and a colopel 
of militia. His wife was Marian Wyre, by 
whom he had a family of twelve children, 
three of whom are living. He himself lived 
to the extreme age of ninety-three years. 

David W". Mowatt was prominent in 
Masonic circles, and was an honored mem- 
ber in all the degrees of that ancient fra- 
ternity, including relations with the Triple 
Temple of the Shrine. His church connec- 
tions were with the Presbyterians, with which 
denon:ination he was associated from the 
time of his settlement in Ashland ; he took 
an active part in all the various phases of re- 
ligious life. Mr. Mowatt had a keen appre- 
ciation of the advantages of education and 
was all his life greatly interested in im- 
proving the condition of the public schools. 
He was president of the school board in Ash- 
land for a number of years and was the in- 
cumbent of that office at the time of his death. 

Mr. Mowatt's death occurred Oct. 16, 
1902, and aroused sincere mourning among 
a large circle of friends, whom his admir- 
able character had won and retained. 

Capt. David J. Mowatt, the eldest son 
of the above, was born in Michigan in 1866 
and was educated in the public schools of 
that State. He came with his father to Ash- 
land in 1885 and after that time was closely 
connected with him in business. Since his 
father's death he has had sole charge of af- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



87 



fairs. Capt. Mowatt was married in Chip- 
pewa I""alis to Miss Minnie Southwick, of 
that city, and to their union have Ijeen born 
llirec children. David S., Warren W. and 
Gertrude E. 

Upon the organization in 1889 of tlie 
original Ashland Rifles, afterward Co. L., 2d 
W. X. G., Capt. Mowatt enlisted and served 
creditably, passing through all the grades, 
filling each position with credit to himself. 
When the regiment was musteretl out of the 
State service and into the volunteer service 
of the nation. May 12, 1898, he was rejected 
l)ecause he was married. Whereupon he or- 
ganized an independent company, hoping 
thereby to receive an assignment, in case 
there should come a second call for troops. 
This company was duly mustered into the 
State service July 28, 1898, becoming Com- 
pany D, 5th Reg., W. N. G. ; Mr. Mowatt 
received a commission as captain issued by 
Gov. Schofield, Aug. 31, 1898. Early in 
1899 a reorganization of the State troops 
was effected, transferring Company D, 5th 
Regiment to the loth Battalion. Capt. Mo- 
watt has been active in local militia affairs 
and he has done much to add to the efficiency 
of the local organizations. He is a young 
man of excellent abilities, an<l with his fam- 
ily is prominent in the social life of the city. 

J0SI':PH LIXDS.AY. master carpenter 
of the eastern division of the Great Northern 
Railroad, a resident of West Superior, was 
born in Durham. County of Grey, Ont., May 
20, 1 861. His parents were Andrew L. and 
Matilda (Davidson) Lindsay, natives of 
Dumfriesshire, Scotland. Andrew L. Lind- 
say came to Ontario in 1849, ^"'1 improved 
a farm of wild land on which he (lied in 
January, 1895, '^^ the age of seventy-eight. 
He was an active member of the Reform 
party, filled several offices and was an influ- 
ential resident of Durham. His brother, 
John Lindsay, served some years in the Brit- 
isli army and died while in the Indian ser- 
I vice. Their father, a millwright by trade, 
died in Scotland. Mrs. Matilda (Davidson) 
l,indsay died May 24, 1902, aged seventy- 
-X years. Her father. Joseph Davidson. 



u'as a native Scotchman but lived for many 
years in England, where he died. 

. Joseph Lindsay attended the public 
schools in Durham, and learned the carpen- 
ter's trade. In 1883 he left home and se- 
cured work on the construction of buildings 
and bridges on the Canadian Pacific Rail- 
road between Winnipeg and the Columbia 
river. Erom there he went in 1888 to Minn- 
eapolis, entering the employ of the Great 
Northern Railway Co. on the Breckenridge 
division, as foreman of carpenters, and be- 
ing transferred in 1894 to the Northern di- 
vision, as master car])enter. with head(|uar- 
ters at Crookston. 

In February. 1893, he came to West Su- 
perior as master carpenter for the Eastern 
division of the Great Northern, having 
charge of buildings, bridges, docks and 
water supply. Most of the wooden bridges 
on this division were built by Mr. Lindsay. 
The work keeps a large force of mechanics 
employed and requires no little executive 
abihty to manage. 

Mr. Lindsay was brought up in the 
Presbyterian faith. Fraternally he is con- 
nected with the A. F. & A. M'. Politically 
he has always been a Republican since com- 
ing to the United States. He has formed an 
extensive acquaintance at the Head of the 
Lakes and is held in high esteem by the best 
class of citizens. 

SAMUEL E. BOYCE. a gallant vet- 
eran of the great Civil War and one of the 
most successful dru.ggists in Duluth, was 
born in Wellsville, Ohio. Aug. 7. 1842. and 
is a son of Robert and Chri.stina (Wilhelm) 
Boyce. His paternal grandparents. Robert 
and Sarah Boyce. came from Ireland dur- 
ing the early boyhood of their son Robert, 
and settled at Pittsburg, Pa. The grandpar- 
ents attained old age. Robert Boyce, the 
father of Samuel F., went to Wellsville while 
a young man and settled on a farm. After 
reaching the age of sixty years, he was killed 
by falling from a horse which he was riding. 
Mrs. Christina Boyce survived until 1883. 
also dying at Wellsville. She was born about 
the l)eginning of the nineteenth centurv. in 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Virginia, where her father, George \Vilhelm, 
hved and died on a farm. He and his wife 
were of German descent and eacli attained 
the age of about eighty years. 

Samuel F. Boyce was educated at a Pres- 
byterian academy in Wellsville taught by 
Rev. Mr. Lafferty. After leaving school he 
learned telegraphy in the same place and 
soon after the outbreak of the Rebellion, 
Aug. IT, 1862, enlisted in Company F, 104th 
O. V. I. He served until near the close of 
hostilities, receiving his honorable discharge 
March 20, 1865, having been made a ser- 
g"eant of the company in the meantime. He 
saw much active duty and had a number 
of narrow escapes from death, but his most 
serious injury was a pistol shot in the right 
hand received at the battle of Franklin, whicli 
kept him in the hospital at Jefferson Barracks 
for some time and caused his final discharge, 
owing to his disability for furthe.- service. 
This ball was carried in his wrist until 1901. 
His regiment formed a part of the 23r<l 
Army Corps, under the command of Gen. 
Schofield, and participated in the battle of 
Covington and the subsequent campaign 
through Kentucky, the siege of Knoxville, 
the battles of Cumberland Gap and Resaca, 
and served all through the Atlanta campaign 
after which it became a part of the coinmand 
under Gen. Thomas. At the battle of Resaca 
his knapsack was shot away and on another 
occasion his cartridge box was smashed by 
a shell which otherwise would, no doubt, 
have caused a serious wound. His honorable 
military career and the patriotic spirit which 
he has manifested in civil life alike entitle 
him to the regard in which lie is held by his 
fellow citizens. 

After the war Mr. Boyce studied medi- 
cine with his brother-in-law, Dr. J. C. 
Sisson, of Bolivar, Ohio, but before complet- 
ing his studies he went to Chillicothe, Mo., 
and purchased a drug store which he carried 
on from 1869 to 1884. Having been afflic- 
ted much of the time with hay fever in that 
climate, in the latter year he came to Du- 
luth and purchased a drug stock. The next 
year, finding his health recovered, he accepted 
a position as secretary of the Richardson 
Wholesale Drug Company, in which he also 



became a stockholder, and took charge of a 
branch house which that concern established 
at Omaha. One season in that location 
having induced a return of his malady, he 
again came to Duluth and purchased another 
stock of drugs and has ever since carried on 
a retail business in the same location at the 
corner of Superior street and Fourth avenue 
west. In 1 887 the building was destroyed 
by fire, his stock being almost a total loss, 
but two days later he temporarily resumed 
Ijusiness in another location and, as soon as 
the new building- was completed, returned to 
his old location. His business has steadily 
prospered and he enjoys a lucrative and con- 
stantly growing trade. 

Mr. Boyce has formed numerous social 
and fraternal connections. He is commander 
of Willis A. Gorman Post, Grand Army of 
the Republic: he united with the Masonic 
fraternity at Wellsville, Ohio, in 1865, and is 
now a member of the Knights Templar Com- 
mandery at Duluth. Since coming to that 
place he has not been an active political 
partisan, but he has supported the principles 
of the Republican party since casting his 
lirst vote for Abraham Lincoln, in 1864. 
At Chillicothe, Mo., he served some years 
as a member of the board of education. 

Mr. Boyce was first married in 1869, to 
Lucinda R. Kline, daughter of John and 
Catherine Kline, of Bolivar, Ohio. Mrs. 
Boyce died at Duluth Feb. 10, 1894, aged 
forty-seven years. She was the mother of 
three surviving children: Ida M. (Mrs. 
E. O. Gates), of Denver, Colo.: Charles F., 
a graduate of the University of Minnesota 
and later a student at Cornell University, 
who is now following the profession of civil 
and electrical engineer at Port Arthur, Tex. ; 
and Katherine of Duluth. On Dec. 14, 1898. 
Mr. Boyce was married to Minnie .M. Gould, 
daughter of Pearson Gould, a native of Ver- 
mont, who died at Otsego, Minn., aged 
eighty-eight years. His wife was born in 
Maine and died in Otsego aged fifty-nine 
years. 

JOSEPH TREPANIA (deceased) for 
many years a resident of Spring Brook, 
Wasliburn count v, was born at Three Rivers, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



89 



Quebec, al)out 1815. His parents were Ca- 
nadians, of French descent, and he was 
brought up in Canada where he received a 
limited education. 

About the year 1843 Joseph Trepania 
came to ^Visconsin, and for a short time was 
located at Prairie du Chien. He then went 
to Chippewa Falls, which at that time con- 
tained but one log house, where he was em- 
ployed by Gilbert Brothers, Colton & Moses, 
and the Union Lumber Co., as overseer of 
their drives on the Chippewa and Yellow 
rivers. He continued in the employ of these 
and other firms for about fifteen years, re- 
ceiving as much as fifteen dollars a day for 
his services. He then bought a farm above 
Chippewa Falls, and while developing this 
land also carried on an Indian trading store. 
Tiiese enterprises he conducted successfully 
imtil 1880, when he moved to Rice Lake, 
Barron county, where he bought, cleared and 
cultivated a farm of 200 acres. Although 
successful at farming', his preference was for 
hunbering, and in 18S1 he disposed of the 
Rice Lake farm and came to Spring Brook, 
the railroad having been built through that 
year. Taking up a homestead, which is now 
the townsite of Spring Brook, he at once en- 
gaged in logging, building on his own re- 
sponsibility two dams on Devil's Creek, in 
the Sawyer County Reservation, in order 
to raise the water sufficiently to float out the 
logs. He met with great success in this busi- 
ness, in which he was actively engaged until 
compelled by age to retire. 

Mr. Trepania married in 1851 or 1852, 
Margaret De Marie, daughter of Louis De- 
Marie, one of the early French traders, who 
iiuilt the first house in Chippewa Falls. To 
this union were born two children, namely: 
Mary, now Mrs. Ferguson, of Spring Brook ; 
and Alfred, of the same place, who is men- 
tioned below. Before her marriage Mrs. 
Trepania and a girl companion had an ex- 
citing adventure in being fired upon by a 
band of hostile Sioux, while crossing the 
Chippewa river in a canoe. 

Mr. Trepania was a Repul)lican in poli- 
tics, anrl a representative man of the locality. 
During his residence at Chippewa Falls, he 
•served several terms as supervisor. He died 



in 1899 and is buried on the Reservation in 
Sawyer county, in a spot selected by him- 
self. Mrs. Trepania is living with her son 
in Spring Brook. 

Louis DeMarie, father of Mrs. Trepania, 
was a native of Montreal, and when a young 
man entered the employ of the Hudson 
Bay Co., trading through the Northwest re- 
gion as far as Manitoba and the Rocky 
Mountains. While at Grand Forks, N. Dak., 
he married Angelina Collins, a half breed 
Cree woman, and they had a family of five 
daughters and three sons. Of them the only 
survivor is Baptiste, who is living on the 
Reservation. Mr. DeMarie finally settled in 
the Chippewa country, where he died about 
i860. Mrs. DeMarie lived to be 103 years 
of age, dying in 1893 ^^ Chippewa Falls. 

Alfred Trepania, son of Joseph and 
^Margaret (DeMarie) Trepania, was torn in 
Chippewa Falls in 1866, and was educated in 
the public schools of that place. When only 
eleven years old he began scaling in the 
woods, and for twenty years was engaged in 
some branch of the logging industry. He 
has been closely identified with the business 
and political interests of Washburn county, 
taking a leading part in politics. He was 
chairman of the board of Veasie, when the 
town comprised five townships, serving two 
terms. He was a member of the county 
board two years, township assessor one 
term, justice of the peace eight or nine years, 
notary public twelve years, receiving his 
first commission from Gov. Rusk, and until 
recently was chairman of the township school 
board. He is at present filling the office of 
county supervisor of assessments. He was 
instrumental in securing the establishment of 
the Spring Brook postoffice, and was the first 
postmaster, being appointed under Cleve- 
land's administration. Several years ago he 
obtained the position of ticket agent for the 
Omaha road at Spring Brook, which he still 
retains. In politics he is a Republican, and 
his opinion is much respected in the councils 
of his party; he is a frequent delegate to con- 
gressional, senatorial, assembly and county 
conventions. Fraternally he is connected 
with the Mystic Workers of the World, 
ha\-ing been master of the local lodge ever, 



90 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



since its institution, with the exception of one 
term. 

Mr. Trepaniti has Ijeen married three 
times; by his first wife, Mary Dacota, he 
had no children ; by his second wife. Maggie 
Laronge, he had three children, as follows : 
Joseph Alfred, Walter and Clarabella M. 
His present wife was Elizabeth Greeley, 
daughter of James Greeley. To this union 
w^ere born three children, namely : Donald 
J., Maud E. and Edward A., deceased. Mrs. 
Trepania is a well educated woman, having 
been a student at the Carlisle Indian School. 

. WILLIAM C. HOWENSTINE, a pio- 
neer and Indian trader of the early days 
in the Upper Lake Region, comes from 
Revolutionary stock, and drifted westward 
from the Eastern States. He was born near 
Chambersburg, Pa., Sept. 3, 1829, son of 
Henry and Charlotte (Filson) Howenstine, 
natives of the same place. 

Two brothers named Howenstine came to 
America from Germany before the Revolu- 
tion; one of them, George Howenstine, be- 
came an officer in the service, and was one 
of Washington's command in the expedition 
to Fort DuOuesne. The brothers had set- 
tled in Pennsylvania, and when the Revolu- 
tionary War broke out lx)th joined the patriot 
forces. They were taken prisoners by the 
British and almost starved to death in prison 
in Philadeliihia. Henry Howenstine was a 
son of this George and Rosanna Howenstine. 
the latter of whom diel in Stark county, 
Ohio, at the age of eighty-four. 

Henry Howenstine, father of William C, 
was a blacksmith by trade and for a while 
followed that trade in Pennsylvania. In 
1838 he removed to Stark county, Ohio, 
where he built and operated a saw mill. His 
later life was spent on a farm in Wabash 
county, Ind., where he died at the age of four 
score years. His wife. Charlotte Filson. 
was the daughter of Robert Filson, of Scotch 
lineage, while her mother, who was a IMiss 
Snyder, was of German descent, a daughter 
of a veteran of the Revolutionary War, and 
afterward the owner of a fine farm in Cham- 
bersburg, Pa., where he died. His wife's 
demise occurred in Wabash count v, Ind., at 



an advanced age. To Henry and Charlotte 
Howenstine were torn five sons, four of 
whom are still living; William C. ; Samuel, 
of Duluth, Minn.; Robert, of Superior; 
George, who died in 190 1 at Wabash, InJ. ; 
Raymer, of Wabash. 

William C. Howenstine was a small boy 
when the family located in Stark county, 
Ohio, and he was reared and educated there ; 
as he grew old enough, he assisted his father 
in operating the saw mill. About 1850 he 
went into Crawford county, same State, and 
Imilt a saw mill for himself, which he oper- 
ated for several years. Following that, in 

1853, he removed to St. Paul and the next 
spring he worked in a trading post on Minne- 
sota Point opposite Old Superior, for the 
Lake Superior Land Company, and there he 
has ever since resided. His first entry into 
the region about the Head of the Lakes was 
en snow-shoes, footing it from Hudson, Wis. 
Mr. Howenstine was an integral part of the 
pioneer life in that section, and among many 
other interesting experiences was present at 
the making of the treaty of La Pointe, in 

1854, when the Minnesota lands around the 
Upper Lakes were ceded by the Chippewa 
Indians to the whites. 

In 1855 Mr. Howenstine was employed 
to build and operate a sawmill at Iron River, 
just above the present village of Orienta, 
and later spent considerable time in travel 
to different points in the West and North- 
west. He was one of the first men to pene- 
trate into the Vermillion Iron Range, walk- 
ing through the woods from Duluth, and he 
has done much prospecting for iron, copper, 
etc. in other places. He was one of the ori- 
ginal investors at Grand Marais, Minn., and 
is also interested in the Douglas County 
Copper Range. Mr. Howenstine kept up his. 
trading M'itli the Indians for many years, 
and in his dealings with them as well as in 
all other transactions, he made a reputation 
for himself for honesty and integrity. 

Mr. Howenstine has been married for 
over a quarter of a century, having been uni- 
ted in 1877 to Caroline Hane. In their fam- 
ily are six children : Gertrude, now Mrs. 
Draper of Duluth ; William Chester, a min- 
ing prospector now operating in the \'ermil- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



91 



lion range ; Frances Inez, Mrs. Joshua 
Swalm, 01 Superior; Jessie Irans, Charlotte 
and Mary Margaret, all at home. 

In early life Mr. Howenstine was a 
Democrat, but after visiting Kansas in the 
fifties he became a Republican, and sup- 
ported Fremont for president in 1S56. In 
recent years he stands rather as an Inde- 
pendent. In 1853, in Ohio, Mr. Howe.i- 
stine joined the I. O. O. F., and in the same 
year was made a member of the A. F. & A. 
M. at Lagro, Ind. In spite of his active out 
door life, he has always l)een a greit reader, 
especially of standard works. Although a 
student of the Bible in particular, Mr. 
Howenstine has never united with any 
church. 

CAPT. SAMUEL E. BURNHAM, 
owner of the steamer "Mayflower" and one 
of the leading men of Duluth Heights, a 
suburb of Duluth, was born July 13. 1830, 
at Bangor, Maine. His father, Robert 
Burnham. of the same place, was in turn a 
son of Capt. Samuel Burnham, of Portland, 
Maine, a sea captain, who followed his sea 
faring life until his death. He sailed to 
many foreign countries, but died in Maine. 

By occupation Robert Burnham was a 
farmer, and he lived and died in Penobscr)t, 
Maine. In addition to attending to his farm- 
ing, he was a man of afifairs, holding many 
of the town ofifices as a representative of the 
Democratic party. Robert Burnham mar- 
ried Miss Mary Anderson, of Penobscot 
county, and they had eight children : Sam- 
uel E. ; Ferdinand, a gunsmith, now residing 
at Washington, who during the Civil War 
served in the 2d Maine Battery; Anna, who 
lived with Samuel E. during her latter days, 
and died at Duluth ; Atwood F. J., who was 
in Texas (a railroad man) when last heard 
of; Charles, a jeweler of Colfax, Cal. ; Ed- 
win, who died young; Elizaljeth, who died 
young; and Robert, formerly a sailor, now 
worK-mg on a railroad in Cuba (he lost both 
hands in a mine explosion). 

Capt. Samuel E. Burnham receiveil 
a common school education, and resided 
at home on the farm until he was 
twenty-one years of age, when he went 



to Bangor, }klaine, and worked at piano 
making until the breaking out of the 
Civil War. He helped organize Company 
A. of the 18th Maine Vol. Inf., and entered 
the service May 21, 1862, as second lieuten- 
ant. The company was at Washington, D. 
C, about a year, when it was sent to join 
the Army of the Potomac, and participated 
in all the engagements of that body. Dur- 
ing the winter of 1864 Lieut. Burnham was 
promoted to the rank of captain of his com- 
pany. On June 18, 1864, he was wounded at 
Petersburg,' knocked down, and had his left 
leg broken. This accident necessitated a stay 
in the hospital for some time, during which 
the brave spirit chafed against the enforced 
inaction. After his recovery he did light 
duty at Washington City for about two 
months, then continued with his command 
until the close of the war, when he had the 
honor of participating in the Grand Review. 
Capt. Burnham received his discharge at his 
home, Sept. 11, 1865. 

After the war, finding such changed con- 
ditions existing in the East, Capt. Burnham 
removed to Saginaw, Mich., and was also 
at Bay City, Rlich., where he built boats, 
and engaged on the lakes until 1894, when 
he came to Duluth, and became interested 
in the 2i.st Avenue Ferry. In 1902 he was 
appointed by the government to attend to the 
lights and buoys in the harbor, and still later 
he bought the steamer "Mayflower." which 
he runs as a ferry and passenger boat. 

The first marriage of Capt. Burnham 
took place in i860, when he was united with 
Mary W. Hewings. of Hudson, IMaine. who 
died in 1897. On May 5. 1902. the Captain 
was married to Anna Blair, of Ontario, 
Canada. 

Culver Post, G. A. R.. recognizes him as 
one its most popular and honored members 
and active workers. For many years Capt. 
Burnham has supported the Republican 
party, in fact during all of his voting years. 
Although he is seventy-four years of age his 
sound physique, soldierly bearing and genial, 
cheery manner, make him appear much 
younger. He is very active : possesses a re- 
markable memory, and rejoices in the fact 
that sight and hearing are both unimpaired. 



92 



COINIAIEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Few men are more generally respected and 
honored in Duluth and St. Louis county 
than this grand old veteran of the Civil War. 

GEORGE GREEN BOWERMAN was 
an active citizen of Superior whose unusual 
skill and judgment brought him success. 
His birth occurred June 24, 1853, ""^ St. 
Vincent, Ont., his parents being Thomas 
H. and Matilda M. (Green) Bowerman, the 
former a native of Port Hope, Canada. 

Thomas H. Bowerman went as a young 
man to Ontario, having previously learned 
the blacksmith's trade at Oswego, N. Y. He 
carried on a shop in St. Vincent and later at 
Deerfield, Lenawee Co., Mich. His home 
was afterwards at Mt. Pleasant, where he 
died in 1894, at the age of sixty-five. His 
father was a Revolutionary soldier, famous 
as a swordsman. Mrs. Matilda M. (Green) 
Bowerman died at St. Vincent in 1858, at 
the early age of twenty-eight; her birthplace 
was Belleville, Ont. Her father came to 
Ontario from England and is still living near 
Barrie, Ont. By a former marriage Thomas 
H. Bowerman had three children : Lloyd 
M., of Chicago; Hiram and Louise of Eu- 
genia, Ont. He married (third) Louisa 
Davis, by whom he had several children. 
Mrs. Louisa (Davis) Bowerman is still liv- 
ing at Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. 

As a boy, George Green Bowerman 
worked in the blacksmith shop, but at the 
age of fourteen left home and began learning 
the trade of ship carpenter at St. Catherines, 
Canada, where he worked for three years 
with a Mr. Chicalone. From there he went 
to Port Robinson, Ontario, to Prairie Sound, 
Ont. and to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., where 
he began work for C. S. Barker, continuing 
in his employ until the death of Mr. Barker 
at Superior in 1901. Since 1885 Mr. Bower- 
man had been at West Superior as foreman 
of Barker's dredging and repair shops, in 
which about thirty men are employed. He 
built all the dredges and scows and did the 
repair work for the entire fleet, which in- 
cluded six tugs, five dredges and two hy- 
draulic pumps. Mr. Bowerman also dealt 
in real estate, and had erected five residences, 
three of which he still owned at the time of 



his death. Owing to failing health in the 
spring of 1904, he went to Mineral Wells, 
Texas, where he died April 22, 1904. His 
remains were interred at Fort Madison, 
Iowa. 

In 1871, at Prairie Sound, Ont., Mr. 
Bowerman was married to Cecelia • Kemp, 
a native of Niagara Falls, N. Y., daughter 
of Elias and Diana Kemp, of Prairie Sound. 
Mrs. Bowerman's parents moved to Superior 
in 1886, and there died. Mr. Kemp, who 
had been a farmer in Canada, acquired a 
competence and retired in middle life. Two 
sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bowerman : 
Herbert, who has spent two years in Alaska, 
and is now at Superior; and Leonard H., 
of Fort Madison, Iowa. The family attend 
the Congregational Church. Mr. Bower- 
man was a member of the I. O. O. F., and 
the I. O. F. Since coming to the United 
States he had affiliated with the Republican 
party and was independent in local politics. 

WILLIAM B. HATCH, late one of the 
substantial and prominent men of Pludson, 
St. Croix Co., Wis., was born at Windsor, 
Vt., June 10, 1840, son of William B. and 
Louise (Parker) Hatch, the former born 
'"^'-ig"- 3' 181 5, and the latter born Nov. 2, 
1 81 7, and both in Vermont. The father was 
a physician and practiced at Rutland several 
years before he went to New York City, 
where he took charge of a city hospital for 
five years. On April i, 1849. ^^ '^'''d his 
second wife went to Beloit, Wis., where he 
built the first store, a bridge and a flax mill, 
and operated the business for three years. 
Then the gold fever attacking him, Dr. 
Hatch went to California, via Cape Horn, 
and in addition to mining was often called 
upon for his medical skill, so that by 1852 
he was able to come back, bavin."- met with 
financial success, and located in Hudson, 
taking up his practice, which he followed 
until 1863, when he returned to Beloit and 
spent about three years. He next spent three 
years at Chicago, whence he went to Jersey 
City, and conducted two drug stores very 
successfully for about ten years. His deat'r. 
occurred Nov. 3. 1887. The second wife of 
Dr. Hatch was Marv E. Weed, of Bing- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



9a 



haniton, N. Y., who is now living in New 
York City, at an advanced age, having been 
born in 1826. There were no children by the 
second marriage, but two by the first: Wil- 
liam B. and Stella Louise, deceased, wife 
of Dr. A. J. Holcomb. In politics. Dr. 
Hatch was a Democrat, but never aspired to 
public office. He was a consistent member 
of the Congregational Church. 

After the death of his mother in New 
York City, William B. Hatch resided in that 
city for a time, and then went to Franklin, 
where he attended school, but later came 
west to Beloit to join his father, and there 
he attended Beloit College. He made the 
first matches manufactured in the State, 
and also made cigars, and in this way earned 
sufficient money to buy his clothes. In 1852, 
he came to Hudson, and worked for twenty- 
five cents a day, but a young man of his en- 
ergy was not to be held down, and he ad- 
vanced by obtaining employment in a brick 
yard. Later he was engaged to drive the 
well-known Brady's team, and he also 
worked for Dr. Otis Hoyt in his large store, 
continuing with the latter for tw'O years. 
As he had studied during his odd minutes 
to follow his father's profession, when the 
latter started the first drug store at Hudson, 
young \\'illiam was able to take charge of it. 
About this time the war broke out, and 
Mr. Hatch, being a member of the Fourth 
Wisconsin Band, under Gen. Payne, was 
sent first to Racine; thence to Baltimore, 
then to Virginia, and after several changes 
was sent to Newport News, and finally was 
ordered West under Gen. Butler. Mr. 
Hatch enjoys the distinction of being one of 
the first four hundred men to enter New Or- 
leans after its capture. They were then 
transferred to Vicksburg, through the Caro- 
linas, and after two weeks in New York City 
were disbanded, after long and brilliant ser- 
vice. 

On Oct. 24, 1862. Mr. Hatch was mar- 
ried to Lydia Brockbank, of North Wind- 
ham, Conn., daughter of Joseph Brockbank. 
Her parents were of English birth, who 
came to Hudson in 185;. and Mr. Brock- 
bank followed his trade of carpentering, and 
was the inventor of bobbins. Both Mr. and 



Mrs. Brockbank died at Hudson. One 
daughter was born of this marriage : Ella 
Louise, wife of Rev. Alexander Lewis, Ph. 
D., of Hudson, pastor of the Pilgrim Con- 
gregational Church of Worcester, Massa- 
cl.usetts. 

So signally did the United States recog- 
nize the loyal spirit of both father and son, 
that Dr. Hatch was made postmaster of 
Hudson and his son assistant postmaster. 
Being in poor health as a result of his ef- 
forts during the w^ar, Mr. Hatch went upon 
a farm for- a couple of years, when, feeling 
fully recovered, he returned to Hudson, and 
entered into the drug business under the firm 
name of McGreggor & Hatch, which con- 
tinued two years, when again Mr. Hatch's 
health failed and for a year he engaged in 
milling. Following this he worked in a 
grocery store for two years, when having 
saved sufficient money, he established a gro- 
cery store of his own in Hudson. This was 
started in a small way, but his trade grew to 
such dimensions, that in 1876, he removed 
to a better portion of the city, and soon was 
the leading grocer in that vicinity, and thus 
continued until 1890, when he sold his in- 
terests. After a rest of a few years, in 1895 
he established another grocery store, conduc- 
ted it for some years, and in 1900 sold to 
Nygard & Co. The brick store in which this 
concern carries on business was built by Mr. 
Hatch at a cost of $7,000. In addition to 
this valuable building, Mr. Platch owned 
some very valuable business property. For 
many years he worked very hard, in spite of 
failing health, and richly deserved the suc- 
cess which came to him. Like his father, 
he was a Mason, and belonged to Blue Lodge 
No. 56, Chapter No. 44, Fludson Command- 
ery No. 14; Eastern Star No. 84; I. O. F., 
Court No. 408; Elks, of Hudson, No. 640; 
and the G. A. R. Post. 

For many years Mr. Hatch was a con- 
sistent and liberal member of the Presbyter- 
ian Church, and was for many years 
the honored treasurer of that congre- 
gation. Mr.. Hatch was a man widely 
and favorably known throughout coun- 
ty and State, and enjoyed in highest 
degree the confidence of his fellowtownsmen. 



94 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Two years ago, owing to failing health, Mr. 
and Mrs. Hatch spent the winter in South- 
ern California. The trip was greatly en- 
joyed by them both, but Mr. Hatch's trouble 
was of such a nature that permanent relief 
could not be expected. He died suddenly 
Oct. 19, 1904, and was buried at Hudson the 
following Sunday with full Masonic rites, 
assisted by the pastor of the Presbyterian 
Church. His wife and daughter survive him 
and are at present (1905) in England. 

WILLIAM L. SCHUPPERT, county 
superintendent of schools of Ashland County, 
is a talented and enthusiastic educational 
worker, who has established for himself a 
reputation that has popularized him with the 
patrons of the schools over which he has jur- 
isdiction. Mr. Schuppert was born in Wa.sh- 
ington county. Wis., in 1872. He is a son 
of John and Hattie (Dagling) Schuppert, 
also natives of Wisconsin. 

William's boyhood was passed upon a 
farm. He attended the public schools, where 
he laid a solid foundation for future learn- 
ing, and at the age of fourteen years, he be- 
gan attending the West Bend high school. 
where for three years he diligently pursued 
his studies. With the school advantages 
thus far enjoyed he had by dint of applica- 
tion acquired a sufificient English education 
to enable him to teach, and he assumed 
charge of his first school when seventeen 
years of age. Eor two and a half years he 
remained continuously in the work, meeting 
with a large measure of success. Subse- 
quently he attended the Oshkosh Normal 
School for two and a half years, and in Eeb- 
ruary, 1895, he was tendered and accepted 
the principalship of the Glidden public 
schools, of which he immediately took 
charge, and continuetl in that position for 
five years. In 1898 he became the Republi- 
can party candidate for county superintend- 
ent of schools, and was duly elected. Eor 
two years thereafter he retained his position 
in the Glidden schools, at the same time dis- 
charging the duties of the county superin- 
tendent's office, at which time the salary of 
the office was raised from $400 to $1,000 
per annum, thereby disqualifying him from 



longer holding a teacher's position. So suc- 
cessfully had Mr. Schuppert conducted the 
office of the county superintendent that he 
was renominated without opposition, and his 
nomination received the endorsement of the 
Democratic party. In 1902 he was renom- 
inated for a third term and triumphantly 
elected. Mr. Schuppert during his six years 
connection with the Ashland public schools 
has given his best efforts to produce the 
highest mental and moral development pos- 
sible in the youth of Ashland county. Pie 
has been eminently successful with his work, 
having won the confidence and esteem of 
both parents and pupils. He personally 
visits every school in the county from two 
to three times each year. In 1901 he organ- 
ized teachers' meetings, the first of their 
kind in the county. These are meetings held 
weekly for the general advantage of the 
teachers and have proved wonderfully help- 
ful. He also instituted in 1902 a summer in- 
stitute, which is conducted jointly by the 
county and State. 

Mr. Schuppert was united in marriage 
with Miss Kittie Hart in 1900. They have 
one daughter, Leonora, and a son, Harold. 
Mrs. Schuppert is a lady of liberal education 
and broad culture. Before her marriage to 
Mr. Schuppert she was one of Ashland 
county's popular and successful teachers. 
She is in full sympathy with her talented 
husband, and is of great assistance to him 
in his work. Their modest home is artistic 
in its appointments, and everywhere in it is 
seen bv the casual observer evidence of the 
taste and refinement of its occupants. 

ASHLAND COUNTY PUBLIC 
SCITOOLS. The public schools of Ashland 
c(mnty in point of excellence are unsurpassed 
by any schools in any county in the State of 
\Visconsin. Its fifty schools are presided 
over by sixty-eight teachers. There are in 
the county three State graded schools of the 
first class, located in Butternut, Glidden and 
Mellen. These schools have kindergarten 
departments and were established in 1902. 
There is also at Odanah. one State graded 
school of the second class. The township 
system of schools prevails in the towns of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



95 



Asliland. Gonlon, Jacobs. Alorse and San- 
born. 'J'lie district system prevails in tlie 
towns of Butternut, Agenda and La Pointe. 
The scliool jear in the county averages 
eight and one-half months. The whole 
number of days attendance of different pu- 
pils, 1901-02, was 157,224. The average 
montlily wages paid to teachers are 
fifty-tliree dollars. Since 1898 there 
have been sixteen school buildings erected 
in Ashland county, which necessitated 
employing twenty-two extra teachers. The 
school report for 1902 shows that there 
are seven schools having between five 
and fifteen pupils; five schools, between 
ten and sixteen; eight, between fifteen and 
twenty-one ; six, between twenty and twenty- 
six; seven, between twenty-fi\e and thirty- 
one; five, between thirty and thirty-si.x ; two, 
between thirty-five and forty-one; four be- 
tw-een forty and forty-six ; one, between for- 
ty-five and fifty-one; one, between fifty and 
fifty-six; one, between fifty-five and sixty 
one ; and four having more than sixty. The 
minimum standing of qualification for teach- 
ers is materially higher than when the pres- 
ent efticient superintendent was elected in 
1898. Of the sixty-eight teachers employed, 
ten are full course Normal graduates ; five 
are graduates of the elementary Normal 
course; four hold first grade county certifi- 
cates; twenty, secontl grade county certifi- 
cates; and thirty-three hold third grade 
county certificates. The public school build- 
ings throughout the county are comfortable 
and substantial structures, equal in these re- 
spects to the school buildings of older settled 
counties. Of the Glidden graded school 
buliding, Mr. Parker, State graded school 
inspector, says, "It is the best of its class in 
the State." It is of modern construction 
and equipment throughout, having steam 
heat and electric lights. 

EDW.VRD ERASTUS COLLINS, 
M. D., who is now living in comparative re- 
tirement in Duluth, was the pioneer of his 
profession in that city, whither he came first 
in May. 1869. He is a native of Newport. 
Herkimer Co.. N. Y., Inirn July 26, 1833, 



and is a son of John and Dolly (Allen) Col- 
lins, the former a native of Rhode Island 
and a descendant of an old Colonial family. 
John Collins died on a farm in New York 
soon after the birth of his son Edward, but 
the mother survived to the advanced age of 
eighty-six years, passing away in 1890. Her 
parents, Jonathan and Polly (Wilder) Allen, 
were both natives of Vermont, the mother 
l:)orn in Dover, that State, in 1776, and they 
died in New^port, N. Y., and East Charles- 
ton, Pa., respectively. Mrs. Allen reached 
the age of eighty-seven years. 

Edward E. Collins attended public 
school and Brookfield academy in New York, 
receiving a good practical education, and 
took up the study of medicine with Dr. Eras- 
tus King, of Unadilla Forks, N. Y., continu- 
ing his studies at the Medical College of New 
York University, from which he was gradu- 
ated in March, 1857. For a number of years 
he practiced in his native State, his first lo- 
cation being at Burlington (ireen, Otsego 
county, and after two years there he moved 
to Clayville, and subsequently to Burlington 
h'lats. In the winter of 1868-69 '^c attended 
lectures at the Chicago Medical College, and 
in May, 1869, he located at Duluth, Minn., 
being the first physician in the field. Dur- 
ing his stay there he was called to Superior 
and other points for some distance around. 
.After three years' experience in Duluth he 
went to Minneapolis, where he remained four 
years, and for the next three years he was at 
Stoughton, Wis., returning in 1881 to Du- 
luth, where he has resided ever since. He 
enjoyed a lucrative practice for many years, 
but is now practically retired, though he is 
still engaged to some extent in real estate 
transactions, having been interested in that 
line since his arrival in Duluth. He has 
put up a number of buildings, including his 
own residence, a fine store, and a modem 
brick structure, and has always aimed to im- 
prove his holdings to the utmost. 

Dr. Collins was married, in 1873, to Mrs. 
Sarah M. Eldridge, who was born in Balti- 
more, Md., and died at Duluth, Dec. 12, 
1902, aged sixty-two years. She was edu- 
cated in Baltimore, came with her parents to 



06 



commi:morati\'f. iuolirai'iucal ri:cord 



Lake Washington, near Mankato. Minn., 
ami tanglit in that vicinity for several years. 
By her ihst nnion she was the mother of one 
child. Grace, who still makes her home with 
the lloctor. Dr. Collins has many social 
and professional connections, having been a 
member of the Masonic fraternity for forty 
years, and a charter member of Palestine 
Lodge. No. 70, at l")nluth. a member of the 
St. Louis County Medical Society and the 
I\linnesota State ^Medical Society. While in 
New York he was a member of the Otsego 
County Medical Society, and while in 
Minneapolis he held membership in the 
Hennepin County Medical Society. His re- 
ligious connection is with the Unitarian 
Church of Duluth, though his wife was a 
(.onunuuicant of the Episcopal Church from 
early life. 

During the Civil War Dr. Collins was 
contract surgeon at Finley Hospital, Wash- 
ington. D. C, for several months, and was 
transferred thence to the field hospital at 
Muddy Branch. Mil., of which he had charge 
for a time. 

NATHANIEL Al.W ARD C.EAR- 
HART. special nuuiicipal judge of the city 
of Duluth. is one of the well known mag- 
istrates of that city, of which he has been 
a resident since 1887. 

Mr. Cicarhart was born Sept. 25. 1S43. 
in Portage. Livingston Co., N. Y.. son of 
John Gearhart and grandson of George 
Gearhait. who was a farmer in New York 
State and lived to the advanced age ot 
eightv-six years. John Gearhart was born 
in Scipio. Cayug^a Co., N. Y.. and was of 
Pennsylvania-Dutch descent, his earlier an- 
cestors living near \"alley Forge, Pa. \\'hile 
a voung man he settled on a farm in Living- 
ston county, N. Y., where he passed the re- 
mainder of his long life, living, like his 
father, to reach the age of eighty-six years. 
He married Elizabeth Guthrie, a native of 
New Jersey, who was of Scotch-Irish de- 
scent, and they had a family of nine chil- 
dren, tive sons and four daughters. Mr. 
and Mrs. Gearhart were constituent mem- 
bers of the Baptist Church at Hunt's Hol- 



low, and all of their children joiuod that 
congregation. The mother died at the age 
of seventy-six years. John Gearhart served 
as a lieutenant in the New York militia. The 
three children of this worthy couple who 
yet survive are all veterans of the Civil 
war: Charles H., of Wausau, Wis., who 
served in the 6th Wisconsin Battalion; Na- 
thaniel A., and George A., of Buffalo, N. 
Y.. a member of the Southern Lectm-e Bu- 
reau, who served in the 1st Now ^ ork 
Dragoons. 

X;uh;inlcl .\. Gearhart was reared in his 
native State. On Sept. 30, 1861. lie en- 
listed in Company A. 104th N. Y. \'. L, 
with which he served in all the engagements 
of the Army of the Potomac until wounded. 
July I. 1803. at the battle of Gettysburg. 
He was present at Autietam. Fredericks- 
burg. Chancellorsville, Seconil Bull Run 
and other important battles. After being 
woufided he was captured on the tield, and 
held prisoner until July 4tli, when the ene- 
my fell back and he came ag-ain within the 
L'nion lines. His wound had so far been 
neglected, and the surgeon said amputation 
was necessary, but Mr. Gearhart refused to 
consent, and thus the wound received no at- 
tention or dressing beyond what he was able 
to give it himself. He remained in the hos- 
pital at Gettysburg until Nov. ist, when he 
was given a furlough to go home to vote. 
In alighting from the train he fell and re- 
broke his leg. and a few weeks later it was 
agfaiu accidentally broken. He was confined to 
his bed for many weeks, and as a conse- 
quence of his injuries his right leg is now 
two and a half inches shorter than the left. 
He has seventeen pieces of K^ie which have 
been removed from the wounded member. 
Mr. Gearhart was dischargeil from the 
army Oct. 12. 1864. because of disability. 
While in the service he was made orderly 
serg^eant. 

In 1865 ^Ir. Gearhart received the ap- 
pointment of deputy clerk of Livingston 
county. N. Y'.. and for twenty-<^ine years he 
contiiuied in the office as clerk or deputy, be- 
ing in actual charge during the entire period. 
He also acted as clerk of all courts of record 




c^^Mr^u^^^^^ 



^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



97 



in that county, and his long term of service 
is the best evidence of faithfuhiess and sat- 
isfactory work. On Sunday, April i, 1887, 
he reached Duluth, Minn., and the following 
day was sworn in as deputy register of 
deeds of St. Louis county, in which posi- 
tion he served about two years. In the 
meantime he had taken up the study of law, 
and in 188S was admitted to the Bar, be- 
ginning practice the same year. He con- 
tinued to devote all his time to practice until 
i8tj8. in which year he was elected speciaf 
municipal judge of the city of Duluth, and 
he has been honored with repeated re-elec- 
tions, having been retained in that office con- 
tinuously since. He still maintains a law of- 
fice in company with his son, H. G. Gearhart, 
who has charge of the same, and practices 
law in addition to discharging his duties as 
a magistrate. His success both in private 
practice and as a public of^cial is due to his 
devotion to business and his fidelity in the 
performance of every duty entrusted to him, 
and he is regarded as one of the useful cit- 
izens of his adopted home. 

On Nov. 30, 1868, Mr. Gearhart was 
married to Ella Frances Gilbert, who was 
born at Thomaston, Conn., and was a 
daughter of Amos H. and Zada (Knibloe) 
Gilbert, later of Xunda, X . Y . Two sons 
have blessed this union : Harry Gilbert, 
who is a practicing attorney, and Donald 
Guthrie, who is a bookkeeper. The Judge 
is a member of the Baptist Church. Fra- 
ternally he is a member of the G. A. R. and 
the Freemasons. His political support is 
given to the Republican party. 

HIRAM PELTON (deceased), who 
was an early settler of Dallas township, Bar- 
ron Co., Wis., was born in 1825 at Athens, 
Greene Co., N. Y., a son of John and Sarah 
(Hinkley) Pelton, the former of whom was 
born in Connecticut and the latter in Massa- 
chusetts. 

The Pelton family as well as the Hink- 
ley family were of colonial stock, the former 
being of French descent, and tiie latter of 
Scotch-Irish. In 1850 John and Sarah Pel- 
ton, the parents of our suliject, came to what 
7 



was considered the far West at that time, and 
settled in Sauk county, among the pioneers of 
Wisconsin. There the father died in 1867, 
survived by his widow until 1881. 

Hiram Pelton attended the local schools 
at i\thens, these being conducted by private 
individuals, as it was long before the public 
school era, and at the age of twelve years 
w'as employed on a Hudson river boat as 
cook, for which service he received the small 
salary of four dollars a month. For twelve 
years he followed the river, during this 
time being promoted on many occasions, 
until he became mate. In 1850, he and his 
wife came to Wisconsin, settling in the wilds 
of Sauk county, near Reedsburg, where but 
a few families had preceded them. The near- 
est neighbor was located a mile and a half 
away and sociability was not easily shown. 
Mr. Pelton bought forty acres of wild land, 
paying for a part of it and promising to 
pay for the remainder with twenty-five per 
cent interest. Here he put up a cabin and 
developing the land somewhat, was able to 
dispose of it later. Then he went to Missis- 
sippi, locating in Wildwood Landing, near 
the mouth of the Arkansas river, where he 
lived through the winter, in the spring re- 
turning to Sauk county. Mr. Pelton then 
bought a farm of 120 acres in Winfield 
township, which he operated, living there 
until 1863. This farm he also sold, and then 
returned to his old home at Athens, N. Y., 
where he resided until 1865. 

Xo better indication could be found of 
Mr. Pelton"s warm feeling for Wisconsin, 
when, in 1865 he returned a second time to 
the State, this time buying eighty acres of 
wild land in Sauk county on which he began 
the growing of hops. This place he also 
sold to advantage, and then removed to Dal- 
las township, Barron county, where, in 1870, 
he took up a homestead in Section 22, the 
one now owned by X. C. Gilstad. This 
farm Mr. Pelton occupied for a number of 
years, developing and improving it and re- 
taining pos.session of it initil he retired from 
active life. He then settled in the village of 
Dallas, erecting a home which is a model 
of comfort and in which he enjoyed the 
fniil< •')' ri long and industrious life. 



98 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Mr. Pelton was always a stanch Repub- 
lican from the formation of the party, prior 
to that time being a Whig, as was his father 
before him. In local matters he took an ac- 
tive part and served his town in many ways ; 
he was elected town clerk, a position he filled 
several years with the greatest efficiency. 
In the early days of Barron county, he served 
as president of the school board and also as 
one of the special board of supervisors for 
the county. His term as county treasurer, 
ending in 1874, was the last occupancy of 
that office before the division. Mr. Pelton 
also served in public office in Sauk county, 
in the various local offices where a man of 
reliability and intelligence was required and 
the records all show how well he managed 
all affairs entrusted to him. On many oc- 
casions he was sent by his party as a dele- 
gate to the various conventions, his tact and 
judgment making him well qualified for 
such honors. 

In 1849 Hiram Pelton married Deborah 
Seaman and they became the parents of five 
children, namely : Alva S. ; Ida is deceased ; 
Maynard and Earnest A. constitute the well- 
known hardware firm of Pelton Brothers, at 
Dallas, and they are progressive and suc- 
cessful young business men ; Miss Fannie 
conducts with much ability, a first-class mil- 
linery and dressmaking establishment at 
Dallas, and is a lady of most pleasant manner 
and possessed of both taste and business ca- 
pacity. The mother of this family, Mrs. 
Deborah Pelton, passed away Nov. 22, 1899. 
at the age of seventy-three years, and the 
father, Pliram Pelton, passed away in Dallas 
on Feb. 28, 1905. 

Mr. Pelton saw wonderful changes 
(luring his life in this great State and could 
look back, during his own life, over her most 
eventful years. He belonged to the sturdy 
l)and of pioneers who assisted so well in the 
building of the foundations upon which the 
commercial and agricultural prosperity of all 
this section has been erected. 

WARREN T. PORTER, a worthy vet- 
eran of the Civil War now residing at Bar- 
ron, Wis., was born in Chautauqua county, 



N. Y., in 1847. He is the son of Abner and 
Polly (Holland) Porter. The former was 
born in Caledonia county, Vt., in 1808, and 
lived to a good old age, being eighty years 
old at his decease, which took place in Bar- 
ron county, Wis. Fie was a blacksmith and 
machinist by trade, but in 1864 he moved to 
Flouston county, Minn., where he lived on a 
farm until 1876; from there he moved to 
Barron county and took up a homestead 
claim. He was a man of quiet tastes and en- 
joyed the quiet farm life more than any 
other. His father, Ira Porter, was one of 
nine brothers who came from Ireland. Polly 
Holland was born in the Mohawk Valley in 
1807 and died in Houston county, Minn., 
in 1870. She was of Holland descent and 
sprang of that good old Holland family 
which acquired the "Holland tract" in Catta- 
raugus and Chautauqua counties. New York. 
Warren T. Porter, the subject of this 
sketch, enlisted in September, 1863, in Com- 
pany A, 14th N. Y. Heavy Artillery. He 
took an active part in all the engagements 
of the "Army of the Potomac," beginning 
with the battle of the Wilderness, and from 
then until March 24, 1865, when he was 
captured at Fort Stedman and was held a 
prisoner of war in Libby Prison until the 
fall of Richmond. He received his honor- 
able discharge June 9, 1865. After the war 
was over he went to Minnesota and later, in 
the spring of 1S66, to Denison, Iowa, where 
he entered the employ of the Chicago and 
Northwestern Railway Company. He con- 
tinued in the employment of railroads as 
fireman and engineer until 1877, when he 
was injured in a wreck and in consequence 
resigned. He then came to Barron county 
and was employed by Knapp, Stout & Co. 
as a mechanic in their shops for eleven sea- 
sons. In the meantime he purchased a farm 
in the township of Cedar Lake. In 1896 he 
removed to the city of Barron, where he has 
since been employed by the county as game 
\v'arden and custodian of the Court House 
at that place. He now owns a farm of eighty 
acres in the town of Stanfold. 

Mr. Porter was married June 3, 1875, 
to Lucinda Crisler, daughter of John P. and 



COMMl'-MORA'm'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



99 



Jane (White) Crisler, of Barron county, 
Wisconsin. Airs. Porter was born in Illi- 
nois. Tiiey have one son, Warren Aubrey, 
a farmer now residing on his father's farm 
In the town of Stan fold. 

Mr. Porter has been a member of the 
Masonic fraternity since 1869, and is also 
a member of the Grand Army of the Repub- 
lic. He has been a lifelong Republican, ser- 
"\ irg ten years as justice of the peace in the 
town of Cedar Lake, and has been clerk of 
the school board for thirteen years in t!:e 
same place. In fact he was active in the Re- 
publican organization of the town of Cedar 
Lake. When Mr. Porter receives his "Hon- 
orable discharge" from the Army of Life, 
Parron county will lose one of its mos: 
v.oTthy inhabitants. 

WILLIAM G. TEN BROOK, ex-city 
controller of Duluth, and a well-known resi- 
dent of that city, was born July 18, 1846, 
in Battle Creek, Mich., and is a son of Rev. 
George V. Ten Brook, who came from one 
of the old Knickerbocker families. Rev. Air. 
Ten Brook received his education in Madi- 
son (now Colgate) University, Hamilton. 
N. Y.. and entered the ministry of the Bap- 
tist Church, in which he served all his life. 
In the early forties he migrated to Michi- 
gan, and filled pastorate at various points 
in that State, dying at Centerville, Mich., in 
1857, when alxjut fort)' years old. He mar- 
ried Charlotte Treat, who died when her 
son William G. was in his infancy. 

William G. Ten Brook spent most of his 
boyhood in Xew York, and received a prac- 
tical education. On June 21, 1862, though 
only a youth of sixteen, he enlisted in Com- 
pany A, 107th N. Y. V. I., with which he 
served three years, being discharged in June, 
1S65. Until after the battle of Gettysburg 
he served with the Army of the Potomac, 
taking part in the engagements at Chancel- 
lorsville and Antietam. Later he was un- 
der Gen. Hooker, and took part in the Atlan- 
ta campaign, the celebrated march to the 
sea, and the campaign through the Carolinas. 
anfl he was also in the Grand Review at 
Washington. He escaped without injuries, 



though he was in active service throughout 
his term. 

After the close of the war Mr. Ten 
Brook spent two years in Michigan, and in 
1869 he came to Duluth, Minn., where he 
entered the employ of the Lake Superior & 
[Mississippi Railway Company, beginning as 
a brakeman. In time he became a locomotive 
engineer, and he remained with the company 
seventeen years altogether. In 1888 he was 
honored with election to the office of 
city controller, which he held for four con- 
secutive terms — eight years — giving eminent 
satisfaction "in the discharge of his duties. 
Since 1900 he has been in the office of the 
Duluth Missabe & Northern Railway Com- 
pany. 

Mr. Ten Brook is a stanch Republican, 
and has voted for every Republican candi- 
date for president since he cast his first presi- 
dential ballot, at the second election of Abra- 
ham Lincoln. Fraternally he is a Knight 
Templar Mason, having joined the order in 
1867, and being coiinected with various local 
Masonic organizations, including the com- 
mandery and consistory. He is P. G. H. P. 
of the (jrand Chapter of Minnesota, and has 
been presiding officer in all these bodies ex- 
ce])t the consistory. Mr. Ten Brook is an 
active member of J. P. Culver Post, G. A. R. 

In 1867 Mr. Ten Brook was united in 
marriage with Miss Delia Goodwin, who 
passed away Aug. 8, 1894, leaving two sons, 
Charles M. and William T. 

HON. WILLIAM EPHRAIM HAILY. 
Of late years special attention has been given 
to the question of juvenile offenders, and in 
his endeavors to reclaim these boys and pre- 
\ent their recruiting the ranks of criminals, 
Judge Haily has rendered perhaps the great- 
est of his many services to the community. 
The fact that he is still comparatively a 
voung man, who has not out-grown sym- 
pathy with boys, combined with unusual wis- 
dom in his n"iethods of procedure, has made 
his efforts in the work remarkablv success- 
ful. 

Judge Haily is the son of William and 
Elizabeth (Maurcr) Haily, whose i)arents 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



were Germans and lived and died in their na- 
tive land. William Haily was born in the 
Province of Waldeck, but came to this coun- 
try when seventeen years old. For some fif- 
teen years he was connected with the Hop- 
pock Manufacturing Company, of New York 
City, dealing in brass goods, tubing and fix- 
tures. In 1872 he came to Wisconsin and lo- 
cated at Port Washington. He entered the 
ministry of the M. E. Church about that time, 
continued in that profession for a number of 
years and, according to the custom of that 
denomination, filled pulpits in many different 
towns in the State. He is still living and 
is now in retirement in Sheboygan ; for 
the last few years he has been interested in 
the agency of books rather than in very active 
ministry. His wife, who was born in Frank- 
fort-on-the-Main, is also living. They reared 
a large family but only one son is located 
in Superior. 

William E. Haily was born in New York 
City, March 17, 1866, and was educated in 
the public schools. At the age of eighteen, 
after completing his high school course, he 
liegan the study of law in the office of Judge 
Huntington, of Green Bay, Wis. Later he 
was in the office of ex-Senator Kennedy of 
Appleton, Wis., and was admitted to prac- 
tice before all courts of the State in 1887, 
before the State board of examiners at Mil- 
waukee. Deciding to make West Superior 
his permanent location, he settled there the 
same year and began a general practice; 
he has gradually, however, made more and 
more a specialty of tax titles and real estate 
law, and of recent years has confined himself 
exclusively to office work. 

Judge Haily has been greatly interested 
in questions of public policy, has taken an 
active part in politics, both municipal and 
State, and has held many positions of trust 
in the public service. In 1893 he was presi- 
dent of the board of education, serving three 
years in all as a member of the board. Two 
years later, in 1895, he was elected city at- 
torney. During the session of the legisla- 
ture in 1898-99, he was the representative 
from Douglas county. In May of the next 
year he was appointed to fill a vacancy in 



the office of municipal judge, and in the 
spring of 1902 was elected to succeed him- 
self. Always a stalwart Republican in his 
politics, he has been president of the first Re- 
publican league organized in Superior; has 
been delegate to a number of State conven- 
tions, and has occasionally delivered cam- 
paign addresses, always with great effect. 
In his fraternal affiliations Judge Haily is 
prominent in several orders, including the I. 
O. O. F. and the Masons. 

Always a student along psjxhological 
and sociological lines, since his election as 
municipal judge Mr. Haily has been in a 
position to put to an experimental test his 
ideas in regard to the reclaiming of juvenile 
offenders. Believing that the reform schools 
not only fail of attaining their avowed end, 
but often strengthen vicious tendencies, he 
has introduced a parole system, which in 
conjunction with the Judge's pertinent and 
judicious advice has caused marked im- 
provement in the conduct of many youths. 
While an unusually large number of law 
breakers of this class come within his jxiris- 
diction, in only a few cases has he found it 
necessary to send the culprit to a reformatory 
institution. His administration has resulted 
not only in the saving of much expense to the 
city, but in the making over of a potentially 
lawless element into good citizens. 

JAMES BLACKBURN (deceased) 
was one of the oldest residents of Hurley, 
Iron county, where he settled in 1884, and 
engaged in the real estate business, in which 
he was occupied until his death, which oc- 
curred January 30, 1904. 

■Robert Blackburn, father of James, was 
a thread merchant in Scotland, following 
that business in Glasgow until he was fifty 
years of age. He then came with his family 
to Ontario, Canada, where he engaged in the 
same occupation until obliged to retire on 
account of old age. He married Robina 
Buchan, like himself a native of Scotland, 
who passed away at the age of sixty-two. 
He died in his seventy-eighth 3'ear. Of their 
family of four children James was the last 
survivor. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



James Blackburn was born in Glasgow 
Feb. 3, 1836, and when he was twelve years 
of age came to America with his parents. 
At the age of fifteen he began work for him- 
self on the w^ater, shipping as a common sail- 
or, and following the sea for a few years. 
He then enlisted in the Queen's army in 
Canada. He entered the service as a private 
in the Rifles, and rose to the position of 
captain and pay master in the artillery during 
his fifteen years' service. In 1878 he left 
the army and came to the United States. 
He secured a position with the Northwestern 
Ivailway Company, then known as the Lake 
Shore, as pay master, retaining the place 
until 1884, when he came to Flurley. Here 
he went into the real estate business, in 
which he ever after engaged. He had other 
interests as well, having served as justice of 
the peace and court commissioner from 1887, 
elected on the Republican ticket. He was 
also chairman and supervisor of the towm, 
and a member of the county lx)ard, when it 
was all known as Ashland county. 

On Oct. 3, 1859. in Canada. Mr. Black- 
burn married Georgianna M. Cooke, 
daughter of James and Maria (O'Connor) 
Cooke, both natives of Canada. They had a 
family of six children, of whom Mrs. Black- 
burn w'as the eldest. James Cooke spent 
many years of his life as a lumberman and 
died in Canada in 1873. His wife died at 
the home of Mr. Blackburn, in Hurley, at 
the age of ninety-two. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Blackburn were born ten children, of w'hom 
seven are living, namely : Jessie, widow of 
William E. b'itzgerald, of Milwaukee; Anna, 
wife of A. D. Garner, of Ironwood, Mich.; 
Robert, a lumberman of Milwaukee; Dun- 
bar, an employe in the mines in Ironbelt, 
Wis.; Georgianna, wife of N. O. Lawton, 
of Ironbelt ; Gordon, bookkeeper for the 
American Ship Building Company, in Mil- 
waukee ; and Ralph, an employe in the mines 
at Ironbelt. The family are members of the 
Presbyterian Church. Mr. Blackburn was 
a Mason from 1859. affiliating with Blue 
Lodge, Xo. 237, A. F. & A. I\i., at Hurley. 

CI-IARLES LORD, who is living in re- 
tirement at Solon Springs, is one of the few 



remaining early settlers of Douglas county, 
where he located in 1854. He was born 
May 29, 1828, in St. Francis, Out., his father 
being a merchant of Montreal, in whose store 
Charles gained his first knowledge of busi- 
ness. 

On coming of age, in 1849, Charles Lord 
left Canada, going first to Kankakee, III. 
Owing to the prevalence of fever and ague 
there he soon joined a party going by wagon 
to the lead mines of Galena, III., where he 
was engaged two years as a hotel employe, 
making the acquaintance of Gen. Grant at 
that time. On the journey from Kankakee 
to Galena, which consumed si.x weeks, the 
party was often short of water, owing to an 
excessive drought. The people along the 
route were very inhospitable, and refused to 
sell milk or other provisions, having been im- 
posed upon by previous travelers. Once, by 
an ingenious strategy, Mr. Lord succeeded 
in purchasing some milk, and at other times 
the party had to force people to afford them 
reasonable accommodations, though they 
were willing and able to pay their way. Mr. 
Lord's next move from Galena was to Prai- 
rie du Chien, Wis., wdiere he worked at his 
trade of baker, which he had learned in Mon- 
treal. From that place he went to St. Paul, 
and afterward made a short stay at Fort 
Ripley, then in command of Capt. Todd, 
brother-in-law of President Lincoln. He 
was at the fort for two years, during which 
time the Sioux outbreak occurred at Little 
Falls, a man named Swartz being killed. 
Mr. Lord, with about fifteen other settlers, 
volunteered to go with a detachment to bring 
the Indians to terms. They pursued the 
enemy to Sauk Rapids, where a battle was 
fought and the Indians beaten. Mr. Lord's 
shoulder was grazed by a bullet, but no one 
was hurt, and they continued the jiursuit 
across the Mississippi, catching the Indians 
at dinner on the river bank. In their flight 
the Sioux left all their things except guns 
and a keg of w'hiskey, and swam the river, 
but fourteen were killed and six wounded. 
The Chippewa chief, Ilole-in-the-day, was 
with the settlers, 'and they to'ok possession of 
four wagon loads of plunder. After this 
Mr. Lord went to Watab, Minn., where he 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



carried on a bakery for a year, going from 
there to Itasca, where for another year he 
ran a bakery, at which the Winnebago In- 
dians bought their supphes. He then made 
a contract with Major David Elerman to 
accompany him and carry on a bakery at 
the agency in Crow Wing", but after a year, 
at Major Herman's request, engaged with 
Lyon & Crittenden, Indian traders, and came 
to Minnesota Point (the site of the present 
city of Dukith), on Lake Superior, to take 
charge of an Indian trading post. He 
brought a letter of recommendation from 
Major Herman to George R. Stnntz, of the 
government survey, then stationed at Minne- 
sota Point, the station consisting of two 
small log shanties. Mr. Lord remained in 
charge of this post about a year, a treaty then 
being made with the Indians. During his stay 
there he had more or less trouble all along 
with liquor dealers, doing his best to protect 
the Indians from the traffic. About this time 
Superior began to be settled, there being 
about half a dozen houses there. The In- 
dian chief, Nog-onup, endeavored "to drive 
Mr. Lord away from his post by threats, 
but quailed before the white man's show 
of power when a revolver was drawn out and 
six bullets driven through a plank with the 
assurance that his young braves would be 
similarly dealt with. Although he had only 
one companion, John Buffalo, Mr. Lord 
succeeded in frightening the Indians so that 
they came next day and begged for peace, 
saying that "Cut nose," a white trader, had 
incited them to make trouble. After that 
matters were harmonious. 

After leaving the trading post Mr. Lord 
took up a pre-emption claim of i6o acres in 
Stuntz's Hill, the site of the present city of 
Superior. He was obliged to go to Hudson 
to prove his claim, traveling by dog train, 
and suffering much from the fatigue and ex- 
posure of the journey. He afterward sold 
this claim for $500, and later it was bought 
by James Stinson, of Chicago, for $20,000. 
Mr. Lord had many adventures character- 
istic of the early days in this region. In 1852 
he was one of a party which volunteered to 
cut a road from Sauk Rapids to Long Prair- 



ie. When about twehe miles from the 
former place a man and team were sent 
back for provisions, but as the ice in the river, 
was breaking up he was unable to return for 
nearly a week. In the meantime Mr. Lord 
and his companions nearly starved, but re- 
ceived some assistance from an Indian who 
chanced to visit camp. 

In 1856 Mr. Lord married Katherine 
Osagie, daughter of the Chippewa chief, 
Osagie, of Lake Superior. He then took up 
a school claim of 160 acres, in Section 16, 
Town 49, Range 13, where he lived five or 
six years, but times were'hard, and he moved 
to Superior, where for a time he was em- 
ployed as a cook in a hotel. He was injured 
in a Fourth of July accident, a bursting an- 
vil badly crippling one foot so that the doc- 
tors thought it must be amputated. His In- 
dian father-in-law took charge of the case, 
however, and saved the foot. After this 
he started a bakery in his own house, the 
first bakery in Superior. His next business 
venture was a saloon and boarding house, 
which he carried on for several years. Then 
he went into the Indian fur trade at Super- 
ior and places in that vicinity, and at Ver- 
million Lake, but soon opened a saloon on a 
larger scale, having the first billiard and 
pool table in Superior. Mr. Lord had many 
business misfortunes, losing several thou- 
sand dollars worth of property by fire at Old 
Quebec pier. He took another claim in Sec- 
tion 26, Town 45, Range 12, on which was 
located the town of White Birch (now Solon 
Springs), the necessary papers being ob- 
tained from President Harrison, the year 
after the Omaha road was built. The survey 
was made by George R. Stuntz, who also 
platted the town, which was afterward 
named Solon Springs in honor of Thomas 
Solon, who owned a claim on which were 
extensive springs. Mr. Lord has disposed 
of a few lots which have been improved, and 
has given four acres for church purposes. 

Mr. Lord was elected clerk of the cir- 
cuit court to succeed Mr. Greeley, the first 
clerk of Douglas county, and was re-elected 
four times, his motto being, "Vote for whom 
you please, but don't forget Charley Lord 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



for clerk of circuit court." He made a good 
record as a public oflicial, and was very popu- 
lar. He has also beeu honored by his towns- 
men with the positions of township treasurer 
and of town assessor, holding each office 
one term, and served two terms as justice of 
the peace. In politics he has always been a 
Democrat. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lord had a family of nine 
children, two of whom, Charles and Leo, are 
living: I'hilomena, died Jan. 2, 1904, aged 
forty-seven years, eleven months. The 
others were Felix H., Basil, Albert, Victor, 
May and Isabel. Mrs. Lord died Nov. 22, 
1893, at the age of sixty-two. 

HENRY HAYES WADSWORTH, 
Ph. B., United States Engineer for Super- 
ior Harbor, was born in New Haven, Conn., 
Jan. 13, 1865. His parents were Henry 
and Fidelia M. (Gilbert) Wadsworth, both 
natives of Connecticut. 

The emigrant ancestor of this family was 
William Wadsworth, who came from Eng- 
land and settled in Cambridge, Mass., in 
1632. Six years later he, with others, mi- 
grated to Hartford, Conn. Capt. Wads- 
worth, famous for his successful resistance to 
Ciov. Andros' attempts to secure the Co- 
lonial charter, was of his family. Mrs. 
I''idelia M. (Gilbert) Wadsworth was a de- 
scendant of Matthew Gilbert, who came to 
Connecticut early in the seventeenth cen-, 
tury. Her father, William Gilbert, was in- 
terested in the manufacture of carriages 
for many years, and spent his later years on 
a farm near New Haven, dying at the age 
of ninety. Mrs. Wadsworth died at Glencoe, 
Minn., in 1892, when about fifty-six years of 
age. Her husband, a liardware dealer, still 
lives at Glencoe, where he has been since 
1870. He takes an active part in local af- 
fairs, has served as mayor and filled other 
local offices. United States Senator C. K. 
Davis, and other prominent Minnesota men, 
were among his personal friends. 

The early education of Henry Hayes 
Wadsworth was gained in the Glencoe public 
schools. He attended Yale College, gradu- 
ating from the Shefticld Scientific School as 



a civil engineer in 1886. He has been cm- 
jjloyed in professional work on tiie Aberdeen, 
Fergus Falls & Pierre Railroad, the Park 
River & Langdon branch of the St. Paul, 
Minneapolis & Manitoba Railroad, was for 
a time chief draughtsman and assistant civil 
engineer in the St. Paul office of the Eastern 
Railway of Minnesota, and designed the ori- 
ginal elevated structure of that road at Du- 
luth. From June, 1890, to May, 1893, Mr. 
Wadsworth w-as assistant city engineer of 
Superior, during which time he had charge 
of construction on the Lamborn avenue 
bridge across Howard's Pocket, and part of 
the time was in charge of sewer construction, 
most of the sewer system being built during 
this period. In 1895 ^""^l ^^9^ ^'^^ was chief 
engineer of the Lake Superior and Ishpeming 
Railroad, in charge of railway constructions 
and of the ore dock at Marquette, which 
was built after his own design. Since Sep- 
tember, 1896, he has been United States as- 
sistant engineer in charge of dredging on the 
Superior side of the Duluth-Superior har- 
bor, during which time over 11,000,000 
yards of sand have been taken out of the har- 
bor under his supervision. In October, 1901, 
Mr. Wadsworth was elected a member of 
the American Society of Civil Engineers. 

Mr. W'adsworth married in October, 
1889, Jane M. Anderson, a native of Aults- 
ville, Ontario, daughter of James T. and 
Sophia J. Anderson, of Osnabrock, N. Dak., 
where they located in 1883 and where they 
have since died. Two sons, Ralph Gilbert 
and Harold Anderson, have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth. The family at- 
tend the Congregational Church, and enjoy 
the best social advantages. 

THOMAS A. PRATT, a successful 
merchant of Spring Brook, was one of the 
pioneers in Washburn county, locating in 
Veazie townshii) in 1S81, when there were 
very few settlers in that part of the State. 
Little attention was paid to agriculture in 
the county at that lime, most of the set- 
tlers devoting their time to lumbering. The 
Omaha railroad had been built through to 
Cable the year previous to Mr. Pratt's com- 



104 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ing to Washburn county, but the country 
was very wild and full of game of various 
kinds. There was no school in the township 
until two years later, when a log school- 
house was built on Mishler's Lake, the first 
teacher being Alvin Hayfer. A second school 
was built at Spring Brook in 1894, with 
Miss Maud Ferguson as teacher (she is now 
Mrs. Pratt). The only other remaining resi- 
dent who was in the county when Mr. Pratt 
came is A. J. Trepania, township trustee 
and railroad ticket agent. Mr. Trepania was 
the first resident of Spring Brook, which was 
settled in 1880, the postoffice being at first 
known as Nemakagon, but later named for 
the stream on which the village is situated. 
Thomas A. Pratt was born Sept. 3, 1858, 
in Barrie, Ont., son of Jesse and Mary Ann 
(Caldor) Pratt, natives, respectively, of 
England and Ontario. Mr. Pratt was 
brought up on a farm, and educated in the 
public schools, remaining in Canada until 
he was twenty-three years old. On coming 
to the States, he went first to Iowa, and 
after a short time came to the wilds of Wash- 
burn county, where the first winter he 
worked in the woods for Elm Greeley, a 
lumberman. The following year, 1883, he 
put up a small log house at Stewart Station, 
now called Stinnett, six miles east of Spring 
Brook, where for four years he kept hotel. 
This primitive hotel proved a success, and 
in connection with the profits of a big potato 
field gave him his first start in life. In 1886 
he closed this hotel and opened one at Super- 
ior Junction in connection with which 
he carried on a general store, man- 
aging both store and hotel for eight 
years, the last four of which he was 
also postmaster. In 1893 he sold out at 
Superior Junction, and later coming to 
Spring Brook established himself as a gen- 
eral merchant, still conducting business as 
such. He carries a large line of agricul- 
tural implements in addition to the ordinary 
stock of a country store, and also buys and 
ships produce. Mr. Pratt has filled several 
public offices in Veazie township, serving 
two terms as assessor, and one term as jus- 
tice of the peace. He is a Democrat and 
ated. 



takes an active interest in politics, having 
an influential voice in local affairs. Fra- 
ternally he is a charter member and past 
master of the Mystic Workers of the World, 
an order established in 1900. 

In 1882 Mr. Pratt married (first) Mar- 
garet Robinson, who died in 1894, leaving 
two daughters, Maude E. and Gertrude. 
He married in 1901 Maud Ferguson, daugh- 
ter of William S. Ferguson, of Veazie town- 
ship. Mrs. Pratt was educated at St. Mary's 
Institute, Prairie du Chien, Wis., and was 
the first teacher in the township, teaching 
eight years in all, and walking three miles 
each way to one of her schools. For four 
years she has been postmistress at Spring 
Brook, Wisconsin. 

WINFIELD EASTMAN TRIPP, for 
four years municipal judge of Bayfield coun- 
ty, was one of the pioneer settlers of Iron 
River, and from the time of his arrival, in 
the fall of 1890, was an important factor in 
the educational and political development of 
the region. 

Judge Tripp was born in Lyman, York 
Co., Maine, Oct. 14, 185 1, son of Eastman H. 
and Adah M. (Lord) Tripp. The parents 
were both natives of the same State, descend- 
ants of Colonial families, the former of Eng- 
lish, and the latter of Scotch-Irish stock. 
The father was well educated, and was pre- 
pared in Alfred Academy for the profession 
of teaching-, which he followed for forty- 
eight terms. For a number of years he was 
engaged in farming. He took a prominent 
part in local affairs, was a selectman, a mem- 
ber of the Legislature for 1868 and 1869, 
and was superintendent of the school com- 
mittee for many years. His political views 
were those of the Democratic party. He 
was in religious matters a Baptist, as was 
also his wife, and for forty years he was a 
deacon in the church. Mr. Tripp died 
March 5, 1895, shortly before his eighty- 
eighth birthday. He had lost his wife four- 
teen years before. May 14, 1881. at the age 
of sixty-seven. Their five children were 
Alonzo K.. Ferdinand E., Bessie A., Adah 
M. and Winfield E. 



COMMEMORATR'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Winfield E. Tripp was reared on his farm 
and given a good education. His earlier 
studies were pursued in tiie public schools, 
and in 1871 he entered the academy for a 
year before going to the New Hampton 
Biblical Institute, from which institution he 
was graduated in 1874. Still unsatisfied, 
he next matriculated at the University of 
Maine in the civil engineering department 
and received his degree in 1878. During the 
years of his collegiate course Mr. Tripp 
had paid his own way by teaching, working 
on farms, or anything else that he found to 
do, and when he graduated his only capital 
that he had to start with in life was $25. 
The overwork of this collegiate period re- 
sulted in a complete physical breakdown, 
and for two years Mr. Tripp was obliged to 
rest. On recovering he began to teach in 
the public schools, and was thus occupied 
for two years, also acting as superintending 
school committee. He spent a third year 
in a graded school at Marilla, Erie Co., 
N. Y., and then in 1883 abandoned the pro- 
fession of teaching, accepting a position as 
traveling salesman for the Willimantic Linen 
Company of Xew York. His territory cov- 
ered Wisconsin, northern Michigan, and 
that part of Illinois north of the Rock Isl- 
and railroad, and he was thus occupied five 
years. In September, 1888, Mr. Tripp en- 
tered the Law Department of the University 
of Wisconsin, and in one year completed 
the course intended to take two years. He 
passed his examinations and received from 
the institution the degree of Bachelor of 
Law, and was admitted to practice in all 
courts save the Supreme court of the United 
States. 

The next year Mr. Tripp went to West 
Superior and took a position as draughts- 
man in the city engineering department, but 
he remained there only until the following 
August, and then after a short visit in Maine 
he settled on a homestead claim in Bayfield 
county, the southeast quarter of Section 21, 
township 48, X. Range, 8 West. The early 
settlers in that region, numbering over a 
hundred, and including Mr. Tripp, were in- 
volved in tedious and intricate litigation by 



men who endeavored to dispossess them be- 
cause of the valuable timber lands, and all 
the legal work necessitated by this was 
done under Mr. Tripp's direction. 

During 1891-92 Mr. Tripp resumed 
teaching, at first in the Pratt school. The 
second year he was elected principal of the 
Iron River school. The building was a 
temporary structure, and extremely primi- 
tive, and Mr. Tripp was the first principal 
and organizer of the work. The plans and 
methods introduced by him have been largely 
followed ever since. With four teachers the 
first year, two new buildings of six rooms 
enabled him to increase the corps to six the 
second year and those following. 

A Democrat in politics, Mr. Tripp was 
appointed postmaster of Iron River by Presi- 
dent Cleveland in November, 1893, and he 
held that position until Feb. i, 1898. The 
next two years he was actively engaged in 
civil engineering, surveying lands, laying out 
railroads for logging purposes, etc., prin- 
cipally in Bayfield county. The sewer sys- 
tem of Iron River was surveyed and laid 
out about this time by Mr. Tripp from his 
own plans and specifications. In IQ03 th^ 
Kalama River Lumber Company, an Ore- 
gon corporation, was formed, and Judge 
Tripp was elected its secretary and treasurer 
and still holds this important position, he 
having large interests in the concern, which 
owns more than a hundred million feet of 
the best timber in Washington. Judge Tripp 
has closed up his business in Wisconsin and 
immediately goes to Portland, Oregon, to 
reside and look after the interests of his com- 
pany. 

In 1900 our subject was nominated for 
municipal judge of the county on a non- 
partisan ticket, and was elected over both 
opponents by 1,050 votes out of 2,200 cast. 
He assumed the position in May for a four 
years' term. In 1904 Judge Tripp ran for 
re-election to his office against a Democrat 
and Republican candidate, and was naturally 
beaten Ijy the Repul)lican, as the county is 
very largely Republican. 

In July, 1904 he was chosen alternate 
delegate to the National Democratic Conven- 



io6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL R!':CORU 



tion at St. Louis and sat during that famous 
all-night session. A few months after lie 
was nominated by the Democrats as their 
candidate for the 23d Assembly District, 
comprising Bayfield, Sawyer and Washljurn 
counties, and was defeated by his Republi- 
can opponent, although he ran 1,419 votes 
ahead of his ticket. He was the only Demo- 
crat who carried his home town, Iron River. 
Since 1892 Judge Tripp has been a delegate 
to nearly all the State and county conven- 
tions, in the latter body lieing always either 
chairman or secretary. He was the Demo- 
cratic candidate for county superintendent of 
schools, but was defeated, as he was for dis- 
trict attorney in 1898, Bayfield county being 
always largely Republican. 

Judge Tripp's marriage occurred Feb. 
22, 1882, when he was united to Miss Lizzie 
May Dame, daughter of Timothy and Eliza- 
betli F. Dame, of Eliot, York Co.. Maine. 
Mr. Dame was a native of New Ham]Dshire, 
and rose to a position of influence, being a 
member of the Legislature, and always 
prominent in Republican political councils. 
By profession he was a civil engineer, and he 
was for twenty-eight years connected with 
the engineering navy yard at Kittery, as con- 
structor's chief clerk. He died Alarch 9, 
1891, aged fifty-seven years. 

CHARLES PATRICK MAGINNIS, 
a well-known citizen of Duluth, senior mem- 
ber of the firm of C. P. Maginnis & Son, 
belongs to a family whose memljcrs have 
been noted for patriotism in every genera- 
tion. The family is of Irish origin, and Mr. 
Maginnis was born in December, 1849, in 
Wayne county, N. Y., son of Patrick and 
Winifred (Devine) Maginnis. 

Patrick Maginnis, father of Charles Pat- 
rick, was a native of County Clare, Ireland, 
and spent several, years in England prior to 
coming to America, in 1830. After settling 
in the United States he took up railroad 
contracting, and in that connection built the 
portion of the Illinois Central road between 
LaSalle and Bloomington. In 1856 he came 
to Minnesota, becoming a pioneer settler in 
Goodhue county, on the Dubuque & St. Paul 



stage line, which was then the only highway 
in the region besides the rivers. There he 
passed the remainder of his days, engaged in 
farming until his death, in 1878, when he 
was sixty-eight years old. Mr. Maginnis 
married Winifred Devine, also a native of 
County Clare, Ireland, whom he brought 
with him to America in 1830, and she sur- 
vived until 1890, attaining the age of seven- 
ty-eight. Her father, Andrew Devine, was 
a sailor in the British navy, and reached the 
age of 104 years. He had two sons in the 
British army, one of whom, Andrew, was 
afterward in the Civil War of 1861-65 in 
the United States, as a member of the 3d 
United States Regiment, and later in a New 
York regiment of volunteers. Mr. and Mrs. 
Maginnis were faithful members of the 
Catholic Church. Their family consisted of 
three sons. Martin, John (a farmer, of Du- 
luth) and Charles Patrick. Martin Magin- 
nis enlisted at the beginning of the Civil War 
in Company F, ist Minn. V. I., became or- 
derly sergeant, and served four years with 
that regiment. In time he became lieuten- 
ant of Company F, and later captain of Com- 
panies H and K, and led Company H in the 
famous charge at Gettysburg; of over for- 
ty men of his company who entered this 
charge but six survived. Capt. Maginnis 
escaped without injury. He was further pro- 
moted, to quartermaster, and later became 
major of the nth Minn. V. I. After the 
war he settled at Helena, Mont., where he 
has been largely interested in mining, and 
for some years he published the Rocky 
Mountain Gazette. As might be expected of 
one of his energetic and capable disposition, 
he has become very prominent in public af- 
fairs, has represented Montana in Congress 
seven times, and has also been United States 
senator. 

Charles Patrick Maginnis. the youngest 
child of his parents, spent his boyhood in 
Goodhue county, Minn., and received such 
instruction as the public schools offered. 
After reaching his majority he kept a store 
there, and in 1878 he went to Stevens coun- 
ty, this State, where he commenced farm- 
ing on a tract of 1,000 acres, which he cul- 



COAIAIEMORATIVE BIOGRArHICAL RECORD 



107 



tivatcd for alnnit ten years. During that 
time he became quite prominent in local af- 
fairs, was mayor of Morris, Stevens county, 
and served four years as sheriff of the coun- 
ty, to which office he was elected in 1880. 
In adchtion to his agricultural interests he 
iiad charge of the Farmers' Elevator at 
Morris. In 1887 Mr. Maginnis was ap- 
jjointed, by President Cleveland, receiver of 
the United States Land Ofifice at Duluth, 
and served three years in that incumbency. 
He has since been engaged in the practice of 
law and in dealing in pine and pine lands, in 
northern ^Minnesota, and he is also inter- 
ested to some extent in iron lands. He and 
his son, Charles H., are now doing business 
in partnership, and the firm has good stand- 
ing in financial circles. 

On Dec. 31, 1869, Mr. Maginnis was 
married to Miss Bridget Gaffney, who was 
born in Waupun, Wis., and is a daughter 
of Thomas and Mary Gaffnev, now de- 
ceased. Of the children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Maginnis eight still survive, namely: 
(i) Charles H.. married Miss Margaret 
Hughes, of Washington, D. C, and has two 
daughters. (2) Agnes G., is the wife of 
William A. Bennett, of Duluth. (3) 
Thomas Frank, graduated from West Point 
in 1898, served through the Porto Rican 
campaign as lieutenant in charge of light ar- 
tillery, was recommended for promotion by 
Gen. Swain, and was made first lieutenant. 
He organized the First Porto Rican Battal- 
ion, and was captain of Company A, re- 
signed that command, and was transferred 
to the Philippine service in February, 1902. 
being now a captain in the 27th United 
States Infantry. He was married in Porto 
Rico to Joquena Badrena, and they have 
three children. (4) John, served in the 14th 
Minnesota Volunteers during the Spanish- 
American ^^'ar, and has also been in Indian 
campaigns. He was appointed sergeant. 
He married Grayce O'Heron, of Duluth. 
(5) Helen, is a graduate of the Duluth high 
school. (6) Martin Cyril, is a student at 
Xotre Dame University, South Bend. Ind. 
(7) Joseph P., is attending the Duluth high 
school. (8) Winifred, is the youngest. In 



religion this family are Catholics, belong- 
ing to the Cathedral Parish of Duluth. So- 
cially Mr. Maginnis holds membership in the 
Knights of Columbus and the Ancient Order 
of Hibernians. 

CYRUS S. TRIPP, of Shell Lake, is 
the second oldest settler of Washburn coun- 
ty, the only one antedating him being L. E. 
Thomas, who still lives in the locality. Mr. 
Tripp made his homestead claim in 1878, al- 
though he came to the Bashaw Valley as 
early as 1875. At that time, as he recalls it, 
there was but one white woman in what is 
now Washburn county — ?^Irs. Rebecca Mul- 
lin, since deceased. ^Ir. Tripp began work 
as a logger, and in 1878 homesteaded eighty 
acres in Burnett county, on the Washburn 
county line. He lived on this claim for five 
years, then disposed of it and pre-empted 
the forty acres on which he now lives, and 
which is well improved and all under ex- 
cellent cultivation. Mr. Tripp has been an 
active and progressive farmer, and has 
proved the productiveness of the soil of the 
Bashaw Valley. 

Mr. Tripp was born in the town of Han- 
over, Jackson Co., Mich., Feb. 10, 1847. 
Fie was brought up on a farm and received 
a common school education. His parents 
were Job and Eliza (Sargeant) Tripp, the 
former a native of New York State, the lat- 
ter of Vermont. Grandfather Abial Tri])p 
was a pioneer of Flanover, Mich., where he 
built one of the first houses — a building 30 
X 40 feet in dimensions. This house w'as 
used for the preaching services in the com- 
munity for some years, there being no church 
or other public building. 

On April 6, 1884, Mr. Tripp married 
Catherine McCallum, and they have three 
sons, viz. : George E., Malin W. and I""red- 
erick. Mrs. Tri])p was born in Hamilton. 
Out., and her parents, Peter and Margaret 
McCallum, were natives of Glasgow, Scot- 
land. In 1863, while living in Michigan, 
Mr. Tripp wished to enlist, but was rejected 
as under size. In February. 1865, however, 
he was enrolled in Company C, 9th Michigan 
\'olunteer Tnfantrv. Fle was transferred to 



io8 



COMMEMORATR^E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



the front, to the Army of tlic Cumhcrland, 
where he served until discharged, in the sum- 
mer of 1S65, in Detroit. Mr. Tripp is a 
member of Nat. Greene Post, No. 243, G. 
A. R., at Shell Lake. He is a Repul)lican 
and is more or less interested in local politics. 

AUGUSTUS SUMNER RUSSELL, 
an influential citizen of Medford, Taylor 
county, and an expert timber estimator, was 
born in iM'anklin county, Maine, Feb. 5. 
183S, the son of Sumner and Abigail 
(Coombs) Russell. 

The Russell family comes of English 
stock, and has been represented in this coun- 
try since colonial days, when three brothers 
came to the United States, one of whom set- 
tled in Maine and became the progenitor of 
Augustus S. His descendants included a 
number of military men. The paternal 
grandfather of our subject was a farmer in 
Elaine and lived to a good old age. 

Sumner Russell was always eng^aged in 
the lumber business in Maine, and built and 
operated two saw-mills in the town of Avon. 
He was a Democrat of prominence in the 
State, and served two terms in the Legisla- 
ture. In religious belief he was a Methodist. 
Mr. Russell was thrice married, first to a 
Miss Pierce, by whom he had three chil- 
dren. Of these only one survives, Herman, 
of Fullerton, Cal. By his second wife, 
Abigail Coombs, he had ten children, of 
whom tlie following are living: Augustus 
S. ; Franklin P.. of Fond du Lac; Ursula. 
Mrs. Walten, of the same city ; Leroy, of 
Los Angeles, Cal.; Ella, Mrs. Wellman, of 
Augusta, Maine; Louisa, Mrs. Smith, of 
Sumnerville, Mass. Mrs. Abigail Russell 
died at the age of forty-five. She was the 
daughter . of Capt. Joseph Coombs, com- 
mander of a vessel engaged in trade with 
the West Indies and other ports. For his 
third wife Mr. Russell married Mrs. Mary 
Gilman, by whom he had two children. 

Augustus S. Russell remained at home 
until he reached his majority, then went 
West and was located for six years in Green 
Lake county. Wis. Thence he went to Osh- 
kosh, and became interested in lumbering. 



which in one form or another has absorbed 
most of his attention ever since. He has 
done considerable cruising, has estimated 
timlier and engaged in logging. Three years 
were spent in Portage county, and then Mr. 
Russell went in the fall of 1876 to Westboro, 
Taylor county. There he was elected as- 
sessor and fulfilled the duties of that office 
summers, while in winter he scaled logs. 

After three years thus occupied Mr. 
Russell was in the fall of 1879 elected county 
surveyor, and held the office five years. He 
has ever since done more or less in that line, 
when it did not interfere with his work as 
cruiser and estimator. In the latter capaci- 
ties he has spent two seasons in Missouri, 
one in Arkansas, one season in Louisiana, 
and one in Texas. His home since 18S0 
has been in Medford, where he resides in a 
commodious modern house. 

Mr. Russell was married July 4, 1859, 
to Nancy T. Davis, daughter of Steven and 
Sally Davis, of Franklin county, Maine. 
Their only child is a son, Lyman D., who 
is employed in the First National Bank of 
Medford as assistant cashier. 

In his political views Mr. Russell is 
wholly independent, looking at each question 
from the standpoint of the public welfare. 
While in Westboro he served as justice of 
the peace, but has not aspired for political 
honors. His religious belief is that of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is 
a trustee, and Mr. Russell has been active 
in the regular church work and in general 
temperance work, which he regards as one 
of the vital questions of the day. Fraternally 
he has been a member of the F. & A. M., 
since 1868, and is a charter member of the 
local lodge of the I. O. O. F. He is a man 
of the utmost integrity, and of a most estim- 
able character, and is highly esteemed by all 
who have been brought into any relation 
with him. 

RE\^ OTTO J. WILKE, for several 
years pastor of the German Evangelical 
Lutheran Zion's Church at Superior, was 
installed over that church June 16, 1897. 

The church was organized Feb. 10, 1890, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



109 



by Rev. O. W. Fischer, who was at that 
time pastor of tlie church at Duluth, Minn. 
A resident minister was soon found in the 
person of Rev. George Fritschel. He re- 
mained in Superior two years, and then was 
successively in Brenham, Texas, as pro- 
fessor in an academy for some years; at 
Galveston, Te.xas, in chargje of a church; 
and in Loganville, Wis., his present pastor- 
ate. For the next five years Rev. Herman 
L. Fritschel, his brother, was in charge of 
the church, and he was succeeded by Rev. 
Mr. W'ilke, who was followed in April, 
1904, by Rev. L. A. Westenberger, of Rock- 
ford, Iowa. 

Otto J. Wilke was born in Charles City, 
Iowa, in 1874, son of Rev. Charles and 
Adelaide Wilke. The mother died in igoi. 
The father was long pastor of a church in 
Madison, Wis., retiring in March, 1905, and 
his son has been chosen to succeed him. He 
is a native of Germany. Otto J. Wilke was 
only a year old when his parents removed to 
Madison. He attended the public and 
parochial schools there, and then attended 
Wartburg 'College, at Waverly, Iowa, from 
which he was graduated in 1892. He went 
thence to Wartburg Seminary, in Dubuque, 
Iowa, graduating from there in 1895, and 
then spent one year at the English Lutheran 
Seminary in Chicago. This thorough theo- 
logical training was supplemented by one 
more year of general work at the University 
of Wisconsin, at Madison. The Superior 
church was Mr. Wilke's first charge. When 
he went there there was an indebtedness of 
$1,800, which has been nearly removed. The 
church lias 120 communicants, a Sunday- 
school of seventy-five children, a Ladies' Aid 
Society of thirty members, and a Young Peo- 
ple's Society of twenty members. .Ml these 
departments are actively at work and are in 
a most satisfactory and flourishing condi- 
tion. From Superior Mr. Wilke has been 
called to Madison, Wis., where he was 
assistant to his father for nearly one year. 
Since March, 1903, the father has retired, 
and our su1)jcct has l)een elected as his suc- 
cessor. 

Rev. Otto J. Wilke was marrietl in May, 
1902, to Miss Clara M. Beck, of Madison. 



HENRY W. CFIEADLE, the present 
city clerk of Duluth, is one of the most popu- 
lar public officials of that city. lie has 
made his home there since the year he at- 
tained his majority, and has been connected 
with the city administration for several years 
past. 

Mr. Cheadle was born Feb. 19, 1865, 
in Tupper's Plains, Meigs Co., Ohio, son of 
Rev. Henry C. and Emily (Keyes) Cheadle, 
the former of whom was a native of Rock- 
ville, Ind. Rev. Mr. Cheadle rounded out his 
literary training with a course at Wabash 
College, Crawfordsville, Ind., and in Lane 
Seminary, at Cincinnati, Ohio, and entered 
the ministrj' of the Presbyterian Church in 
1858. In 1872 he moved to Blue Earth, 
Minn., where he is still living, at the age of 
seventy-five years, retired from active labor. 
He married Emily Keyes, a native of Mar- 
ietta, Ohio, who died at Blue Earth in 1899, 
aged sixty-three years. Both were descend- 
ants of early New England settlers, Mr. 
Cheadle's ancestors having come to these 
shores from England in 1650 and settled in 
Massachusetts ; later members of the family 
moved to Vermont. Mrs. Cheadle was a de- 
cendant of John Alden, of Plymouth. 

PIcnry W. Cheadle received his early 
education in the public schools of Blue Earth, 
Minn., and later became a student at Carle- 
ton College, Northfield, Minn., where he 
took up the work of the scientific course. 
He left college at the close of the Sophomore 
year, and subsequently taught several terms 
before his removal to Duluth, in 1886. Here 
he became associated with a real-estate firm, 
with which he remained six years, two years 
of this time being engaged in exploring on 
the Vermillion Range. In 1892 he began ex- 
ploring on the Mesaba Range, about the 
present site of Virginia, which was then a 
wilderness. In 1893 he became receiver's 
clerk in the United States Land Office, and 
the following year he entered the office of 
the city clerk, with which he has since been 
connected. He was assistant clerk until 1898, 
in which year he became clerk, and he has 
been reelected each year since, although he 
is a Democrat, and the city has a good Re- 
publican majority. Such a record implies 



C0MMI-:M0RATI\1<: BlOGRArillCAL RECORD 



not ou\y aliility ;uul thonniyh ufhcial integ- 
rity, but a faculty of pleasing which neces- 
sitates the possession of t)tliei" line qualities, 
wiiich Mr. Clieadle has in an eminent ilegree. 
His long experience in this particular line 
gives him especially gxxiil insight into the 
requirements of the oitice, and his interest 
prompts him to do all within his power to 
keep the affairs of his department running 
smoothly and in the most business-like man- 
ner possible. Socially he is well known in 
the city being a thirty-second degree Mason, 
member of Duluth Consistory; and high 
chief ranger of the Jurisdiction of Northern 
Minnesota of the hulcpcndent Order of 
Foresters. 

In i8gt Mr. Cheadle married Miss Alar- 
garet Holiday, daughter of James and Made- 
line Holiday, of L'Anse. ]\lich., and tlu'ee 
children have come to this union : Emily 
Madeline, now (1904) aged twelve; Flor- 
ence A., aged seven; and Margaret E., who 
is eighteen months old. 

ROBERT CORBETT, the origuial set- 
tler of Ladysmith, Rusk Co., Wis., and one 
of the responsible and enterprising residents 
of that flourishing community, was born in 
1841 in Clinton county, N. Y., where he was 
reared, and where he was given a good edu- 
cation in the public schools. 

In 1861 Mr. Corbett, desiring to benefit 
by the opportunities offered in the then new' 
State of \Visconsin, went west, arriving at 
Eau Galle in the spring of that year. Just 
at this time, however, a new interest arose, 
and for the time blotted out all memory 
of personal interest. In the fall of that same 
year be enlisted at Eau Claire in Company 
Ci, i6th Wis. V. I., and served for three 
years and ten months in the Western Army, 
under Gen. Sherman. His term of service 
expiring, he re-enlisted, in the same com- 
panv, and continued to serve until the close 
of the war, participating in many historic 
engagements. During all this time he es- 
caped being woundetl, and was never a day 
off duty on account of sickness, or for any 
excuse w hatever. a remarkable record indeed. 
During the last two years of his service he 



cirricd the colors of his regiment, having 
the rank of sergeant. 

Returning home, Mr. Corbett settled at 
Cedar I-'alls, but after several years he went 
to Wilson and operated a sawmill for Wilson, 
\'an V'liet & Co., for a period of three years. 
Later he operated mills at Clayton, Comstock 
and Shell Lake, building the mills at the 
two places last mentioned. In 1886 Mr. 
Corbett came to Lailysmith (then Warner), 
the "Soo" railroad having been completed 
to the place the previous year, opening up 
the entire district. His first work was to 
erect a mill, his foresight enabling him to 
recognize the fact that this was soon to be- 
come a populous community. Shortly there- 
after the mill was burned, but Mr. Corbett 
immediately rebuilt it upon larger propor- 
tions, and he still continued to operate it. 
When he located here no improvements had 
been made. The "Prentice House" was 
then in process of construction, but not com- 
pleted. The "Soo" railroad had just begun 
operating mixed trains between Turtle Lake 
and Deer Tail, now^ Tony. On the north 
were two or three families, and there was 
one other family a few miles to the south. 

So rapiil is the growth of these towns, 
however, that in 1887 the post office was 
established, and it w-as named Corbett, in 
honor of Mr. Corbett, the first postmaster. 
Later the name was changed to Warner, and 
still later the present name of Ladysmith 
was bestowed upon the place. When Gates 
(now Rusk) county was created out of 
Chippewa, in 1900, Ladysmith had .^00 inhab- 
itants. .At that time a new impetus was given 
to affairs, and then occurred what is known, 
for want of a lietter word, as a "boom." 
Hundreds were attracted to the place, and. 
what is still better, remained and invested 
their capital, until Ladysmith now boasts 
2,000 people, and still has a healthy and 
steady growth. The first school was estab- 
lished about the time the place was granted 
a post office, in 1887, and for some time a 
room in what was then the "Corbett Hotel" 
(now the "Prentice Hotel") was used as ii 
school. Miss Mary Grandmaitre being the 
first teacher. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



As there were no church edifices in those 
early days the first religious services were 
held in a room of the hotel, the generous and 
public-spirited Mv. Corbett cheerfully ex- 
tentling his hospitality to church and school 
alike. Later, when a schoolhouse was built, 
religious services were held therein until the 
several denominations had places of their 
own in which to worship. 

When Mr. Corbett first located in Lady- 
smith he investetl in some lOO acres of land, 
which later adjoined the original site of the 
town. He cleared the land of timber, and 
converted it into a fertile farm. When the 
town began to show such remarkable growth 
he saw his foresight justified, for a portion 
<.)f his land was purchased by the Menasha 
Wooden Ware Company at a good figure and 
platted. The remainder, known as the Cor- 
I)ett Addition, Mr. Corbett himself platted. 
The original town was platted by Simond 
& Bennett, and it and its additions are well 
laid out, and form a town well calculated 
to support flourishing business concerns, and 
to furnish delightful homes adjacent to one 
of the richest farming regions in the State. 

The "Corbett Hotel," so well known for 
many years to the traveler in these regions, 
was conducted by Air. Corbett, who regarded 
as personal guests all who stopped with him. 
After fifteen years, however, he sold the 
hotel, which now bears another name. When 
he retired from the hotel business he erected 
his modern residence, which is surrounded 
by spacious grounds, and well adapted to the 
convenience and comfr>rt of himself and fam- 
ily. In every enterprise calculated to pro- 
mote the well-being and advancement of 
Ladysmith Mr. Corbett has done his full 
l)art, for he has given of his time and money 
generously and cheerfully, and his name is 
an honored one in Gates county, and wher- 
ever else it is known. 

Mr. Corbett was married, in 1868, to 
Miss Louisa Hunter, and they have four liv- 
ing children, as follows: William H., who is 
associated with his father in business and 
train dispatcher for the "Soo" railroad, lives 
in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. ; John A., asso- 
ciated in Inisiness with his father, is also 



president of the village of Ladysmith ; 
Lester L. is a graduate of Chippewa Ealls 
high school; Ella is at home. Mr. Corbett 
is a memljer of Mystic Tie Lodge, I. O. 
O. F. He has always been a Republican in 
politics. 

ALBERT WIELAND, in his lifetime 
one of the well-known pioneers of the Head 
of the Lakes and a man worthy of all re- 
si)ect, was born in Germany March 19, 1828, 
and he passed away at Duluth, May 22, 1898. 
I lis parents both died in Germany, where for 
many years tlie father Christian W., was a 
successful tanner, and prominent in German 
politics. 

Albert Wieland received his education 
in Germany, and there learned the trade of a 
baker. On coming to the United States, he 
was, for a few years, a resident of Parisville, 
Ohio, whence he went to Lake Superior, lo- 
cating about 1856 with his four brothers, 
Henry, August, Ernest and Christian, at 
Beaver Bay, where they purchased a tract 
of timber in partnership antl erected a saw- 
mill. 

Seven years later Mr. \Vieland returned 
to Ohio, married and brought his bride to 
Beaver Bay. There they lived until 1883, 
when he sold the mill and located at Duluth. 
While he and his brothers were at Beaver 
Bay Mr. Wieland took command of a boat 
owned by the firm, and transported logs and 
lumber. At first they had a sailing vessel, 
but later they bought a steamer. For a year 
after locating at Duluth, he operated a retail 
lumber yard. In 1886 he opened a shoe 
store, which he conducted the remainder of 
his life. The business is still carried on by 
his heirs under the style of The Wieland 
Shoe Company. In addition to his place of 
business, Mr. Wieland erected his residence, 
as well as several other buildings. In politics 
he was always a Republican, and took con- 
siderable interest in public affairs. He was 
connected with the Tenth Avenue German 
Evangelical Church, which he helped to 
build, and in which his family was reared. 

Mr. Wieland was one of the first explor- 
ers of the \^ermillion Range, and the first 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



man to discover iron ore there, about 1864. 
llis discoveries led many others into those 
regions, akhough he himself never received 
material benefit from his efforts. In another 
way he also labored to improve the condition 
of Beaver Bay, in that he was mail carrier 
from Superior by boat in summer, and over- 
land in winter. 

In March, 1863, at Parisville, Ohio, Mr. 
Wieland was married to Anna Magdalena 
Schneider, who was born at Tuttlingen, 
Wurtemberg, Germany, and came to the 
United States in i860. Her parents, John 
and Annie Mary Schneider, died in Ger- 
many; the father was a prosperous black- 
smith. Seven children were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Wieland: William died in 1883, aged 
thirteen years; Paulina died in 1901, aged 
twenty-eight years; Anna married J. F. 
Schleuncs, of Duluth ; Gustav is manager of 
the Wieland Shoe Company; Regina is Mrs. 
Jacob Oeder, of Portland, Ore. ; Albert H. 
is employed by the Wieland Shoe Company ; 
Katherine is at home. All are high school 
or college graduates. 

Mr. Wieland was numbered 'among the 
very early pioneers of Beaver Bay. Set- 
tling there at a time when nearly all of his 
neighbors were Indians, he soon established 
friendly ■ relations with them, and learned 
their language. Always treating them hon- 
estly and showing them that he was 
their friend, he won their confidence and did 
a big business trading with them. To him 
the iM-osperity of Beaver Bay is largely due, 
and his name is held in high esteem. 

MARTIN PATTISON. a resident of 
Superior, is one of the most successful and 
influential men at the Head of the Lakes. 
He was born Jan. 17, 1841, in Niagara 
County, Canada, a son of Simeon Thayer 
and Emmarilla Pattison. 

Simeon Thayer was born in New York. 
His ancestors came to America about 1630. 
and settled near Braintree, Mass., and mem- 
bers of the family took part in the Revolu- 
tionary war and in other historical affairs. 
Among them were Gen. Simeon Thayer, 
famous for his gallant defense of Fort Mif- 



flin. Simeon Thayer passed the latter part 
of his life on a farm in Michigan, where he 
died in 1862, aged fifty years. He was a 
respected and influential citizen of his lo- 
cality. Mrs. Emmarilla Pattison was a de- 
scendant of the same family as Benjamin 
Franklin. She died in Michigan in 1898 at 
the age of seventy-nine. Her parents each 
attained the age of ninety years. 

Martin Pattison attended district school 
in his native Michigan home, and when he 
was twenty-one years old engaged in lum- 
bering in the Michigan woods. In 1872 the 
business took him to the region near Mar- 
quette, where he also prospected for iron. 
Coming to Superior in the autumn of 1879, 
Mr. Pattison carried on an extensive lum- 
bering business, getting out square timber 
for the English market; it was sent by 
steamer via Quebec. In 1882 Mr. Pattison 
sold out his pine lands and abandoned the 
lumbering interests, turning his attention to 
prospecting for iron on Vermillion Range, 
in Alinnesota. He located the "Pioneer" 
and the "Chandler" mines, in 1883, now 
operated under lease by a mining company. 
Mr. Pattison is also interested in several 
thousand acres of mineral lands in Minne- 
sota and Canada, Arizona and Wyoming, 
much of which is still undeveloped. In his 
explorations in Minnesota and Canada Mr. 
Pattison has done a great deal of hunting, 
and he has a rare collection of stuffed ani- 
mals and birds, and many curiosities. His 
life has also made him familiar with the 
habits and language of the Chippewas and 
other tribes. In the summer of 1901 Mr. 
Pattison and a party of friends made a ca- 
noe trip of over 600 miles, spending thirty 
days or more in the wilderness north of 
Lake Superior. 

Much of i\Ir. Pattison's income is spent 
in city improvements; his present residence, 
built in 1890, is the finest in the city, and 
he has contributed largely to all public en- 
terprises. He has always been a Republi- 
can. He ser\-ed three terms as mayor, in 
1890-91 and 1896, being the second incum- 
bent in that office. I\Iost of the city improve- 
ments were made during his second and 




tP-^l^K 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



"3 



tliird terms. In 1884 and 1885 Mr. Patti- 
son occupied the i)u,sitit)ii of county slicritY. 
In 1871-72 he was a nicmher of the Michi- 
gan Legislature, and lie has since been a 
member of the executive committee of the 
Wisconsin State Central Committee, and a 
delegate to many State conventions. 

Mr. Pattison was married in 1879 to 
Grace E. Frink, a daughter of Reuben and 
Margaret Frink, born in Canada. Of the 
children of this marriage six are living: 
Martha Grace is the wife of Eugene P. 
Frazier, a native of Georgia, who spent 
some years in Washington, D. C, but now 
lives in Duluth ; he is a graduate of the 
Georgia University and of Atlanta Medical 
College. Byron M., a graduate of the 
Michigan School of Mines at Houghton, re- 
sides in Bisbee, Ariz., and is Superintendent 
of the Shattuck-Arizona and Denni-Arizona 
Copper Mining Companies; he married Miss 
Grace Bampfield. Ethel M. is now Mrs. H. 
W. Fisher of Uuluth. Alice Irene, Myrna 
E. and Lois M. complete the family. No 
pains have been spared in their education. 

Mr. Pattison is a thirty-second degree 
Mason, a member of all the local Masonic 
organizations and of the Wisconsin Con- 
sistof)-, and of Tripoli Temple, of the Mys- 
tic Shrine, Milwaukee; he also belongs to 
the I. O. O. F., Uniform Rank K. of P.; 
and B. P. O. E. The family is connected 
with the First Church of Christ, Scientist. 

GEORGE LEMONT BROOKS, who 
for the greater part of his life has been a 
resident of Superior, came there in pioneer 
days. He is descended from pioneer ances- 
try, the original progenitors of the Brooks 
family in America being three brothers, wdio 
came from England in Colonial times. 

Lemuel Brooks, the grandfather of 
George L., served in an American regiment 
in the Revolutionary war. Among the 
earlier recollections of our subject are the 
intensely interesting stories of his grand- 
father's experiences in war times, especially 
of himself and a comrade who were cap- 
tured by the Indians and taken to Canada 
through the deep snows in midwinter, of 



their hardships and final return to civiliza- 
tion a year later, and of his various war ex- 
periences. He had a fund of stories which 
were a delight to his many grandchildren, 
of whom our subject was the youngest. 
Some interesting war and Colonial relics 
have been preserved in the family. Lemuel 
Brooks lived to the age of ninety-eight 
years, dying about 1854. 

"Bela Brooks, son of Lemuel and father 
of George L., was born in 1799 at North 
Haven, Conn. He, with his father and fam- 
ily of ten children, moved, about 181 4, to 
Otsego County, N. Y., where they resided 
many years. The Brooks brothers were all 
prosperous farmers near what is now the 
village of Morris, originally known as the 
Morris Patent, and which was the home of 
the descendants of Gov. Robert Morris' 
family. Soon after their arrival the Brooks 
family became actively interested in the 
building of the first stone church, Zion Epis- 
copal of Morris, which was dedicated in 
1818. This strong parish has been said to 
have furnished more than its share of bish- 
ops and clergy up to date. Bela Brooks was 
a captain in the New York State Mounted 
Militia for some years. In 1857 he visited 
Superior, Wis., and became so convinced 
of the prosperity in store for the city that 
he made quite extensive investments in real 
estate, and five years later returned to take 
up his residence there. He passed the last 
eleven years of his life in his new home in 
the West as a most exemplary citizen and 
prominent member of the Episcopal Church. 

His first wife was Miss Annis Botsford, 
a native of New York, whose parents were 
descendants of an old Colonial family of 
Connecticut. Of their five children, the 
eldest, (i) Eliza A., married Hezekiah W. 
Shaw, and they came to Superior in 1856, 
becoming identified with much of the early 
history of the Head of the Lakes, Mr. Shaw 
in business and official life, and Ji'lrs. Shaw 
in church and charitable work. (2) Emily 
A. married John Watkins, and thev moved 
to Bridgeport. Conn. (3) William R. 
came to Superior in 1862 and died in Du- 
luth in 1899. (4) Bela A. remained in Mor- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



.114 

ris X. v.. engaged in commercial pursuits, 
and died there about 1878. C5) J. Cora 
came to Superior in 1800. She married 
Wilham H. Smith, who, after an honorable 
war record, lived in Duluth many years, 
dying in that city in 188O. His widow 
■still retains the family home in that city. 

Bela Brooks married for his second wife 
Mrs. Sarah Chase (Shaw) Williams, 
•daughter of Samuel and Marcia Shaw. 
She became the mother of the subject of 
our sketch. Bacon's "Historical and Bio- 
graphical of Otsego County," shows that 
three Shaw brothers, Deacon Samuel, Col. 
■ David and William, came to Otsego County 
from Massachusetts in 1796, and the same 
work shows Hezekiah Dayton (a brother- 
■in-law of Samuel) to have been the first 
town clerk, 1796- 1805. Samuel Shaw lived 
in Butternuts with his large family for 
many years. He was sheriff of Otsego 
County for a time. 

George L. Brooks was born in 1846, at 
Morris, at the old homestead. He attend- 
ed school at the White school house on But- 
ternut creek, and had the usual duties on a 
large farm and what amusement a boy may 
find in a county with fine woods and clear 
streams. After going to Superior wath his 
father in 1862, he attended school there for 
a few years, and later graduated from the 
Eastman Business College, Chicago. His 
mother had died when he was nine years 
of age. He says his first impressions of 
Superior when entering the bay on a steam- 
er one fine morning in May were not cal- 
culated to please one coming from an older 
State. The town, what there was of it, con- 
sisted of a few painted houses and many 
tinpainted ones, nearly all on one street 
about two miles long, paralleling the bay 
shore. The red clay banks in front and a 
background of dead tamarack and spruce 
trees, unrelieved by green trees in streets 
and yards, formed a desolate picture. On 
landing one involuntarily turned for a con- 
trast of view toward the lake, with its ever 
changing shades of blue, and ^Minnesota 
Point, with its many shades of green and 
yellow. The center of the town was then 



about Nettleton avenue, near the only 
steamboat landing. Of early events Mr. 
Brooks says the Indian outbreak in Minne- 
sota in 1862 caused the residents of Super- 
ior some alarm. A home guard company 
was organized, and he was a member and 
drilled with the boys, but owing to defective 
hearing was not allowed on picket duty. 
The scare soon passed away when a com- 
pany of troops were stationed at Superior, 
making all feel secure. He recollects the 
surrender of Gen. Lee and the close of the 
Civil war, the news of which reached Su- 
perior from St. Paul, by carrier, perhaps a 
week after it occurred. He and a comrade 
were perhaps unjustly accused by a few dis- 
loyal people of cracking the bell in the old 
Methodist church steeple at that time. He 
does not know how true this was, but is 
certain that the old bell did good service 
for two hours in waking up the slumbering 
inhabitants to the importance of the occa- 
sion, and a celebration equal to many larger 
towns was the result. The great local 
events of those days were the weekly arrival 
of a lake steamer, and the tri- weekly arri- 
val of stage coaches W'ith news from the out- 
side world. Mr. Brooks' occupation in ear- 
ly years was assisting his father in farming 
and driving cattle from Minnesota for the 
Lake Superior market. He was made famil- 
iar with the country by many trips to St. 
Paul over the jMilitary Road, trips to Ver- 
million Lake, the present iron mining cen- 
ter, then undreamed of. He had some hard 
trips and many that are now pleasant to 
remember. When the first railroad (the 
Lake Superior & Mississippi) commenced 
building south from Duluth in 1869, he 
went to that city and resided there for five 
years, engaged as bookkeeper and manager 
for a large lumber, mercantile and contract- 
ing firm. He sold lumber for the first 
buildings in that city, material for the first 
grain elevator, and had charge of the first 
steamboat dock and shipping therefrom. He 
saw the first train of cars arrive, and first 
streets graded. In fact, he saw Duluth 
grow from a wilderness to a good town and 
the line citv it now is. 



COALMEMORATIVE ClOGRAPIIICAL RECORD 



While living in Duluth Mr. Brooks was 
married to Adelia P. Smith, daughter of 
John T. Smith, a pioneer merchant of Su- 
l^erior. His two elder children were born 
in that city : Minnie Frances died in Su- 
l)erior at the age of eleven years; Charles 
Lemont, who spent all his early life in Su- 
perior, aftCB attending Shattuck Military 
School and graduating in the law class of 
1896, at the University of Michigan, prac- 
ticed law in Superior one year and died 
there at the age of twenty-four. Mrs. 
Adelia P. Brooks died in Superior in 1884. 
In 1888 Mr. Brooks married (second) Miss 
Mary Dean, daughter of Denis Dean, who 
was the first postmaster at Superior. Two 
years later Mrs. Brooks died, leaving an 
infant daughter, Mary Dean Brooks. In 
1892 Mr. Brooks married (third) Miss 
Clara Berwick of an old New York family, 
and they have two children : Herbert Ber- 
wick and Elizabeth Chase. 

The financial panic of 1873 caused great 
depression in both Duluth and Superior, 
and Mr. Brooks, with his family, moved to 
Superior in 1874. There for many years he 
was engaged in trade, and extending his 
line to almost every want of a small com- 
munity he did a successful business. He 
employed many men cutting wood, timber, 
etc., and thus assisted in helping the town 
along through a dull period in the seven- 
ties. With a store, a mail contract, a stage 
and ferry line, his time was fully occupied. 
In 1878 he built a small steamer at Super- 
ior, named the "Minnie Lemont," after his 
two children. The keel for this vessel was 
from a tamarack tree that grew near Blufif 
creek and the Bayfield road. It was forty 
feet long and the tree was eighteen inches 
in diameter. This is mentioned, as on re- 
cent examination the custom house records 
show that this small steamer of less than 
ten tons burden was the first steam vessel 
built, not only in Superior, but on Lake 
Superior as well. About 1882 he built ex- 
tensive steam brickyards on the Nemadji 
river, employing a large number of men. At 
these yards was made the brick for the first 
brick building in Superior, which was built 



by Cien. Hammontl ; it was located on 
Tower avenue, at the corner of Winter 
street. Mr. Brooks has built quite a num- 
ber of houses and buildings and also opened 
and improved a number of farms. 

Mr. Brooks for a number of years has 
been more or less engaged in real estate 
business and associated with land compan- 
ies. He was first to show the people of Su- 
perior that Douglas county contains a fine 
building granite. In 1897, there being 
great need of a better cemetery, Mr. Brooks 
was largely instriimental in the organization 
of the Woodlawn Cemetery Association, 
and the securing and planting of the beautiful 
grounds now owned by this association on 
Blufif creek, taking a personal interest in 
the improvement of these grounds. Mr. 
Brooks is a Republican, as he says, of the 
independent order. He has never sought 
office and has only held it on a few occa- 
sions, but he has always favored good gov- 
ernment and sound, substantial improve- 
ments. It was while he was a member of 
the county and town boards that the first 
diagonal and section line roads were 
opened from the city to the ' country, 
the first bridge built on the Nemadji 
river, the purchase of and improve- 
ments on the poor farm made, and 
the first shade trees planted on the streets by 
the public, all of which he advocated. The 
Brooks family were prominent in Iniilding 
the Church of the Redeemer (stone Epis- 
copal) at the east end of the city, with 
which church they are usually identified. 
Mr. Brooks has been something of a devel- 
oper, or, as they say, "one who does things," 
one willing to do his share for the best in- 
terests of the community. Socially he is 
frank and cordial, and always loyal to home 
and friends. 

WILLIAM HENRY ELLIS, M. D. 
Prominent among the physicians of Barron 
county is William H. Ellis, who has been a 
practitioner in the county for a quarter of 
a century, and in the city of Barron for 
over twenty years. He was born in Dodge 
county. Wis., Sept. 17, 1855, son of Her- 



ii6 



COMiMKMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



naiulo C. and jemima B. (Haight) Ellis. 

The Ellis family is of Revolutionary 
stock, and Hernando C. and his father, 
Samuel, were both natives of Steuben coun- 
ty, N. Y. The latter came to Wisconsin 
about 1850, and died at Lake Geneva of 
smallpox, as did also his son. William. 
Hernando C. Ellis, the eldest of the family 
of nine, had come West some years pre- 
viously, in 1838, and engaged in lumbering 
at Lake Geneva till 1854, when he removed 
to Elba, Dodge county, where the subject 
of this sketch was born. Two years later 
he left Elba and settled in Dunn county, 
where he resided till his death, JMarch J4, 
1903, at the age of nearly eighty-live years. 
His wife, Jemima B. Ellis, had passed away 
July 9, 186S, leaving four children: Joseph 
F., an attorney of Eau Claire; Elizabeth A., 
of Minnesota ; Samuel, of Rock Creek, 
Dunn county, and William H. 

William H. Ellis was educated in the 
public schools, but he owes much of his 
early training and education to his sister, 
Elizabeth, who was a "mother", to him 
after his mother died. He taught school 
for a short time when he was seventeen 
years old, and was graduated from the Eau 
Claire high school at the age of twenty 
years. He at once began the study of medi- 
cine with Dr. Alexander, of Eau Claire, 
preparatory to a course at Rush Medical 
College, in Chicago. Dr. Ellis received his 
degree of M. D. from that institution in 
1880 and located first at Prairie Farm, Bar- 
ron county, after assisting Drs. Alexander 
and JMorgan in Eau Claire for a few 
months. Four years later, when the "Soo" 
railway reached Barron, after taking a post- 
graduate course in Chicago, he established 
himself in the town and has ever since 
been engaged there in the general practice 
of medicine and surgery, being the oldest 
physician in the county in point of time. 
Dr. Ellis is in touch with the medical life 
and thought of the day, belongs to the 
American Medical Association, and is a 
member of its legislative council, is a mem- 
ber of the Wisconsin State Medical Asso- 
ciation, helped to organize recently the Bar- 



ron-Gates-Polk County Medical Association 
and has frequently been called upon to read 
papers at their professional gatherings. His 
skill and experience, together with his broad 
progressive thought, have made his opinion 
universally respected. 

In 1880 Dr. Ellis and Miss Eliza Aitchi- 
son were united in marriage. Mrs. Ellis, 
who was born in Iowa, is a daughter of 
Rev. John Y. Aitchison, D. D., a Scotchman 
and a Baptist minister, formerly of Eau 
Claire, Wis., but now located at Portland, 
Oregon. Mrs. Ellis' mother, whose maiden 
name was Sophia Fiezzel, was of French de- 
scent. To the doctor and his wife seven 
children have been born, five of whom are 
living, namely: Lottie, Mrs. Fred Fillmore 
(whose husband is a locomotive engineer) ; 
Walter S., a telegraph operator and station 
agent for the C. & G. W. Railway Co.; 
Agnes, a teacher in the Barron county 
schools, and Benjamin F. and Helen, both 
students in the Barron public schools. Clara, 
twin sister of Helen, died in July, 1903, of 
typhoid fever, aged eleven years, and Wil- 
liam, a child of five and a half^ was run over 
by a traction engine in September, 190J. 
Dr. and Mrs. Ellis are members of the \\:\\)- 
tist church, which Dr. Ellis helped to or- 
ganize. 

Despite the demands of his practice 
upon his time, Dr. Ellis has made oi^jiortun- 
ity for other duties and interests. He has 
invested in farm lands and city property to 
some extent, has been actively concerned 
in the educational development of the city, 
serving as a director on the school board for 
five years, and has held the office of health 
inspector for the city and township for some 
time. In his political principles he has been 
for several years past a Prohibitionist. The 
doctor is prominent also in the work of the 
fraternal orders and is a member of the I. 
O. O. F., being a Past Grand of the Bar- 
ron lodge; is a member of the M. W. .X. 
and of the F. & A. M., in which he is Past 
Master of the local lodge. Dr. Ellis was 
secretary of the Board of United States Ex- 
amining Surgeons, which met at Cumber- 
land, Wis., and examined many of the old 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



117 



soldiers applying for pensions, and to the 
lii)cral "rating" of himself and the late Dr. 
VV. C. Pease, president of the board, many 
of them are indebted for an increase of pen- 
sion. He is an advocate of the free text- 
book system in the public schools of his 
State and hopes to see that system adopted 
in all free schools. During his term as 
health officer of his city he caused all slaugh- 
ter houses to l)e moved out of the corporate 
limits and off from any running stream. It 
is said that he has one of the best libraries 
in the county on the prevention of disease, 
and takes an active interest in sanitary sci- 
ence and invention. He is always ready to 
do everything in his power to restore a sick 
person to health and does all he can to dis- 
countenance intemperance or excess, which 
always causes sickness or distress. "His life 
was gentle, and the elements so mixed in 
him, that Nature might stand up and say to 
to all the world 'This was a man.' " The 
doctor is as active as many men at thirty- 
five years and does not look older tlian that. 
This is a favorite sentiment with him : 

Age is opportunity no less than youth itselfj 
For as the evening twilight fades away 
The sky is filled with stars invisible by day. 

May he enjoy many more years of use- 
fulness is the wish of the writer. He says 
he hopes to live and keep busy until all of 
his children, and also his grand-son (Ellis 
Fillmore) are established in useful positions 
in life. 

AUGUST HERMAN ZACHAU is 
the earliest surviving pioneer of Superior, 
Douglas county, Wis., where he has made 
his home for over half a century. Mr. 
Zachau's life of industry and integrity has 
won him the esteem of his fellow citizens 
and entitles him to honorable mention in 
these annals. 

Mr. Zachau was born in Koenigsberg, 
East Prussia, Aug. 3, 1825. His parents, 
Johan Frederick and Barbara (Krause) 
Zachau, were also natives of Koenigsberg, 
where they passed their lives. Johan F. 
Zachau was reared on a farm, but learned 
the baker's trade and opened a bakery in 



Koenigsberg, which is still airried on by 
one of his grandsons. lie was twice mar- 
ried, his second wife being Barbara Krause, 
by whom he had three sons and one daught- 
er. The eldest son, John F. Zachau, is a 
farmer, living near Hammond, Ind. 

August Herman Zachau received a com- 
mon school education and learned the trade 
of cabinet-maker. During the revolution of 
1848 he joined the insurgent (or patriot) 
cause and assisted in driving the royal 
troops from Koenigsberg. On the suppres- 
sion of this insurrection in 1849 '^^ • Y^^ 
obliged to -flee for his life, and reaching 
Hamburg, took passage by stealth on a 
British mail steamer bound for London. 
Six weeks later he sailed for New York, 
making the voyage in forty days. From 
New York Mr. Zachau .proceeded to Chi- 
cago, where he found work as a carpenter, 
and for two years kept a carpenter shop on 
Randolph street, near Dearborn street. 
While in Chicago Mr. Zachau took part m 
a demonstration in honor of his fellow 
l)atriots, Kossuth and Prof. Kinkel. In the 
summer of 1853 he went by steamer to La- 
Pointe, Wis., and from there proceeded m 
the little schooner "Chippawa" to the Head 
of the Lakes with a party who early in the 
season had made a "claim" to the site of the 
present town of Superior. When this little 
company of pioneers arrived the only peo- 
ple living on the "claim" were some French 
fur traders in the employ of the American 
Fur Co., a few half-breeds, and numerous 
Indians. An Indian trail ran westward 
from the Nemadji river in about the same 
course as that taken by Second street at 
present, but in those early days the waters 
of the bay were entirely shut out from view 
by the thick growth of underbrush and tim- 
ber. Mr. Zachau was one of the forty odd 
people who spent the winter of 1853-54 in 
Superior. In January, 1854, he helped 
clear a road through the woods to the St. 
Croix river, from which there were lumber- 
men's trails to St. Paul. Traveling these 
trails on foot, Mr. Zachau arrived at St. 
Paul in February. He soon got a contract 
for building a hotel in Superior, and return- 



ii8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ing there in March, with the first ox team 
to Superior, began to get out the timber 
along tlie bay shore, at wliat is now the foot 
of Tower avenue. The hotel was 24x90 
feet in dimensions, two and one-half stories 
high, and the walls were made of solid hewn 
logs. The other lumber was cut by hand, 
with whip saws, his being the first saw-mill 
at the Head of the Lakes. This building 
stood at the northwest corner of Second 
street and Hollinshead avenue, and was oc- 
cupied as soon as inclosed. The hotel was 
only one of several buildings erected by Mr. 
Zachau for the syndicate which owned the 
town site. 

The first lots to be platted and sold in 
the new town were bought by Mr. Zachau. 
These lots, located at the corner of First 
street and Nettleton avenue, he still owns 
and lives on. In 1856 Mr. Zachau built the 
"Pioneer House" on this site, and managed 
it for two years, when it was destroyed by 
fire. He next engaged for about ten years 
in the Indian trade, having his main store 
in Superior, with branches at Odanah, Wis., 
and Vermillion, Rainy River, Minn. He 
handled from $25,000 to $40,000 worth of 
furs annually, sometimes shipping by team 
to St. Paul, having a regular fur market in 
Superior in the spring. When his store in 
Superior, with the immense stock, was de- 
stroyed l)y nre, he owed $40,000 on the 
stock without insurance (all of which he 
paid up), and then, when iron mining began 
on the Vermillion Range, Mr. Zachau en- 
gaged in general contracting, a business 
which he still carries on, employing a num- 
ber of men and teams. Most of the wagon 
bridges in Superior and in Douglas coun- 
ty have been built by him. In 1855 he 
brought the first wagon to Superior, and 
also owned the first three horses in the place. 
He invented the single-beam bob sled. He 
owns a farm within the city limits, and, al- 
though he has had his share of the ups and 
downs of business, in the main he has pros- 
pered. 

In 1864 Mr. Zachau married Augusta 
Winter, a daughter of Carl and Wilheimina 
Winter, of Sheboygan, Wis. Mrs. Zachau 



was born near Berlin, Germany, and came 
to the United States when a child. Mr. and 
Mrs. Zachau are the parents of nine chil- 
dren: Carl, Herman A., August E., Fred- 
erick W., Augusta C. F. (Mrs. Ernest 
Mast), Frank Schiller, who died of expos- 
ure in Porto Rico while in the United States 
service in Company I, 3d Wisconsin V.I. ; 
Edward Goethe, twin brother of Frank; 
John, who dieil in infancy; and Theodore 
C. All were born in Mr. Zachau's present 
residence. No. 320 West First street, comer 
Nettleton avenue, which was built in 1857, 
and all the survivors live in Superior. Mr. 
and Mrs. Zachau have twelve living grand- 
children. 

Mr. Zachau is a member of the Im- 
proved Order of Red Men and serves as 
Keeper of Wampum. He is also treasurer 
of the Old Settlers' Association and presi- 
dent of the trustees of the Nemadji 
Cemetery Association. He has been a 
stanch Republican since casting his 
first vote for Fremont in 1856, and 
has served twelve years as sheriff of Dou- 
glas county. In 1861 he took the first pris- 
oner from the county to Waupun, spending 
a week on the journey by team, steamer and 
railroad and traveling about 1,500 miles by 
the nearest practical route. There being no 
jail he kept the county's prisoners in his 
own house. During his term of office the 
county finances were at a very low ebb, and 
county orders were sold as low as twenty 
cents on the dollar. Later Mr. Zachau 
served as treasurer of the town and county, 
and succeeded in bringing the county orders 
to par value for the first time. Upon the 
expiration of his term he left $3,000 in the 
treasury — no small sum in those days. Mr. 
Zachau has also served as town supervisor, 
having been chairman of the board, and dur- 
ing the Civil war was commissioned second 
lieutenant of the Sitperior Home Guards, 
but he was never called into service except 
on home duty during the Indian uprising, 
for which this guard was formed. On the 
evening of Nov. 8, 1903, the many friends 
of Mr. Zachau invited him to a reception 
and banquet at the "Euclid Hotel," the oc- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



119 



casion being tlie fiftieth aiinixcrsary of liis 
arrival in Superior. 

REV. CHARLES COTTON SAL- 
TER, who will be long remembered as one 
of the greatest philanthropists at the Head 
of the l^akes, died at his home in Duluth in 
1897, at the age of sixty-five years, leaving 
the world better because of his having lived. 
His life was spent in work for his fellow- 
men, in lifting them up from out the slough 
of despond into the brighter realms of divine 
love. He worked with no thought of self, 
often to his own physical detriment, but he 
gladly gave all his strength for the faith 
he professed. He was born in New Haven, 
Conn., son of Cleveland J. Salter. 

Cleveland J. Salter came to America 
from Devonshire, England, and locating in 
New Haven, there carried on a general mer- 
chandise business. About 1835 he came 
West, and located at Waverly, Morgan Co., 
111., where he purchased the present town 
site and laid out the town. He also pur- 
chased a large farm and erected many of 
the buildings in that locality. He died there 
at the age of eighty-four years. He was 
very public-spirited, and ever had the good 
of the people at heart. He was one of the 
founders of Illinois College, Jacksonville, 
111. He was a prime mover in the organiza- 
tion and building of the First Congregation- 
al church at Waverly, and served as one of 
its deacons until his death. His wife sur- 
vived him a year or two and died when over 
eighty years of age. 

Rev. Charles C. Salter was educated at 
Yale University, graduating there at the age 
of twenty-one in the class of 1852. The next 
few years were spent in preparing himself 
for the ministry at Andover Theological 
Seminary and as Latin tutor at Yale. 
After his ordination as a minister of the 
Congregational church he spent a year in 
Europe and the Holy Land in study and 
recreation. His first pastorate was in 
northern Illinois, where he remained until 
the breaking out of the Civil war when he 
enlisted as chaplain of the 13th Connecticut 
Regiment. His army experience was brief, 



for while at Ship Island and New Orleans 
his health gave way and he was sent north. 
In the fall of 1862 he reached Minneapolis, 
where he settled as pastor of I'lymouth 
church, then a handful of people without a 
place of worship. Under his supervision 
the congregation was organized and the 
first church built. In 1869 he located at 
Duluth and there, too, organized and built 
the First Congregational church, serving as 
its pastor six years, wdien, owing to failing 
health, he was obliged to seek a less severe 
climate. After a year in Europe he went 
to Denver, Colo., where he was pastor of 
the First Congregational church and organ- 
ized the Second. He once again came to 
Duluth, resuming in 1880 his pastorate of 
the Congregational church, continuing an- 
other two years, when failing health de- 
manded a rest. Accompanied by his family, 
he spent two years in Europe, chiefly in 
Switzerland and Italy, and then came back 
to the United States and passed X)ne winter 
in Tampa, Fla. Coming West, he remained 
in Chicago for a year. When he first located 
in Duluth he had made some judicious in- 
vestments which increased rapidly in value, 
thus enabling him to gratify his great de- 
sire for philanthropic work. Through all 
his travels he had kept a warm spot in his 
heart for his home at the Head of the Lakes, 
and in 1887 he again came to Duluth and 
founded the Bethel Mission, contributing 
largely of his own means, and securing the 
balance from generous-minded citizens. 
This is one of the most noteworthy insti- 
tutions in Duluth, and is designed for the 
benefit of sailors who frequent the ports at 
the Head of the Lakes, furnishing the com- 
forts of home at a nominal expense. For 
his services in connection with this mission 
Rev. Mr. Salter never accepted any compen- 
sation, and he acted as its overseer imtil his 
death. His whole mind and strength were 
devoted to alleviating the cares of others, 
and his earnestness so impressed itself upon 
his listeners that he was often enabled to 
secure substantial help from many who, as 
a rule, had little faith in religious work and 
religious workers. A man of great mag- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



netic force, he exerted a lasting influence 
over rich and poor aHke. He otificiated at 
more weddings and funerals than any other 
minister in Duhith. 

Entering heartily into any work that 
aimed for the benefit of the city, he often 
did more than his share of the actual work, 
but he did it all so easily, so willingly, that 
the realization of all he had done came only 
when his work was over. At his death, so 
general was the grief, so great a public cal- 
amity was it deemed, that all the business 
houses in the city were closed for half a 
day, that all might go to pay him the last 
tribute of respect. 

Rev. Mr. Salter was married to Miss 
Maria Vaughn, of Providence, R. I., who 
still makes her home in Duluth. Eive chil- 
dren survive to comfort her: Charles C, 
of West Duluth; Dr. William Homes, of 
Duluth; Frank L, manager of R. M. New- 
port & Co., and Mary Josephine and Julia 
I., both of -Duluth. All of the family are 
highly educated and are greatly respected 
by all who know them. 

ISRAEL C. McNeill, the president of 
the Wisconsin State Normal School, of the 
Seventh district, located in Superior, Dou- 
glas county, is a man of fine endowments 
and admirably adapted for his responsible 
position by his early training and his long 
and varied professional experience. The 
value to the new school of his guidance in 
its early career has been more fully demon- 
strated each succeeding year. 

President McNeill was born in Avoca, 
Steuben Co., N. Y., Aug. 31, 1855, the 
son of Ransom and Catherine (Dillenbeck) 
McNeill, of Scotch-Irish and Dutch ancestry, 
respectively. The McNeill family traces its 
ancestry to the Clan Argyle, of Scotland, 
while among the noted men with whom 
President McNeill may claim kinship are 
James McRae, of Revolutionary fame, and 
Gen. John McNeill, of the Civil War. Jen- 
nie McNeill, of Washington county, N. Y,, 
where the family first settled, was another 
relative. As a race the McNeills have been 
a hardy, thrifty stock. 



The early education of Israel C. McNeill 
was acquired in New York, where he com- 
pleted the academic course prescribed by the 
State Board of Regents. Some of his uni- 
versity work was done in the University of 
Kansas. He holds two college degrees. In 
1887 he was appointed assistant superin- 
tendent of schools in Kansas City and re- 
tained that position until 1896, when he was 
appointed to the Superior Normal School. 
For the last six years of that time he was 
a member of the Board of Regents for the 
Normal Schools of Missouri. He has also 
been prominent in general educational work, 
and was chosen treasurer of the National 
Educational Association several years. 
President McNeill has done considerable 
original work and has contributed to var- 
ious magazines, mainly along educational 
or psychological lines. He was associated 
with Prof. S. A. Lynch as joint author of 
"Introductory Lessons in English Litera- 
ture," which is in use as a text book all over 
the country. He also prepared "Oral 
Problems in Arithmetic," a text book which 
was issued in November, 1902. 

In his political views President McNeill 
is a Republican, but has never been in the 
least active in party work. His belief in 
religious questions has made him a com- 
municant of the Episcopal church. Socially 
he is a Thirty-second degree Mason, and 
belongs to the Consistory of Duluth. 

President McNeill was married Aug. 
19, 1880, to Miss Mary Estell Hedges, of 
Bradford, N. Y., the daughter of William 
and Ruth Hedges. They have no children 
living. 

In 1896 began the most important work 
of Israel C. McNeill's life, when he as- 
sumed the presidency of the Superior Nor- 
mal School. This school was authorized 
by the Legislature of Wisconsin, April 15, 
1893, and located in Superior tw'o years 
later, after the city had offered a bonus of 
$65,000 in cash and $35,000 in land. Dou- 
glas county presented a memorial window 
costing $3,000, which represented the his- 
tory and progress of Superior, with Pallas 
Athene as the central figure. The school 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



was opened Sept. 5, 1896, and arrangements 
had been made to receive from seventy-five 
to ninety pupils, but 150 pupils presented 
themselves the first morning for admission, 
and the plans of organization had to be 
changed at once. The first term opened 
with all the classes found in any normal 
school and with every seat taken in the 
trauung department. Sixteen counties of 
Wisconsin and several other states were 
represented the first year. A clientage of 
500 impils and students from twenty-seven 
counties attended the school thd year 1903- 
4. The building occupied by the school 
is of red sandstone and white brick, three 
stories high, and situated in a seven-acre 
tract between Sixteenth and Eighteenth 
streets, fitted out very completely in accord- 
ance with the latest hygienic methods. 

The courses of study ofifered by the 
Normal School are various enough to meet 
any demand and include common school, 
elementary, one year professional, English, 
Scientific, German, Latin and graduate 
courses. The training school is in charge 
of the superintendent of training and three 
assistants and has eight grades and a kin- 
dergarten, corresponding to those in the 
public schools of large cities. All the 
teachers in the Normal School have been 
chosen with special regard to their fitness 
for the work and the results secured have 
been most satisfactory. The department of 
philosophv and pedagogy is in the hands of 
Prof. McNeill himself'.' 

The Superior Normal School has re- 
ceived the hearty support and co-operation 
of the press of Wisconsin and of the citi- 
zens of the northern part of the State, and 
various external influences, contributing 
greatly to the uplifting of the school and 
the fo.sterir:g of the ])roper normal spirit 
have materially aided in the early establish- 
ment of a wise and fixed policy of manage- 
ment of the school. 



SOLON HUNTINGTON CLOUGH. 
son of Hamilton and Pamelia (Tucker) 
Clough, was born in New York State, Aug. 



31, 1828. His boyhood was spent in Os- 
wego county, mainly in the town of Fulton 
and vicinity. He spent two years at Ham- 
ilton College, and after leaving college he 
went South to teach school, remaining there 
a year or two. In 1851 he married Kathar- 
ine E. Taylor, of Cazenovia, N. Y. At 
about the same time he began the practice 
of law, and in 1858 came West, settling 
in Hudson, Wis., and forming a law part- 
nership with Henry C. Baker. In 1863 he 
removed to Osceola, Polk county, Wis., 
and was elected judge of the eleventh judi- 
cial circuit, which office he held for twelve 
consecutive years. In 1867 he removed to 
Superior in the extreme northern part of 
that circuit and continued to reside there 
until 1876, when he returned to Hudson 
and again took up the practice of law. 
After residing there four years, he went 
back to Superior and was appointed judge 
of the eleventh circuit, serving eight more 
years in that capacity, making in all a ser- 
vice of twenty years as judge of that cir- 
cuit. 

In 1894 Mr. Clough removed to San 
Diego, Cal., for the benefit of his wife's 
health, and continues to reside there. His 
wife died Aug. 17, 1902. He has two 
daughters living. Miss Bertha Clough, who 
lives with him in San Diego, and Mrs. Ir- 
vine L. Lenroot, of Superior. During his 
long residence in the State of W'isconsin he 
made many friends and won the respect and 
esteem of all who knew him. He served 
with distinction on the bench, was a fair 
and able judge and won the respect and af- 
fection of the members of the bar through- 
out the circuit, where his ability as a law- 
yer was well recognized. He is noted for 
his high sense of honor, his sincerity, his 
great conscientiousness in every relation in 
life, his genial hospitality, his faithfulness 
in friendship and his hel])ful sympathy and 
consideration for the poor and unfortunate. 

Mr. Clough was always intensely inter- 
ested in the history, development and pro- 
gress of northern \\'isconsin, and always 
had. and now has, unbonn(lc<] rDiiridencc in 
its future. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



PHILIP HINKLE SEYMOUR, n 
successful attorney of Duluth, is a worthy 
representatix'e of families several gen- 
erations of which ha\c lieen conspicu- 
ous in American history. He is a son of 
Alexander Reek and Eliza McLean (Gai- 
ther) Seymour. The former was a native 
of the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, his 
father having been a prominent planter in 
that region. Alexander R. Seymour lived 
for some time at New Market, Va., and later 
at Orkney Springs, in the same state, 
where his death occurred in 1870, he being 
but little over fifty years of age at that time. 
He was an invalid for some years previous 
to his demise. Mrs. Eliza Seymour, who 
is still living at Cincinnati, was born at 
Washington, D. C. Her paternal ancestors 
came from Wales in 1664 and settled at 
Bite the Biter, near Sandy Springs, Md., 
and some of their descendants are still liv- 
ing at that place. A number of members 
of the family served in the Revolutionary 
army, one being a surgeon and several oth- 
ers officers in the service. James Gaither, 
the father of Mrs. Seymour, was a carpen- 
ter contractor in the city of Washington for 
the greater part of his hfe. One of his sons, 
Thomas D. Gaither, filled the office of clerk 
of the Superior Court of Baltimore for some 
years. 

Philip H. Seymour was born at Cincin- 
nati. Ohio, July 6, 1857. He went to 
Washington m 1869 and was educated in 
the public schools of that city and at the law 
school of Columbia University, from which 
he graduated in 1880. After being admitted 
to the bar he practiced in Washington for a 
time and later filled a clerkship in the Gen- 
eral Land Office, becoming acting chief of 
a division. Afterward he acted for a time 
as private secretary to Justice Field of the 
United States Supreme Court, and also 
served Senator Chace, of Rhode Island, in 
the same capacity. Since 1894 he has been 
located in Duluth, where he gives his chief 
attention to real estate law. His exper- 
ience in this line, together with his wide 
acquaintance in official circles, makes his 
services of especial value to his clients. 



On June 8, 1893 occurred the marriage 
of Mr. Seymour with Miss Emma B. 
Bickel, daughter of William and Eliza A. 
Bickel of St. Paul, Minn. Mrs. Seymour 
died Oct. 12, 1902, at the age of forty- 
three years. She left one child, Philip 
Bickel, born Oct. 19, 1895. Mr. Seymour 
has formed numerous social connections 
and is prominent in the Masonic fraternity, 
being a member of Duluth Consistory No. 
3, Scottish Rite, and of Osman Temple, of 
the Mystic Shrine at St. Paul. 

THE WISCONSIN STATE FISH 
HATCHERY, Salmo, Bayfield Co., Wis., 
was established Sept. 28, 1895. The site, 
comprising some 700 acres, fronting on 
Chaquamegon Bay, was donated by Capt. 
R. D. Pike, an honored citizen of Salmo, 
Bayfield county. During the ensuing win- 
ter operations were carried on in a small 
building in which Capt. Pike had conducted 
a brook trout hatchery for several years. 
The next spring preliminary work of clear- 
ing the grounds was begun, and during the 
summer a large temporary structure was 
put up and used as a hatchery. That sum- 
mer also was constructed a dam across Pike 
Creek and another incomplete one was fin- 
ished across Birch run. During this year 
fifteen million lake trout eggs were handled, 
twelve million fish being the product there- 
from. This was the first successful han- 
dling of so large a quantity of eggs of that 
variety of fish in the State. The greater 
number of these were distributed in Chaqua- 
megon Bay, while a few were placed in the 
interior lakes of the State. During 1897 
the construction of the permanent buildings 
was begun and completed. The main build- 
ing is of modern architecture, built of stone 
and wood, the office and residence part be- 
ing twenty-five feet by forty feet. Back of 
this, but practically all in one building, is 
the main hatching room, fifty by eighty 
feet. This is one of truss construction, there 
being not a post or arch in the main room. 
It is said by competent judges to be the 
most perfect building of its kind in the 
United States. More than thirtv million 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



123 



of trout eggs were placed in the hatchery in 
the season of 1897, and a most successful 
hatch resulted, as, in the spring- of 1898, 
more than twenty-live million of fry were 
deposited in the outline waters of the State, 
and a few in the interior lakes of the State. 
In addition to these, other varieties were 
hatched, there being about three quarters of 
a million of brook trout distributed in the 
streams of the north half of the State. 
Since then about eight million brook trout 
have similarly been disposed of. White fish 
and lake trout have been hatched to the 
amount of from thirty to forty million a 
year since 1898. The work in propagating 
the commercial fish has been eminently suc- 
cessful as demonstrated by the increased an- 
nual catch. During the summer of 1898 
work was begun in the construction of ponds 
for brook trout, and in grading and other- 
wise embellishing the site. The brook trout 
ponds cover an area of about six acres and 
are fed from Pikes Creek through a two- 
foot i)ipe. three-eighths of a mile long. The 
main hatching room is supplied from Birch 
Run tlirough a si.xteen-inch pipe over a dis- 
tance of more than two thousand feet. 
There are now seventeen completed ponds 
on the site. The eggs are taken from live 
fish as taken from the nets of fishermen and 
lirought to the hatchery in cases dry and 
placed in live water. 

J. HENRY SYKES, the gentlemanly 
and efficient assistant superintendent in 
charge of the State Fish Hatchery, Salmo, 
Bayfield Co., Wis., was born in Lake City, 
Minn., Aug. i, 1863, and is a son of Dela- 
vergne and ^lahala A. (Thomas) Sykes. 
Tiie former was born in Canada and the lat- 
ter in Dane county. Wis., where her parents 
were pioneers from Ohio. Mr. Sykes' par- 
ents settled in Dane county, Wis., when he 
was three years old. There he grew up on 
the farm, receiving only a limited education 
in the puljlic schools. Near his father's 
farm, a few miles from Madison, 
was located the State Fish Hatchery. By 
the opportunity thus afforded he 1)ecame in- 
terested in fish culture and subsequently se- 



cured a position with the State Fish Com- 
missitm. This was in November, 1885. Pie 
was first employed as teamster. Evincing 
an aptitude for that line of business his su- 
periors quickly recognized his worth and 
soon promoted him to positions of higher 
trust and greater responsibility. With every 
phase of the business Mr. Sykes is familiar, 
having made a practical and iintelligent 
study of fish culture in all its details. Mr. 
Sykes was installed in charge of the Salmo 
hatchery by James Nevin, the State Super- 
intendent, at its inception in 1895. Upon 
his work he has brought to bear a know- 
ledge gained from long years of experience, 
and by his well directed and intelligent ef- 
forts he has succeeded in making this one of 
the model fish hatcheries of the United 
States. 

Mr. Sykes was married Jan. 26, 1890, 
to Miss Lillie M. DeBow, who has borne him 
six children^ namely: Esther M., Henry L., 
Lawrence E., Ella, Robert C, and Eva 
Henrietta. Mrs. Sykes is a native of Trem- 
pealeau county, Wis., and a daughter of 
John L. DeBow, a native of New York 
State, whose father, Peter DeBow, was a 
captain in the war of 181 2. John L. De- 
Bow came to Wisconsin when a lad, set- 
tling first in Waukesha, and subsequently in 
Trempealeau county, more than fifty years 
ago. He died there in 1892. His wife was 
Alary A. Larkin.s, who survives him, and 
is an honored resident of Trempealeau coun- 
ty. Fraternally Mr. Sykes is a member of 
the Masonic lodge at Bayfield. 

REV. APOLLONIUS HOPDEGARD, 
pastor of St. Joseph's Catholic church at 
Shell Lake, was born in Rouen, Normandy, 
France, in 1856. His parents were Apol- 
lonius and Felicitie Hopdegard, the former 
a prosperous merchant who lived and died 
at Rouen. 

Rev. Apollonius Plopdegard received a 
thorough elementary education in his native 
place, studied civil engineering in the Cen- 
tral School in Paris and took a supplemen- 
tary course in the same department in Ken- 
sington University, London, where he grad- 



124 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



uated in 1887. After following this profes- 
sion for a time in Belgium he began the 
study of theology at the Grand Seminary in 
Rouen, and after finishing this course was 
for two years professor of Natural Science 
at Yvetot College. He then spent another 
year in the university, and in 1892 came to 
the United States, locating at Durand, Wis., 
as assistant pastor of the Catholic church. 
The next year he became pastor of Holy 
Ghost church at Chippewa Falls, going 
from there, in 1895, to Rice Lake, where he 
was in charge of St. Joseph's church until 
the fall of 1902, when he came to St. Jo- 
seph's at Shell Lake. This church was built 
in 1895, the congregation, which now in- 
cludes about sixty families, having been or- 
ganized some years earlier. Father Hqpde- 
gard also has charge of the church at 
Spooner, which was built at an earlier late, 
and which includes about fifty families. 

Father Hopdegard is much interested in 
electrical science, and finds his chief recrea- 
tion in experimenting with electrical appara- 
tus. He has devised a number of useful ap- 
pliances, including an automobile and an 
electrical clocks which plays a different tune 
for each hour of the day and generates suffi- 
cient power to propel all the clocks of a 
large city. He also draws plans and takes 
contracts for city lighting plants, and is a 
practical man of business as well as an able 
scholar and an elocjuent speaker. 

HON. LEWIS H. MEAD, one of the 
best known citizens of Shell Lake, Wash- 
burn county, was born in Marshall, Dane 
county. Wis., Sept. 26, 1853, son of Willard 
Preston and Julia M. (Morrill) Mead, na- 
tives, respectively of Miloon, N. Y., and 
Houlton, Maine. 

The ancestors of Lewis H. Mead came 
from England in 1635 and settled at Horse 
Neck, Conn., he being of the ninth genera- 
tion in the United States. Members of the 
family have taken part in all the wars of 
this country since the settlement of the Col- 
onies. The great-great-grandfather of 
Lewis PI., was Zebulon Mead, who served 
as a scout in the Continental army, taking 



part in Ethan Allen's expedition to Ticon- 
deroga, and in other Revolutionary cam- 
paigns. He was a native of Connecticut, 
and, after the Revolution^ went, with six of 
his brothers, to Pennsylvania, where they 
founded the city of Meadville. His grand- 
son, Martin Mead, moved with his family 
to Wisconsin in 1842, where he was one of 
the pioneers of Marshall, Dane county, re- 
maining there the rest of his life. His wife, 
Mehitable, was the first person to be buried 
there. 

Willard Preston Mead, son of Martin, 
carried on a mercantile business in Marshall 
for a number of years. In 1882 he went to 
Canova, S. D., and located on a farm, 
where he died March 19, 1900, aged seven- 
ty-six. His wife, Mrs. Julia M. (Morrill) 
Mead, died at Marshall, Wis., June 19, 
1863, at the age of thirty-three. Her pa- 
rents, Lewis and Lydia Morrill, were also 
pioneers in Wisconsin, settling in 1843 at 
Marshall, where her father combined the 
callings of farmer and blacksmith. 

Lewis H. Mead attended the public 
school and lived on the farm until he was 
nineteen, when he had the misfortune to 
lose his right hand in a threshing machine. 
After this he taught school for several 
years, part of the time in the graded schools 
of Waterloo and Columbus, Wis. At the 
same time he studied law with Smith & 
Rogers, prominent attorneys of Madison, 
and was admitted to the bar Nov. 22, 1882. 
He practiced at Hudson, Wis., until July, 
1883, when he came to Shell Lake, where 
he has ever since been a successful practi- 
tioner. During his residence in Washburn 
county, Mr. Mead has continuously filled 
some public position. He was county judge 
for fourteen years, and since 1896 has been 
district attorney. During the sessions of 
1889 and 1 89 1 he was a member of the 
State Assembly, serving upon important 
committees, including that of the Judiciary. 
He drew and introduced the bill providing 
for revision of the Log and Lumber Lien 
Law, which was passed, also the Hotel Dead 
Beat Law. For four years he was a mem- 
ber of the Republican State Central Com- 



CORIiMEjMORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



125 



mittee. Since 1884 he has been a delegate 
to every Republican State convention, and 
he has done niucli valuable campaign work, 
taking the stump in support of his party 
ticket. Mr. Mead has invested largely in 
real estate, having a farm in Washjjurn 
county, and another of 280 acres, of which 
135 acres are under cultivation, eight miles 
west of Shell Lake, in Burnett county. His 
example has done much to encourage the 
development of agriculture in northern 
Wisconsin, and he is now breeding Poland- 
China swine and other choice live stock. 

Mr. Mead married (first) March 19, 
1884, Ella M. Stratton, a native of Clam 
River, Wis., who died in December^ 1885, 
when only twenty-four years of age. She 
was a member of the Baptist church. He 
married (second) at Lodi, Wis., Sept. 14, 
1887, S. Evelyn Todd, who was born in 
Merrimac, Wis., daughter of Rev. M. G. 
Todd (deceased), one of the most promi- 
nent Universalist ministers in the State. 
Judge Mead has always taken a great inter- 
est in religious work, and is a trustee of the 
M. E. church at Shell Lake, although both 
he and his wife are Unitarians in belief. He 
is a member of the Wisconsin Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution, has been 
since 1885 identified with the L O. O. F., 
having instituted Shell Lake Lodge No. 67 
in 1886, and been Grand Master of Wiscon- 
sin in 1895, and is a member of Sliell Lake 
Encampment and Superior Canton. 

FRANK WILLIS EATON, one of the 
successful prospectors on the Vermillion 
and Mesaba Ranges, has been a resident of 
Duluth since 1870, and one of her most re- 
spected citizens. Mr. Eaton comes of an 
old Colonial family, his first paternal an- 
cestor in America having come hither in the 
"Mayflower," and many of the name have 
been conspicuous in civil, military and pro- 
fessional life. Joshua Eaton, his grand- 
father, was a farmer and lived and died in 
New Hampshire. 

James Eaton, father nf Frank \\'., was 
a native of Sandown, N. IT., and during his 
business life was engaged in the manufac- 



ture of shoes there, also conducting a mer- 
cantile business. He was one of the found- 
ers of Manchester, N. H. His death oc- 
curred in 1S53, when he was forty-six years 
of age. He was an active member of the 
M. E. church. James Eaton Married Bet- 
sey F. Hunkins, who was also born in San- 
down, N. H., and who long survived him, 
dying in Duluth Aug. 8, 1896, at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-four years. She was 
a daughter of John Hunkins, a wagon- 
maker, who carried on business at Sandown, 
and who reached the age of eighty-seven 
years. The Hunkins were also an old New 
England family. 

Frank Willis Eaton was born June 17, 
1849, in Sandown, N. H., and was reared 
in his native State, during his boyhood at- 
tending the public schools at Manchester 
and Kingston Academ)^ When sixteen 
years of age he began to learn shoemaking 
and followed that trade for some time, but 
outdoor life appealed most to him, and in 
1868 he came W^est to Minnesota. His 
first location was at Cottage Grove, and 
later he was at Taylors Falls, and while at 
these places he was engaged at intervals in 
making shingles by hand, but spent much 
of his time in the w^oods hunting. and fish- 
ing. In 1870 he came to Duluth, where he 
has since made his home, though he con- 
tinued to pass a great deal of time in the 
woods, prospecting for timber and mineral 
lands, in which he has dealt, both buying 
and selling, up to the present time. In re- 
cent years he has given his chief attention 
to mineral lands on the Vermillion and 
Mesaba Ranges, and still owns a number of 
valuable locations on these ranges. It was 
he who located the scrip for the famous 
"Section Thirty," over which there has 
been so much litigation. Mr. Eaton has 
taken quite an active interest in the afifairs 
of Duluth and has served eight years as al- 
derman. His political leanings are toward 
the Democratic party, but he is independent 
in his stand. 

On Rlay i, 1871. Mr. Eaton was united 
in marriage with Susan F. Clark, daughter 
of .\l)ner and Abigail (Sanborn) Clark, of 



126 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Samlown, X. 11. , and granddaughter of 
Natlianiel Clark, who ran a gristmill at 
Sandown, which place has been the home 
of the family for generations. Abner 
Clark also operated a large gristmill as well 
as a shingle, flouring and cider mill. He 
reached the age of seventy-six years, dying 
at Sandown, and his wife lived to the age of 
seventy-four. Mr. Clark and his parents 
were all prominent in the work of tlie M. E. 
church, and he was quite prominent in the 
public afifairs of his locality, filling several 
positions of trust. 

Mr. and Mrs. Eaton are the parents of 
seven children: James C, now connected 
with a grain firm and operating on the Board 
of Trade; Willis S., a teller in the First Nat- 
ional Bank of Duluth ; Gertrude, a teacher in 
the public schools of Duluth ; Frank G. ; 
Grover C. ; Pauline, and Susan. The family 
attend the M. E. Church. 

RICHARD CANDLING EVANS, an 
esteemed citizen of Phillips, Price county, 
was born in Newtow-n, Montgomeryshire, 
Wales, May 14, 1828, the son of David and 
Jane (Owens) Evans, and grandson of 
David Evans, Sr., foreman of a shipyard m 
Liverpool. The Evans family was well 
known in Wales, w'here Dr. Christian Evans 
a cousin of Rev. David Evans, was a very 
prominent physician and at one time treated 
the royal family. 

Uavid Evans, father of Richard Candling, 
was educated for the ministry of the Episco- 
pal Church. In 1836 he came to the United 
States and settled in Oneida county, N. Y., 
and while there became converted to Metho- 
dist doctrines, joined that church and 
preached there for a number of years. About 
1852 he went to Manitowoc, Wis., and from 
there w'ent to North Dakota, in 1874, where 
his death occurred in Jamestown, in his 
eighty-ninth year. Mrs. Jane (Owens) 
Evans passed away in Manitowoc county. 
Wis., in 1862, in the sixty-ninth year of her 
age. She w^as the mother of two sons and 
a daughter, as follows: John, who served 
through the Civil war, in the United States 
Light Artillerv, and whose death occurred 



in 1 89 1, near Oswego Center, N. Y. ; Jane, 
who married Peter Wederman, and died in 
Jamestown, N. Dak., and Richard Candling. 
Richard C. Evans was sent to school 
until he was fourteen years old, and then he 
began working in the boat yards on the Erie 
Canal, in New London, N. Y. His educa- 
tion, however, did not entirely cease, for dur- 
ing his six years in New London, he attend- 
ed a night school. In 1848 he went to Wis- 
consin, most of the way by boat, and landed 
at Port Washington. He located first at 
Manitowoc Rapids, and engaged in farming 
and lumbering for a few years, after wdiich 
he went to Brown county, and spent ten years 
operating shingle mills near Green Bay. 

This business proved congenial to Mr. 
Evans, and he was successful at it, but con- 
ditions appeared even more favorable in 
Dorchester, Wis., so in 1875 ^^ removed 
thither, and built a saw and shingle mill, but 
only operated it two years before he had a 
good opportunity to sell out. In 1881 he 
went to Hamlin county, S. Dak., and entered 
a "tree claim," near Castlewood, where he 
lived nominally for about twelve years, but 
spent most of his time traveling as an insur- 
ance agent or civil engineer. His home in 
Castlew^ood was one which he had built for 
himself, and he also owned a store building 
there. 

After leaving Castlewood, Mr. Evans 
traveled for several years through the South 
and West, but in 1898 settled down in 
Phillips, and has resided there ever since. 
His home is a pleasant one with ample 
grounds, and he gives much attention to 
horticulture. He is one of the directors of 
the State Bank of Phillips. His ventures 
have been very generally successful, and he 
can afford to take life easily now. Mr. 
Evans was the namesake and legal heir of a 
maternal great-uncle, Richard Candling, who 
left a considerable estate in Wales, but Mr. 
Evans has never attempted to prove his 
claim. 

Ever since the Republican party was 
formed Mr. Evans has been a member of it, 
and was a delegate to the first county con- 
vention the party held in Manitowoc county. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



127 



His first vote was cast in 1852, for Gen. 
Scott, when he was a presidential candidate. 
Mr. Evans was formerly chairman of the 
county board, and since 1892, the supervisor 
of the first ward in the city of Phillips. 

In October, 1849, ^l""- Evans was mar- 
ried at Cedarburg, Wis., to his first wife, 
Sarah Ann Allen, daughter of James Allen, 
of Ozaukee county. Mrs. Evans was born 
in Oneida county, N. Y., in 1826, and died 
in Cato, Manitowoc county, Wis., in 1865, 
leaving four children, namely : Richard Tru- 
man, of Hamlin county, S. Dak. ; John E., 
of Tacoma, W'ash. ; Ella B., widow of Ed- 
ward Winchester, of Phillips; and Lela A., 
who married Dr. Phelan, of Duluth, and 
died July 15, 1904, aged forty-one years, 
leaving two children, Cleopatra and Francis 
Evans. Mrs. Evans was a member of the 
Methodist Church. 

Mr. Evans's second wife was Mrs. Jane 
A. West, of Cato, to whom he was married 
in December, 1867, and by whom he has 
had one child, Elizabeth ]., now Mrs. C. K. 
Randall, of Phillips. Mr. Evans has thir- 
teen grandchildren and three great-grand- 
children. 

Mrs. Jane A. Evans is a native of Ver- 
mont, lx)rn in Montpelier. She was first 
married to George W' . West, who was killed 
in the Civil war. He had enlisted at Cato, 
Wis., in Company K, 21st Wis. V. I., was 
wounded at the battle of Perryville, and died 
in a hospital. His widow was left with two 
children: James E., the deputy United 
States Marshal of Norfolk, Va., who is 
married and has three children ; and Georgia 
E., who married Francis Ilobson, of St. 
Paul, and has one child. 

Mr. Evans's memory is very good, and 
he recalls with interest the many changes in 
manners and customs, as well as in the metli- 
ods of doing business, which he has seen in 
the course of his long life. When he was 
first married he and his bride moved into 
the woods with all their worldly possessions 
in two trunks, drawn by an ox team, and 
when he was ready. for the "raising" of his 
log house, all the neighbors within four miles 
came to assist in the ceremony. From that 



to his present comfortable way of living is 
a change indeed, but only one of many. 

ELIAS L. URQUHART. Few busi- 
ness men have displayed greater versatility 
than has this enterprising resident of Med- 
ford, Taylor county, who after some years 
of successful work as an estimator and lum- 
ber dealer, is now engaged in the real estate 
and insurance business. While his work has 
always demanded and received close atten- 
tion, he has also found time to take a prom- 
inent part in public affairs, and his well 
known ability and energy have been almost 
continually called into service by his fellow 
citizens. Mr. Urquhart is a Canadian, born 
in Glengarry, Ont., Jan. 15, 1846. 

W'illiam Urquhart, his great-grandfa- 
ther, came from Inverness, Scotland, about 
1770, and settled at Glengarry, then an al- 
nnjst unbroken wilderness. He made his 
home on a farm, and died there in his nine- 
tieth year. His son, Alexander, lived and 
died in the same locality, as did also James 
of the next generation. James Urquhart 
married Margaret Leonard, born in County 
Down, Ireland. Her father was Capt. 
Elias Leonard, for many years in the British 
army. She lived to be ninety-two years old, 
while her husband reached only the appoint- 
ed three score years and ten. 

Elias Urquhart attended the public" 
schools of his vicinity until he was sixteen, 
and at nineteen went to the United States, 
where he engaged in lumbering in Michi- 
gan for five years. In 1870 he removed 
to Wausau, Wis., and the next year to 
Oconto, where he was employed in logging, 
estimating and surveying, until 1876, after 
which he was similarly employed in West- 
boro, Taylor Co. Since 1880 he has re- 
sided in Medford. For a few years he oper- 
ated a sawmill there, and until 1890 was 
connected in .some way with the lumber in- 
dustry, but since then has done a real es- 
tate and insurance business. He has platted 
three additions to the city, handles both city 
and farm property, and has himself im- 
proved several farms. 

Mr. LVquhart is Republican in his 



128 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



views, and is quite prominent in the party 
ranks locally. For two years he made a 
very competent sheriff and for fifteen 
served on the county board of supervisors, 
eleven years of that time being chairman of 
the board. During President Harrison's 
administration he was appointed postmaster 
and acted as such the full four years. For 
the past eleven years he has been on the 
city board of education. 

On June 23, 1874, Mr. Urquhart was 
married to Miss Catherine Devereux, born 
in County Mavo, Ireland, the daughter of 
Bridget and Anthony Devereux. To this 
union have come nine children, as follows : 
Kenneth J., an attorney in Medford; Lionel 
L., bookkeeper in the State Bank of Med- 
ford; Norman A., a stenographer; Roy S., 
a student at Gilbert Business College at 
Milwaukee; Marion E., in the Wisconsin 
University; Catherine M., Helen D., Anna 
E., and Elias A. 

Mr. Urquhart has long been connected 
with the Masonic body. He was first mas- 
ter of the local lodge, and first High Priest 
of the chapter. He is also identified with 
the Commandery, K. T., at Stevens Point, 
and the Wisconsin Consistory at Milwau- 
kee. He is also a charter member and Past 
Grand of Medford Lodge, I. O. O. F., and 
belongs to the local organizations of the K. 
O. T. M., the M. W. A. and the Equitable 
Fraternal Union. At present (1904) he is 
mayor of the city of Medford and chairman 
of the county board. 

O. E. PEDERSON. Among the 
many citizens of Rusk county who have 
served the public to their utmost O. E. Pe- 
derson, of Ladysmith, is particularly con- 
spicuous, as he has not only been prominent 
in every progressive movement, but has 
himself inaugurated several, besides bemg 
one of the heaviest investors in town and 
county property, which he has done much 
to improve and render more valuable. His 
services, too, have been at the disposal of his 
townsmen in several official capacities, 
where his energy, wise counsel and ability 
have been most advantageously employed. 



Mr. Pederson is in the very prime of 
life, having been born Nov. 15, 1867. His 
birthplace was Winneconne, Wis., where 
his father, August Pederson, still resides. 
August Pederson was one of the early set- 
tlers in Wisconsin, whither he emigrated 
from Norway when twenty-one years of 
age. He was a carpenter by trade and had 
thoroughly mastered his business before 
leaving his native land. His wife, Regena 
(Olson), was also a native of Norway, but 
their marriage occurred in America. There 
were three children born to this marriage, 
of w'hom O. E. Pederson was the eldest. 

The early education of Mr. Pederson 
was acquired in the public schools of Wis- 
consin, after which he attended the Normal 
School at Valparaiso, Ind., for a year and 
then entered Lawrence University at Apple- 
ton, Wis. He attended this college for three 
years, his course having been interrupted by 
two years of teaching in the public schools. 
Upon leaving the university, at the age of 
twenty-four, Mr. Pederson became the 
nominee of the Republican party for county 
superintendent of schools for Winnebago 
county, and was elected. This position he 
filled for four consecutive terms of two years 
each, resigning in his last term in order to 
enter business life. In these eight years 
he accomplished much for the schools 
of his county, and raised them to a greatly 
advanced condition. 

In 1900 the position of cashier of the 
First National Bank of Ladysmith was of-, 
fered to Mr. Pederson^ and in the spring 
of that year he moved to the town. The 
first summer was occupied in superintend- 
ing the construction of the bank building, 
which was completed and opened that fall. 
During this year he built his own residence, 
the first of any consequence in Ladysmith, 
and invested largely in real estate in the 
town. Pie at once took an active part in 
the development of the region, and in at- 
tracting settlers from outside. He rose rap- 
idly in the bank business and became presi- 
dent, but resigned in 1903 to devote his 
whole attention to the real estate business. 
His holdings in Rusk county amounted to 




^(^. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



129 



over $100,000 worth, and he has been emi- 
nently successful in his nianaoement ot 
them. In 1903, alone, his sales aggregated 
$75,000, and in the same year he induced 
eigliteen actual settlers to locate in the 
county, people for the most part from Iowa, 
Nebraska and Minnesota. 

From his very arrival in Ladysmith Mr. 
Pederson became the champion of the 
cause of good roads, which he succeeded in 
making one of the local political issues, and 
one on which he was elected unanimously 
as chairman of the town of Flambeau, at 
that time comprising seven townships. In 
this capacity he made as heavy a levy for 
road purpose as the law permitted and pro- 
ceeded at once to open up roads. In 1901 
twenty-one miles were opened, all on section 
lines. During the same year rose the agi- 
tation over the creation of a new county out 
of Chippewa county; there was strong op- 
position from some of the citizens but Mr. 
Pederson was a vigorous champion of the 
measure from the start, and did much ef- 
fectual work before the committee of both 
the State Senate and Assembly. As a con- 
sequence he was elected the first chair- 
man of the new County Board, but be- 
fore any steps could be taken the op- 
position again became active and, on the 
ground that the Legislature had no author- 
ity to locate the county seat, secured an in- 
junction against Mr. Pederson as chair- 
man, restraining him from issuing bonds 
for building the court house and for money 
to defray the incidental expenses. The case 
was taken before Judge Parrish, of the Cir- 
cuit Court, who sustained the enactment of 
the Legislature, and when an appeal was 
taken to the Supreme Court of the State, 
the ruling of the lower court was sustained. 
The cjuestion once settled all parties turned 
their attention to the development of the 
new .county, and during Mr. Pederson's 
term of office as chairman of the County 
Board, the proper civil divisions and the 
towns of True, Grant, Marshall and Stubbs 
were laid out. This subdivision was of the 
greatest advantage to the people, inasmuch 
as it brought about a fair and equal dis- 



tribution of patronage, benefiting the citi- 
zens of the different towns alike and pro- 
moting more harmonious relations. 

]\lr. Pederson's life is as complete on 
its domestic side as in its public aspect. 
While attending Lawrence University, he 
met Miss Myrtie Eno, daughter of Edward 
Eno, a young lady of culture and most 
pleasing personality, and the mutual attach- 
ment resulted in their marriage, celebrated 
in Winneconne, Sept. 9, 1895. Of the 
three children born to them, only two are 
living, Gertrude and Myrtie. 

In fraternal relations Mr. Pederson is 
a Mason of the Knight Templar degree; he 
is a charter member of Mystic Lodge, and 
assisted in initiating the first Mason in Rusk 
county. He is a man of the highest character 
and of broad culture, familiar with all the 
progressive thought of the day and this, 
added to his deep public spirit and vital in- 
terest in the essential welfare of his town and 
county, has won him the highest respect and 
esteem of his fellow citizens, while his 
strong domestic qualities and devotion to 
his home and family give him one more 
worthy claim upon their consideration, 

ADOLPH HABELT. An early set- 
tler, a successful business man and a leader 
in local politics, probably no one in Pratt 
township is more influential than Adolph 
Habelt, whose well-known probity in all 
dealings, whether public or private, has won 
him the unreserved confidence and respect 
of all who know him. 

Mr. Habelt was born in 1865 in Austria, 
where he was reared and educated in the 
common schools. He came to America 
when he was eighteen, landing in New 
York. He went West immediately and 
settled first in Ashland Co., Wis., where he 
worked at lumbering, either in the woods 
or in the sawmills and luml)er yards, for 
two years. In 1883 he removed to Bayfield 
county and has been identified with that 
place ever since. In 1899 he erected a 
shingle mill in Pratt, which he has o])erated 
each season since with great success, and 
also fills contracts for cedar posts, logs, tan 



I30 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



bark, etc. He employs a force of forty or 
iifty men. 

Mr. Habelt was married in 1888 to 
Katie Gilles, and they have a family of six 
■daughters: Frances, Mary, Katie, Rosa, 
Maggie and Esther. 

From the time of his settling in Bay- 
field county Mr. Habelt has taken a leading 
part in local affairs, for his interest in the 
public welfare was genuine and deep-seated. 
At the second township election of officers 
he was chosen chairman of the town board 
antl has been re-elected four times, while 
from the very organization of the township 
he has been secretary of the school board. 
A Republican in his views, he has been a 
delegate to county conventions and is a 
member from his township of the County 
Republican Central Committee. 

Mr. Habelt is public-spirited and enter- 
prising, with the ultimate good of the public 
always at heart, and as the representative of 
his fellow citizens he protects their interests 
with the same fearlessness and care that he 
gives to his own affairs. The natural re- 
sult of this has been a constant increase in 
his influence for good and his voice in the 
party councils is listened to with deep con- 
sideration. 

D. W. BLACKBURN (deceased) was 
one of the original settlers of Bruce, Wis., 
and was long prominently identified with 
the growth and development of this section. 

Mr. Blackburn was born, reared and ed- 
ucated at Montreal. Quebec, at the age of 
eighteen years coming to Michigan. SuJjse- 
quently he returned to Canada, but came to 
Bruce. Wis., in 1884. Here he followed 
lumbering, loggin"" and contracting, as did 
the majority of the earliest settlers, and his 
energies were so devoted until his death, 
March 2, 1903, at the age of fifty- four 
years, 

Mr. Blackburn built and conducted the 
"Blackburn House," constructing three 
buildings on the same site, fire destroying 
two of them. He actively participated in local 
affairs, and. while in no sense a politician, he 
was called to fill several offices of trust and 
rc-ivmsibilitv. Prior to the division, he 



was deputy sheriff of Chippewa county, was 
township chairman a number of years, was 
president of the school board and officiated 
in offices of lesser note. Mr. Blackburn 
was survived by four children : Mrs. Dou- 
gal Skelley, William A., Thomas H. and 
Mrs. H. Charrey. 

WILLIAM A. BLACKBURN, eldest 
son of the late D. W. Blackburn, is cashier 
of the Lumberman State Bank, at Bruce, 
Wis. He was born in 1877, in Canada, and 
was eight years old when he accompanied 
his parents to Wisconsin. His education 
was secured in the schools at Bruce, and 
since he has attained his majority, he has 
been actively interested in enterprises in this 
town. His entrance into business life was in 
the lumbering business, interested with his 
father, and was so engaged when troops were 
called for in the Spanish-American war in 
1898. He enlisted in the Third United 
States Infantry, but soon after was trans- 
ferred to the Hospital corps. He was sta- 
tioned first at Fort Snelling and then was 
transferred to Chickamauga Park and still 
later to Fort Meade, at which point he was 
discharged in 1899, after a service of ten 
months. Mr. Blackburn then returned to 
Brace and resumed business in partnership 
with Glen H. Williams and continued until 
1901. When the Bank of Bruce was organ- 
ized he became its cashier, and when it was 
absorbed by the Lumberman State Bank he 
was retained as assistant cashier, and since 
that time has been advanced to the cashier- 
ship, a position he is most efficiently filling 
at the present time. 

Fraternally Mr. Blackburn is a member 
of Mystic Tie Lodge, A. F. & A. M., at 
Ladvsmith, and Knights of Pythias and 
Modern Woodmen at Bruce. In politics Mr. 
Blackburn is a Republican, has served as a 
delegate to various conventions and has offi- 
ciated as town clerk, school clerk, village 
treasurer, and in other capacities. The Black- 
Imrn name is one indissolubly connected 
with the foimding and development of this 
section, having been, borne by one of the 
active incorporators of the village, a leader 
in the organization of- Gates (now Rusk) 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



county, and interested in every matter con- 
nected with tlie building up of the territory. 

PETER J. PETERSON (deceased), 
one of the i^ioneers of the Upper Lake Re- 
gion, was for many years a resident of 
Eond du Lac, Minn., and there laid the 
foundation of his l(,)rtune. He was born 
in Sweden in 1824, and passed his 
early life in his native land, where he 
was reared to mercantile pursuits. In 
1852 Mr. Peterson came to America, lo- 
cating first at Chicago, where he met 
the lady who soon afterward became his 
wife. In 1857 they decided to remove to 
Superior, Wis., and made the trip thither 
on the "Lady Elgin," the steamer which 
was afterward wrecked near Racine. The 
Petersons were disappointed at the pros- 
pects offered at Superior and so went on to 
Eond du Lac, then a promising frontier vil- 
lage. Mr. Peterson took up a homestead 
claim on two islands in the St. Louis river, 
named Nekuk and Amik, signifying, re- 
spectively, Otter and Beaver. He made his 
home on these islands, carried on farming 
and trading with the Indians for many years 
and became wealthy. Later he bought prop- 
erty in Fond du Lac, which he improved, 
and which became quite valuable. 

In 1856 Mr. Peterson married Miss 
Christina M. Olson, who was born in Swe- 
den in 1823, and came to America in 1854. 
They had six children, five of whom were 
bom and reared in Eond du Lac : Charles 
A., of Duluth; Oscar A., who died Sept. 4, 
1902, aged forty-two; Alma M., the wife 
of Frank F. Porter, now of Oakland, Cal. ; 
Emile, a graduate of the business college, 
and now a druggist in Duluth, and Hilma, a 
popular teacher in the Fond du Lac schools. 
The children have all received good educa- 
tional advantages. Miss Hilma Peterson 
was a student at the Winona State Normal 
School, where she prepared herself for her 
profession, and she has taught continuously 
since 1893 in Fond du Lac, where she is 
not only liked by her pupils, but is justly 
popular with a large circle of friends and ac- 
quaintances, who have been attracted by her 
pleasing personality and fine character. 



Peter J. Peterson was a notable figure 
in Fond du Lac in many ways. A Repub- 
lican in his views, he was justice of the 
peace for eight years, and generally promi- 
nent in local politics. His interest was es- 
pecially aroused along educational lines, and 
he served as member of the school board for 
some time. In religious belief he was a 
Lutheran, and of a deeply religious nature. 
For years his house was the appointed place 
for the services held by the Swedish Luth- 
erans of the region, and he was always fore- 
most in their good works. Mr. Peterson 
passed away in August, 1873, and his re- 
mains were interred on the homestead. His 
wife still survives and makes her home with 
her daughter, Hilma. 

CAPT. RICHARD GILBERT CO- 
BURN was one of the enterprising pioneers 
of Superior, Douglas county, who did much 
towards its early development. Fie was 
born in Seneca Falls, N. Y., in 1825, the 
son of Israel Coburn. The Coburns are of 
English and Irish descent, and were among 
the heirs of Lord Chief Justice Coburn, of 
England. The first immigrant of the fatu- 
ily settled at Dorset, Mass. 

Israel Coburn was born at Lisle, Onon- 
daga Co., N. Y., and was a farmer and 
lumberman by occupation. He died of chol- 
era in 1832, and left a widow and six small 
children. His widow, whose maiden name 
was Maria Kirkland, was a native of Say- 
brook, Conn., born in 1799. She came of 
a long-lived family, and died in 18S2 in 
Chautauqua county. New York. 

When Richard Coburn was only three 
years old his parents moved to Chautauqua 
county. Four years later his father died, 
and at the early age of sixteen the boy be- 
came the main support of his mother and 
of the younger children. In the fall of 1856 
he went to Superior, as his health necessi- 
tated a change of climate, and from that 
time his fortunes were bound up with those 
of the future city. 

Capt. Coburn first took charge of a ware- 
house on the present site of Quebec Pier, 
at the end of a few years bought out his em- 
ployer, Mr. Robliili«, -mil rnndtirln.l if for 



132 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



himself, lie also opened a general store 
and ixi a short time had the leading mercan- 
tile business on Lake Superior. Another 
venture was the purchase of the schooner 
"Neptune," which had sunk on the outside 
of Wisconsin Point and had been aban- 
doned. He floated the vessel, repaired it 
and operated it until 1863, using it to de- 
liver the product of a sawmill at Millford, 
now West Duluth, in which he was inter- 
ested, at the mines where the lumber was 
sold. In company with Mr. Peyton he 
bought the schooner "Pierpont," which they 
operated together for some years, and then 
Capt. Coburn purchased his partner's inter- 
est and ran the boat alone until 1871. For 
a time he owned two mills, and was still 
farther interested in the line of developing 
the silver mines on an island near the north 
shore of Lake Superior. 

In the fall of 1877 Capt. Coburn went to 
Buffalo to educate his children, but still 
spent a large part of his time in Superior. 
He was occupied in filling three of the first 
contracts with the United States Govern- 
ment for the improvement of the harbor at 
Superior. There was great opposition to 
the work at both Duluth and Milwaukee, 
but Capt. Coburn secured the appropriation 
in spite of it. His contracts amounted 
to about $60,000 per annum for three years. 
While in this enterprise he bought the first 
tug used in the harbor, the "Agate," and 
later the "Amethyst." For some years pre- 
vious he had piloted all the steamers in. In 
his coasting about the Head of the Lakes 
for timber, he had become more familiar 
with the coast all through that region than 
any one else on the lakes. 

Capt. Coburn met with various reverses, 
but his courage never deserted him. At 
Christmas, 1870, his store was burned, en- 
tailing a heavy loss, as he could collect only 
a slight insurance. The loss of "The Nep- 
tune," at Eagle Harbor, loaded with lumber, 
was another misfortune, while he lost still 
more lumber at Marquette. One vessel 
which ran aground on the outer shore of 
Minnesota Point was sa\'ed, however, by 
an ingenious device. Ca])t. Coburn floated 



lumber across the natural channel and di- 
verted the current to another channel which 
he opened across the Point, and thereby 
brought the vessel through safely. 

In 1 85 1 Capt. Coburn was married to 
Miss Charlotte McManus, who was born in 
Chautauqua Co., N. Y., the daughter of 
William and Maria (Barber) McManus. 
Mrs. Coburn was of Scotch descent. Her 
paternal grandfather, Christopher McMan- 
us, served in the Continental army through 
the Revolutionary war, and lost one foot in 
the terrible winter at Valley Forge. Her 
father was born at Lisle, N. Y., and with 
six of his seven brothers served through the 
war of 181 2, taking part in the battles of 
Fort Erie and Buffalo. The maternal 
grandfather, Thomas Barber, also served 
in the Continental army, enlisting in New 
York. 

To the union of Capt. and J*Irs. Coburn 
came three sons and two daughters : Ro- 
selle, the captain of a steamer on Lake Su- 
perior ; George, who was drowned at the age 
of eighteen; Richard Percy, of Duluth; 
Hattie May, who married J. C. Bertand, of 
Superior, and Fannie A., a teacher of music 
and a kindergartner. 

In early life Capt. Coburn was a Demo- 
crat, but after the Civil war began, he be- 
came a Republican. He volunteered for 
service, but was rejected for physical disa- 
bility. Fraternally he belongs to the Ma- 
sons and to the I. O. O. F., having joined 
both while in Ohio. The captain was a 
member of the Methodist Church, while his 
wife is a Presbyterian. 

The death of Capt. Coburn occurred at 
his home in Superior, Jan. 25, 1892, an 
event greatly regretted by all who knew 
him. He was the embodiment of kindness,- 
and was ever ready to put himself to any 
trouble in order to assist or accommodate 
a friend. 

JOHN E. SEALY, sherifT of Iron 
county, has been a well known citizen of 
Hurley since his coming there in 1886. He 
is a native of Wisconsin, having been born 
in Berlin, Green Lake county, Dec. 22, 



COAIMEiMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECOI^LD 



133 



1858. His parents, John E. and Eliza 
(Higgs) Sealv, were natives, respectively, 
of Ireland and England. John E. Sealy, 
St., came to the United States when 
a young man and settled at Eond du Lac, 
Wis., where he found employment as a 
well driller. He followed that occupation 
until his death, which occurred June i, 
1873. His wife survived him only a year. 
They had a family of five children, all of 
whom hut one are living, John E. being the 
third eldest. 

John E. Sealy attended the public 
schools in Fond du Lac until he was fifteen 
years old. He then went to work for a time 
as a well driller, after which he was em- 
ployed for a few years in a shingling mill. 
He next worked at various occupations until 
1886, when he came to Hurley. For the 
past fifteen years he has held some official 
position, much of the time being connected 
with the police force in different capacities. 
At one time he served as under sheriff for 
e.K-Sheriff Frank Logan, and he was also 
game warden for L^on county. He was 
then chief of police until 1903. when he was 
elected sheriff of Iron county, and at present 
he is filling the office of under sheriff for 
J. J. Defer. 

On March 22, 1885, Mr. Sealy married 
Nettie Trader, daughter of Henry and Al- 
vira (Thrusher) Trader. For many years 
Mr. Trader was a liveryman of New Lon- 
don, but he and his wife are how living on 
a farm in Outagamie county, Wis. Mrs. 
Sealy was the eldest of their family of six 
children. To Mr. and Mrs. Sealy have been 
horn the following children : Florence, 
Earl, John, Maud, Marie and Clarence, at 
home, and Arthur, deceased. Mr. Sealy 
is a Republican in politics. Fraternally he 
is a member of the K. of P., Ciogebic Lodge 
No. 88, of Hurley, and the A." O. U. W., 
Northern Lodge No. 51, of Hurley. 

GEORGE D. CLINE, editor of the 
Tr:!t- Rcpublicoii, of Hudson, Wis., is a son 
of John and Mary ( McManus) Cline, of 
fiercer county. Pa. The father was a farmer 
in Pcnnsvlvania until 18^1. when. l)elieving 



that the West offered better opportunities 
for a man with a family, he crossed the 
State of Wisconsin from Milwaukee, a dis- 
tance of 225 miles, by team, to Hazel Green 
when the land was all a wilderness. He did 
not locate there, but retraced his journey 
a few miles to Fayette, where he purchased 
250 acres of prairie land and started to make 
a home. Later five brothers joined him and 
they all settled in the same neighborhood. 
He improved his farm and continued to 
operate it until 1888, when he retired. He 
is still alive at the advanced age of eighty- 
seven years. His wife passed away in De- 
cember, 1 89 1. They had seven children: 
Margaret, deceased; Sarah, who lives at 
Fayette; John T., who lives at Lamont; 
George D. ; Melvina, who lives in Iowa ; 
Fannie, who lives in Fayette; Melissa, who 
lives at Darlington. John Cline was a Dem- 
ocrat, and served faithfully as town treas- 
urer, assessor and upon the county board, 
being a man of prominence and responsibil- 
ity, and he still takes a great interest in local 
affairs. In religion he is a good Methodist, 
and has lived up to the creed he professes. 

George D. Cline received his early edu- 
cation in the home schools, later attending 
the State Uhiversity, from which he was 
graduated in the class of 1872. In 1876 he 
took a special course and received the degree 
of A. M. He then taught school for two 
years and was editor of the Mineral Point 
Tribune, when in 1876 he removed to Hud- 
son, Wis., and purchased the True Republi- 
can, a weekly paper owned by John E. Glo- 
ver. This paper was founded in 1871 by 
M. A. and D. C. Fulton, and is one of the 
oldest in this section of the country. Mr. 
Cline has conducted it since 1876, and it 
now has a circulation of 960. This paper is 
conducted along Democratic lines, and is 
staunch in its support of party candidates 
and platforms. For sixteen years Mr. Cline 
was superintendent of the school of Hudson, 
was postmaster from 1894 to 1898. and has 
always taken a very active part in town af- 
fairs and party matters. 

On March 12. 1878. he was married to 
Miss Mary E. Thompson, of Freeport, 111., 



134 



COiMMEMORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



and one daughter was born to them, (Jenc- 
vieve E., wlio graduated from tlie State 
University in 1905. Air. CHne is one of the 
best known men in Saint Croix county, 
and has many warm friends througliout this 
section, who not only admire him personal- 
ly, but recognize his ability and defer to his 
excellent judgment and thorough education. 

JOHN H. VAUGHN, a well-known at- 
torney of Superior, Douglas county, is one 
of the self-made men of that city. He was 
born in Dubuque, Iowa, Sept. 11, 1865, sou 
of Patrick and Bridget (Brady) Vaughn, 
natives respectively, of County Clare and 
County Galway, Ireland. 

The parents of John H. \'aughn came to 
the United States in 1848 and located in 
New Orleans, the father becoming mate 
and later captain on steamers navigating 
the Mississippi river and all its principal 
branches. From New Orleans he moved to 
Memphis, and in 1857 went to Dubuque, 
where he learned the trade of currier. His 
last years were spent on a farm at Osage, 
Mitchell Co., Iowa, where he died in 1888. 
His widow still survives him, aged seventy 
years. Her parents came with her to New. 
Orleans and died there of yellow fever soon 
after their arrival. 

John H. Vaughn attended the public 
schools in Mitchell county, Iowa, and the 
Cedar Valley Seminaiy at Osage, graduat- 
ing in 1888. He taught at intervals pre- 
vious to his graduation, and soon after be- 
gan the study of law with F. F. Coffin, one 
of the oldest attorneys of Osage. Mr. 
Vaughn was admitted to the bar in the Su- 
preme Court of Iowa in 1890, and practiced 
at Osage until June, 1891, when he settled 
in Superior, where he has ever since been in 
general practice. For a time he was a part- 
ner of C. J. Monson, then district attorney 
for Douglas county, and later was with 
P. FI. O'Brien, and since 1899 has had his 
own office. Mr. Vaughn is in every sense 
a self-made man. He earned his own edu- 
cation without assistance from anyone, \valk- 
ing twenty-five miles to reach Osage Semi- 
nary and working for his board while study- 



ing there. He came to West Superior with- 
out capital, friends or influence and has won 
his way entirely by his own efforts. In po- 
litical sympathy Mr. Vaughn is a Demo- 
crat; in the campaign of 1896 stumi)ed the 
northern part of Wisconsin in the interests 
of W. J. Bryan, and was a delegate to the 
National Populist convention at St. Louis 
in 1896. He was the Democratic candidate 
for district atorney in 1892 and greatly re- 
duced the immense Republican majority in 
the county, being defeated by a majority of 
only thirty-seven. 

On August 20, 1901, Mr. Vaughn was 
married to Frances A. Harris, a native of 
Iowa, daughter of W. H. and America Har- 
ris, of West Superior. Mr. and Mrs. 
Vaughn are communicants of the Catholic 
Church. Mr. Vaughn is a member of the 
M. W. A., the I. O. F., the I. O. R. M., 
the B. P. O. E., and is president of the West 
Superior Aerie No. 80, the Eagles, and a 
member of the Knights of Columbus. 

FRANK P. STEVENS, one of the 
early settlers in Northern Wisconsin, in 
1866 came to Black River Falls, Jackson 
Co,, Wis., which was then just opening up. 
His birth occurred in Luzerne county. Pa., 
in 1852, and until he was five years of age 
his parents remained there, but at that time 
his mother died and his father moved to De 
Kalb county. 111., and bought a farm. About 
one year later his father also died and the 
two sons, Frank and George, remained with 
their grandparents for about eight years, till 
the death of the latter. 

During this period Mr. Stevens profited 
by the country schools of the neighborhood 
tmtil he was fourteen years of age, when, 
with his brother George and other relatives,, 
he came to Wisconsin, as before stated. A 
year later he entered a lumber camp on 
Black river and worked there for several 
years, then going to the lumbering region 
of the Chippewa river, Chippewa county. 
He commenced working there in a lumber 
camp for Hon. Mark Douglas, and later on 
took charge of the log and river driving and 
continued the same for several years. In 



COALMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



135 



1886 he commenced logging for himself and 
continued with good success till 1897, when 
his health became much impaired and he 
had to give up the logging business after 
passing a period of thirty winters in the 
lumber camp on Black and Chippewa riv- 
ers. Jn 1899 he built a sawmill on Amacog 
Lake which he still operates, and his home 
is there also, on a farm. His farm, which is 
one of the best in Rusk county, has a hne 
location. He built there first in 1884, in- 
tending to make it his permanent home. 

Mr. Stevens was married in 1884 to 
lona L. Ide, who died in 1897. He has four 
children, viz. : Lee, Burt, Mae and Gladys. 

JAMES ALEC PATTERSON. M. D., 
a rising young physician of Iron River, 
Bayfield county, who is daily working him- 
self into an ever increasing practice and rep- 
utation, is a native of Canada, bom in Port 
Elgin in 1865, and has been from his very 
birth in a professional atmosphere. 

Dr. James Rae Patterson, father of 
James A., was himself a distinguished phy- 
sician, and the son probably inherits the tal- 
ent for his work. The father was born in 
Dumfriesshire, Scotland, was educated first 
in the public schools of his native land, and 
then matriculated at Queens University, 
Royale, being graduated from its literary 
and medical departments. He entered upon 
the practice of his profession at Port Elgin, 
where he has continued to the present time. 
A fluent writer and thoroughly conversant 
with medical subjects, he has been a fre- 
cjuent contributor to the medical press. 

Dr. James Alec Patterson passed his 
boyhood in Port Elgin, attending the public 
schools. At the Walkerton high school he 
fitted himself for Queens University, and 
after completing the literary course there 
he matriculated at the medical annex, the 
Royale College, in 1883, where he remained 
four years, including the summer sessions, 
being graduated in 1887. He immediately 
presented himself before the board for ex- 
amination, received his license to practice, 
and entered into a partnership with his 
father at Port Elsrin. 



.\fter three years' valuable exjjerience 
with his father. Dr. Patterson left Port El- 
gin and went to Killarney, Manitoba, where 
he practiced by himself for five years, and 
then in the spring of 1895 located at Iron 
River. He has met with the success which 
his industry and ability deserve, and his 
practice has steadily increased until it cov- 
ers a wide area of country. Dr. Patterson 
has always been a keen student in his pro- 
fession, reading the best medical journals 
and keeping thoroughly abreast of all the 
new thought in his line of work. 

In addition to his professional interests 
Dr. Patterson takes an active part in fra- 
ternal organizations, is a Mason and belongs 
also to the Iron River Camp of the M. W. 
of A. and to the I. O. O. F. 

WILLIAM ROBERT FANNING is 
recognized as one of the most successful and 
public-spirited citizens of Superior. Prob- 
ably no other man in that progressive city 
has been identified with so many important 
business enterprises and other undertakings 
which have tended to promote its phenome- 
nal growth and development. Possessed of 
remarkable native ability, together with 
broad and comprehensive ideas and a wide 
range of experience, he was enabled to an- 
ticipate the possibilities of the embryo city, 
as well as many of its future needs, and he 
has accomplished more in a few short years 
than it is possible for most individuals to 
crowd into a long lifetime. 

Mr. Fanning is a native of the Province 
of Ontario, Canada, and was born at Ash- 
ton, Carleton county, April 24, i860. His 
parents, Daniel and Jane (Daily) Fanning, 
were natives of the counties of Lanark and 
Carleton, respectively, and both his grand- 
fathers, James Fanning and James Daily, 
came from County Wexford. Ireland, early 
in the nineteenth century, settling in Can- 
ada, where they became prosperous farmers. 
Daniel Fanning was engaged in a mercan- 
tile business for many years at Ashton, but 
now lives in retirement at Carleton Junc- 
tion, Ontario. 

William R. Fanning began life in rather 



COMMi:.MOR.\Tl\'K BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



humble circumstances, but acquired a liigh 
scIkxiI education in Carleton Place. At the 
age of sixteen years he went to New York 
City, where he gained his lirst experience in 
the business world in a lumber yard, where 
he was employed for about six months. Re- 
turning to his native place he spent some 
time in his father's store, and at the age of 
nineteen went to Manitoki. where he en- 
tereil the employ of the goveniment as a 
surveyor; subse(.]uently he dealt in real es- 
tate in Winnipeg. Owing to the rapid de- 
preciation of property at that place a few- 
years later he went to Lucknow. Out., and 
secured employment for a time in a dry- 
goods store. 

In 1885 Mr. Fanning reached Superior. 
then an obscure frontier village, but pos- 
sessing natural advantages whicli he reatlily 
jierceived and appreciated. Being without 
capital at the time, he secured employment 
in stores for two years, and for two years 
more served as city clerk. During this time 
he became manager of the Superior & Du- 
hith Loan and Debenture Co., now. known 
as the Northern Trust Co., in which he is 
still interested. After giving his personal 
attention, for about three years, to the Inisi- 
ness of the concern, he became a stockholder 
in the Land & River Improvement Co., with 
which corporation he has ever since been 
identified. For several years he was treas- 
urer and general manager of the institution, 
during which time improvements were 
made in the city and harbor on a stupendous 
scale, more than two and a half millions of 
dollars being expended in a single season 
upon streets, buildings and docks. Among 
the most conspicuous buildings still con- 
trolled by the company are the Board of 
Trade building and the "West Superior 
Hotel." All the buildings owned by the 
company are of brick, put up in modem 
style and with up-to-date conveniences. 
During his active connection with this com- 
pany a very liberal policy was pursuetl 
toward investors, and many of the most im- 
portant enterprises which have contributed 
toward the upbuilding of the city were in- 
duced to locate therein. Under Mr. Fan- 



ning's management a site was donated for 
St. Mary's Hospital, which has become one 
of the most famous institiitions in the north- 
west for the treatment of invaliils. and, like 
many of the other establishments referred 
to, is a credit to the city. 

Aside from his connection with the 
above corporation Mr. Fanning has indi- 
vidually made some very judicious invest- 
ments in real estate. He is a stockholder 
in the Empire Buikling Co., which owns one 
of the finest building blocks in the city, and 
he helped to organize the Board of Trade 
at Superior, of which body he has been 
president since 1888. He helped to organ- 
ize the Twohy Mercantile Co., the largest 
wliolesale grocery establishment in the city, 
and still retains an interest therein. In 1894 
he purchased a large stock of merchandise 
which he sold two years later, but in the 
following year he repurchased a controlling 
interest and organized the Spicer-Famiing 
Co., which has since conducted the leading 
department store of the city, employing 
about sixty-five people in its operation. 
Most of the enterprises to which he has 
given his personal attention have been high- 
Iv successful and his business integrrty has 
never been questioned. 

In July, 1897, Mr. Fanning was mar- 
ried to Mrs. Emma Walbridge. daughter of 
T. I. Broeffle, a prominent business man of 
Cumberland, Wis., now deceased. Mrs. 
Faiming was born at Belleville, Out. She 
and her husband are members of the Epis- 
copal Church and are popular in the social 
life at the Head of the Lakes. Mr. Fanning 
is a Knight Templar Mason, and in jx^litical 
sentiment has always been a Republican. 

WILLIAM ANDERSON, one of the 
leading business men of the village of 
Grantsburg, W'is.. president and one jf the 
organizers of the Grantsburg Loan. Title & 
Realty Co., stockholder in the Hickerson 
Rolling Mills and the Farmers' Starch Co., 
and one of the directors of the First Bank 
of Grantsburg, was one of the organizers of 
that village. Mr. Anderson was born in 
Sweden Feb. 15. 1852. son of Andrew and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



137 



Anna (Sweiison) Anderson, natives of tliat 
country. 

Andrew Anderson was a farmer in his 
native country, where he died in 1870. Aher 
the deatli of her liusband Mrs. Anderson 
came, in 1871, to the United States, hving 
in Burnett county. Wis., until her death, 
whicii occurred March 18, 1893. She was 
a member of the Lutheran Church in her na- 
tive countr)-, but after coming to America 
embraced tiie faitli of the M. E. Church. 
She and her husband were the parents of 
eleven children, three of whom still survive : 
William, our subject; John, who lives in 
Burnett county, four miles north of Grants- 
burg, engaged in farming, and Charlotta, 
who married J. H. Staufford, and lives at 
Fergus Falls. Minnesota. 

William .Anderson had little cliance for 
an education, having to go seven miles to 
school. After completing his education he 
learned boot and shoe fitting, which he fol- 
lowed until coming to America. In 1869 
he located in St. Paul, Minn., where he re- 
mained until the fall of 1877, in that year 
locating in Grantsburg, Wis. He first 
worked in the woods, where he had pur- 
chased some land, engaging in the logging 
business, in which he continued until 1893, 
floating his logs to Stillwater, Minn., by the 
St. Croix river. He also bought and sold 
land. He lived for a time in Marshland, 
Wis., where he served as chairman of the 
town board. 

Mr. Anderson married, in 1886, Miss 
Minnie Eliason, a native of Norway, who 
came with her parents to the United States 
in infancy. Peter and Helen Eliason were 
natives of Norway, and were early settlers 
of Burnett county. Wis. Both now li\e 
near Seattle, Wash. To Mr. and Mrs. An- 
derson have been born five children : Walter, 
the eldest, who died Nov. 18, 1893; Pearl 
Helen, who is attending high school; Ruth 
Violetta; Hazel Adeline, and Corinne Joy. 

After locating in Grantsburg Mr. .An- 
derson engaged in the real estate business, 
<lealing extensively in farm land. He also 
built several stores in Grantsburg. He was 
one of the organizers of the Grantsburg 
T-'j n. Title & Realty Co., organized in May, 



1902, with the following officers: William 
Anderson, president ; A. P. Nelson, secre- 
tary, and William Anderson, A. P. Nelson, 
Ole Anderson, Andrew Peterson and T. C. 
Farmen, directors. Mr. Anderson also holds 
a one-fourth interest in the Hickerson Roll- 
ing Mills, of Grantsburg, is a stockholder in 
the Farmers' Starch Co., and one of the 
directors of the First Bank of Grantsburg. 
He has represented the village on the county 
board, of whicli he was chairman. He was 
one of the organizers of the village of 
Grantsburg, was police justice for several 
years, and was a member of the board of 
trustees of the village. He has been very 
active in all political movements of the vil- 
lage and county. Politically he is a stanch 
Republican. Fraternally he is connected 
with the Masons, being a member of Blue 
Lodge, No. 244, of Grantsburg, and is also 
a member of the Modern Woodmen of 
America. Mr. Anderson is a consistent 
member of the M. E. Church, was one of 
the builders of the church edifice, and has 
been very active in the congregation. Flis 
home, conveniently situated, is one of the 
finest in Grantsburg. He is a most excel- 
lent man and commands the respect and es- 
teem of all with whom he is associated and 
acquainted. 

WALTER VAN BRUNT has been 
identified with the active business interests 
of Duluth for many years, and in several 
different lines. He was the first clerk of the 
city, was one of the incorporators of the 
Duluth Board of Trade, has been a stock- 
holder in various important commercial en- 
teri)rises, and, in fact, there is hardly a 
phase of the city's development in which his 
influence has not been felt. Mr. Van Brunt 
was born May 21, 1846, in Beloit, Wis., son 
of Samuel T. Van Brunt and grandson of 
Joseph Van Brunt, a native of Holland, 
who came to the United States, settling in 
New Jer.sey. He was a seafaring man. His 
last years were spent with his son in Beloit, 
Wis., where he died at the age of about 
eighty, but his wife died in the East. 

Samuel T. Van Brunt was born in Gen- 
eva, N. Y., and grew to manhood in his 



138 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



native State, learning the trade ul carpenter 
there. Soon after his marriage, in about 
1844, he came West and located at Beloit, 
Wis., where he remained for several years, 
putting up many buildings in that place. 
In 1855 he removed thence to Faribault, 
Minn., where he was engaged in business as 
a general merchant until his death, which 
occurred in 1869, when he was aged forty- 
seven years. Mr. Van Brunt devoted his 
entire time to business, caring little or noth- 
ing for public affairs so far as active partici- 
pation in such matters was concerned. He 
married Adaline M. Nash, who was born in 
Penn Yan, N. Y., daughter of Hiram and 
Sarah Nash, the former of whom died in 
Penn Yan, N. Y., at the age of fifty-six. 
Mrs. Nash survived her husband some years 
dying at St. Anthony, Minn., at an ad- 
vanced age. Mrs. Van Brunt's death oc- 
curred in Duluth in 1886, when she was 
sixty years of age. She was the mother of 
two children, Walter and Henry, both of 
whom are residents of Duluth. 

During his boyhood Walter Van- Brunt 
attended the public schools and Seabury Mis- 
sion, an Episcopalian institution at Fari- 
bault. ]\Iinn., under the supervision of Bishop 
Whipple. His business instincts devel- 
oped early, as from the age of twelve years 
he speculated in a small way, his transac- 
tions gradually increasing in volume until 
he was an extensive dealer in produce and 
other articles, most of his goods being trans- 
ported by team to and from Hastings, the 
nearest steamboat landing. In the mean- 
time, in order to perfect himself in business 
methods, he had taken a course at Bryant 
& Stratton's Commercial College in St. 
Paul, in which city he subsequently found 
employment in different commercial estab- 
lishments. After his father's death he took 
charge of the business at Faribault, and on 
closing out same, in the spring of 1869, 
came to Duluth, where he was first em- 
ployed in a hardware store just opened by 
his uncle, Edgar Nash. Mr. Nash carried 
on business in Duluth for a number of 
years and is now a resident of Minneapolis. 
Mr. Van Brunt continued with his uncle 



for several years, and when Mr. Nash dis- 
posed of the hardware business our subject 
continued an insurance agency started by 
that gentleman. A year or two later he en- 
tered into a partnership with C. H. Graves, 
under the firm name of C. FI. Graves & Co., 
and this connection lasted until December, 
1895, when it was dissolved. Besides carry- 
ing on an extensive real estate and insur- 
ance business, this firm dealt in salt, lime 
and cement, leasing what was known as the 
"outside dock" for several years. In 1885 
they built the first permanent dock on Lake 
avenue, and they continued in this line for 
several years longer. Their first office was 
at No. 18 West Superior street, and later 
they were at Nos. 19-21 West Superior, 
subsequently removing to the Board of 
Trade building, now the site of the Lons- 
dale building, and still later to the Palladio 
building. Since the dissolution of the part- 
nership Mr. Van Brunt has had an office in 
the Exchange building. The first office of 
Edgar Nash was at what is now No. 3. 
West Superior street. Tlje firm of C. H. 
Graves & Co. was interested in the Union 
Improvement & Elevator Co., which built 
the first grain elevator in Duluth, since re- 
stroyed by fire. 

Mr. Van Brunt's interests, however, 
were not confined to the operations 
of the firm of C. H. Graves & Co. He was 
one of the incorporators of the Duluth 
Board of Trade and retained his member- 
ship until 1902. He was an early investor 
in Duluth real estate, has bought and sold 
a great deal of property and still has hold- 
ings of considerable value, handling a large 
amount of property and insurance. He was 
one of the original stockholders in a number 
of important concerns, notably the Duluth 
Dry Goods Company, the Duluth Drug 
Company, the Duluth Crockery Company, 
the Duluth Blast Furnace Co., the "Spalding 
Hotel," etc. In 1881 he organized the Du- 
luth Telephone Company, of which he was 
manager until the year 1S96. when he sold 
his mterest. 

While working with his uncle Mr. Van 
Brunt was chosen city clerk, the first in Du- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



139 



hull, and he hekl the office for several 3ears. 
His first two months" salary was expendcl 
in the purchase of a gold watch, which he 
still carries. After considerable argument 
he prevailed upon the council to authorize 
the purchase of a suitable equipment of rec- 
ord books, so that he could open the ac- 
counts of the city in a systematic manner, 
and all the municipal records are therefore 
accessible. The wisdom of this course has 
again and again been demonstrated during 
tlie intervening years, and Mr. Van Brunt 
is entitled to no small amount of credit for 
his forethought and perseverance in this par- 
ticular. He proved a competent official in 
every way and was retained in the office for 
several years. 

Mr. Van Brunt has numerous social con- 
nections. He was a charter member of Pal- 
estine Lodge. A. F. & A. M., and is also 
afliliated with Keystone Chapter; Duluth 
Council, No. 18; Duluth Commandery, K. 
T. ; Duluth Consistory, No. 3, and Osnian 
Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., at St. Paul. 
He has a life membership in all these organi- 
zations. He is also a member of the Veter- 
an Masonic Association of Minnesota, of 
the Old Settlers' Association of Minnesota, 
of the Old Settlers' Association at the Head 
of Lake Superior, of the Duluth Commercial 
Club and an original member of the Kitchi 
Gammi Club, the leading social organization 
of the city. He has always been a Republi- 
can in political sentiment, but never an 
active partisan. 

In February, 1871, Mr. Van Brunt was 
married to Miss Mary A. Saxton, daughter 
of Horace Saxton, a prominent pioneer citi- 
zen of Duluth, and two children have been 
born to this union: Addie M., now the wife 
of C. M. Mauseau, of Duluth, and Horace, 
who died when nine years old. Mrs. Van 
Brunt is a native of Toledo, Ohio. 

HON. JAMES HERMAN AGEN is 
one of the best known citizens of Superior, 
has been closely identifiefl with the growth 
and progress of thai ])henomenal city and has, 
doubtless, contributed more than any other 
individual citizen toward the development 



of the agricultural resources of Douglas 
county and northern Wisconsin. He is in 
every sense a self-made man, having won 
his way in the world from early childhood 
with but limited educational advantages and 
no financial assistance, until now he ranks 
among the foremost citizens in this part of 
the State. 

Mr. Agen was born at Montpelier, Vt., 
April 29, 1847, son of David and Elizabeth 
(Donahan) Agen. The father came from 
County Wexford, Ireland, where the ances- 
tral home of the Agens has now been in the 
possession of the family for more than cen- 
tury and a half. He settled in Montpelier,. 
whence in 1850 he removed to \\^•oming 
county, N. Y., where his death occurred at 
the age of fifty-five years. For ten or twelve 
years he was afflicted with blindness, but re- 
covered his sight some time before his death. 
He was a member of the Catholic Church 
and a Democrat in political sentiment. He 
filled some local offices and exerted consider- 
able influence in his community. His wife 
survived him until 1896, when she 
passed away at the age of seventy- 
three years. She was born in Scot- 
land and was the mother of eight 
children, one of whom died in infancy. 
and five of whom are still living. ( i) Thom- 
as lives at Arcade. N. Y. ; (2) Nicholas D. 
lives at Eagle, N. Y. ; (3) John is a suc- 
cessful wholesale produce dealer residing in 
Seattle, Wash., and conducting establish- 
ments at a number of places on the Pacific 
coast. He has been a pioneer in his line of 
business at several of the leading points in 
Alaska, Juneau, Dawson City, Cape Nome 
and others, and has met with great success, 
becoming very wealthy ; he is most liberal 
toward the poor; (4) Jennie is the wife of 
J. L. Brennan, of Osage, Iowa, which place 
was also the home of (5) David and (6) 
Mary (Mrs. F. A. Willey), who are both 
deceased; (7) James H. completes the 
family. 

At the age of nine years James H. Agen 
left home and began life as a farm laborer, 
spending six years with one employer. 
Upon the outbreak of the Civil war he was 



I40 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



fired with a patriotic desire to assist in the 
defense of the government, and though he 
was only fifteen years old, in the fall of 
1S62 he enlisted in Wadsworth's Guards 
and spent five months in the service of the 
State, but was discharged on -account of his 
youth when the regiment was mustered into 
the service of the United States. In the 
following August he enlisted in Company 
C, 130th N. Y. V. I., but after remaining 
in camp for a time at Portage Bridge, was 
agani rejected from the service. He was 
not discouraged in his ambition to serve 
his countrj^ and in February, 1864, went to 
Lockport, N. Y.. and again tendered his 
services. Having ridden thither in a box 
car he had contracted a severe cold and was 
rejected as having unsound lungs by the 
examining surgeon. Nothing daunted, he 
worked for his board in a hotel until he had 
recovered his health, and upon re-examina- 
tion he was mustered into Company C, 
First New York Dragoons. 

In ten days from that time Mr. Agen 
was facing the enemy on the banks of the 
Rapidan. He took part in engagements at 
Pine Mountain, Old Chancellorsville and 
five days of the fight in the Wilderness, 
where his horse was shot under him after 
he was detailed to watch the prisoners taken 
by General Meade at Belle Plain, and later 
at Arlington Heights. He rejoined his 
regiment in the Shenandoah Valley in time 
to participate in the battle of Winchester, 
where his second horse was shot. The horse 
fell upon his right leg and held him a pris- 
oner for several hours, during which time 
he was wounded in the left leg by a bursting 
shell. He was finally released from his po- 
sition by two wounded comrades, Capt. 
Godfrey and Sergt. Whitehouse, though the 
latter was himself fatally injured. With his 
right hip dislocated and his left leg bleeding 
from his wounds, Mr. Agen mounted the 
nearest horse, which chanced to be one that 
was hobbling on three legs, and reached the 
camp of the 9th N. Y. V. I., where he was 
sheltered in the major's tent and next clay 
was taken to the temporary hospital which 
had been established in a church in Win- 



chester. Owing to its crowtlcd condition he 
found he could not receive attention until 
the next day and started for the wagon train 
with a view to joining his regiment. After 
numerous delays he reached camp two days 
later and was cared for by the regimental 
surgeon, Dr. Kneeland, who is still living at 
Nunda, N. Y. A dozen or more pieces of 
shell were removed from his wound and he 
remained for some time in the field hospital 
near Gen. Devan's headquarters. When 
Gen. Early made his famous attack on 
Sheridan's camp at Cedar Creek. Mr. Agen 
was mounted on a donkey by a friendly 
negro and succeeded in keeping out of dan- 
ger. In the course of the day he met Gen. 
Sheridan on his famous ride and cleared the 
pike for him to pass. The animal which he 
rode also carried a quantity of baggage, in- 
cluding a field glass, which enabled him to 
get a good view of the day's engagement. 
When sufficiently recovered he rejoined his 
regiment and served throughout the cam- 
paign in the Shenandoah Valley, receiving 
his final discharge July 17, 1865. The fol- 
lowing letter, written by Mrs. Abraham 
Lincoln, was received by the mother of Mr. 
Agen, while he was lying in the hospital 
in 1864: 

Camp Bell Hospital. 
W'ashington, D. C, Aug. 10, 1864. 
My Dear Mrs. Agen, 
Eagle, N. Y. : 
As I am sitting by the side of your dear 
boy I will write you for him. He is sick 
and wounded but is getting along nicely. 
He says don't worry about him as he will 
come out all right. 

Yours in love, 
Mrs. Abraham Lincoln. 
In the spring of 1866 Mr. Agen went 
to Osage, Iowa, and entered the employ of 
a mercantile firm to which he had loaned 
all of his meager savings. The failure of 
the firm a few months later left him penni- 
less and he went to work on a farm to get 
another start. He persevered and was ena- 
bled in a little while to start a draying busi- 
ness, with which he subsequently combined 
a grain and commission line. He was some- 



COAIMEAIORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



141 



times obliged to practice the strictest dili- 
gence and economy, but persevered, and iiis 
business soon became prosperous. He also 
dealt in lumber for a time. He served sev- 
eral years as a member of the county board 
of Alitchell county, was on the school 
board for six years, was alderman in Osage 
two years and was president of the Mitchell 
County Agricultural Society for two year-s. 

In 1887 Mr. Agen located in West Su- 
perior, which place then contained about 
300 inhabitants, ■ there being but seven 
buildings on Tower avenue (now the prin- 
cipal business street of the town) when he 
arrived. He at once began dealing in real 
estate on an extensive scale and has con- 
tinued that enterprise ever since. He has 
platted and subdivided several additions in 
West Superior and South Superior and 
erected many buildings, including two of 
the most conspicuous business blocks in the 
city. Besides city property he handles large 
tracts of farm and timber lands. He also 
does considerable insurance business and has 
invested to some extent in Iowa and Texas 
lands. He took an active part in reorganiz- 
ing the West Superior Chamber of Com- 
merce, now known as the Commercial Club, 
and was the first president of the reorgan- 
ized body. He also organized the Douglas 
County Agricultural Society, of which he 
was president for several years, and organ- 
ized similar associations in some of the 
other counties. In 1894, at his own ex- 
pense, he made a collection of Douglas 
county products which he took to Milwau- 
kee and exhibited at the State Fair, winning 
first premium for the best collection of agri- 
cultural products from any single county in 
the State, and demonstrating the wonderful 
possibilities of the county for development 
in that direction. 

In political principle Mr. Agen has al- 
ways been an active Republican, and few 
citizens of Superior have exerted as marked 
an influence m local and State afifairs as he. 
He served two years in the city council and 
was very nearly elected mayor at one time. 
In 1897 and 1898 he represented his district 
in the State .\ssembv, where he was dis- 



tinguished for his advocacy of useful legis- 
lation ; he drafted and introduced the North- 
ern Wisconsin Emigration Bill, and secured 
the pas.sage of a measure establishing the 
Northern Wisconsin State Fair at Chip- 
pewa Falls, subsequently serving two terms 
as president of that organization ; at the next 
legislative term he was elected sergeant at 
arms of the Assembly. He has twice been 
a delegate to the National Deep Water Ways 
convention, held respectively in Washing- 
ton and Detroit. 

Fraternally Mr. Agen is a charter mem- 
ber of Alonzo Palmer Post, No. 170, G. A. 
R., in which he is a past commander and is 
past commander of the Department of Wis- 
consin to which position he was elected in 
1902. He has served three terms on the 
statt of the National Commander, with the 
rank of Colonel. He is a Knight Templar 
Mason, and among the other fraternal or- 
ganizations with which he is connected may 
be mentioned the I. O. O. F., the A. O. U. 
W., the I. O. F. and the Legion of Honor, of 
Iowa. In every social and business relation 
"Colonel" Agen, as he is commonly called 
by his associates, has proven himself worthy 
of their confidence and he has acquitted him- 
self with credit in the interests which he rep- 
resented. In all his real estate transactions 
he has never been involved in a law suit. 

In 1869 Tames H. Agen was married 
to Eliza L., daughter of L. S. Hart, a prom- 
inent citizen of Osage, Iowa, and the first 
sheriff of Mitchell county where his father, 
Stephen Hart, was the first settler. Mrs. 
Agen was born at Centerville, Mich., and 
is the mother of three daughters and two 
sons. Belle, Roy J., Millie B., Grace M. and 
Earl V. The eldest son, who is a graduate 
of Shattuck Military School at Fariliault, 
Minn., and of Curtis Business College, Min- 
neapolis, is his father's partner in the real 
estate and insurance business in the firm of 
James Agen & Co., whose books show a 
record of over five million dollars worth of 
real estate sold at the Head of the Lakes 
since 1887.- All the family have enjoyed the 
best social and educational advantages and 
are connected with the Methodist Church. 



142 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 

II. L. WILLIA^IS, president of the surveying and jobbing in the woods, and for 
Cumberland Land Co., and a large dealer in a ininiber of years was estimator of pine 
and expert in real estate, is one of the prom- lands. 

inent citizens of Cumberland, Barron Co., For seven years after locating at Cuni- 

\\"is. He was born March 30, 1850, in Sus- berland, Mr. Williams followed lumbering 
quehanna county, Penn.. a' son of Stephen for G. G. Cook & Co., of j\linneapolis, prior 
D. and Almira' (iMcKunc) Williams, the to this having had charge of the North 
former, a native of New York, and the latter Cumberland Lumber Co. Since 1900, in 
of Pennsvlvania. association with S. R. Eraser, of jMankato, 

The father of Mr. Williams was a law- Minn., he has had charge of the Cumberland 
yer by profession, but failing health com- Land Co.'s office at this point. They man- 
pelled' him to seek another occupation. In age about seventeen thousand acres of land 
1852 he went to Princeton, 111., traveled as in Burnett, Barron, Polk and Washburn 
a salesman for some three years, then went counties. In addition to his lumbering iiUer- 
to Pierce County, Wis., four miles from ests, Mr. Williams owns a fine farm of 200 
River Falls, later to Osceola. Wis., where he acres at West Cumberland, Wis.. 130 of 
lived for many years, and then returned to which is finely improved, Mr. A\'illiams hav- 
Princeton, where his wife died in 1864. In ing made all the improvements himself. It 
1895 Mr. Williams went back to his native is mainly devoted to stock raising. Mr. 
State. During his professional career he Williams shipped the first car load of cattle 
was widely known, both as an orator and a e\er sent from Cumberland to St. Paul. Al- 
wise counsellor, and held many positions of though he was hampered in youth by adverse 
honor and trust. For a long period he was conditions, through his own energy and 
probate judge and was considered of much ability he* has made his life a financial suc- 
prominence on the Bench and at the Bar. cess. He has ateo gained public esteem and 
He was a consistent member of the Baptist has been called upon on many occasions to 
Church, while his wife belonged to the Epis- accept local office. He has been assessor, 
copal Church. They had six children, as chairman of the county board of supervisors, 
follows : Londesky 13., Esther, Pauline and and has been a most earnest and effective 
Susan, all deceased ; Hiram L. ; and Caroline, worker on the school board. In politics he 
wife of H. C. Doolittle, of Cumberland, supported the Republican party for many 
Wisconsin. years, but since 1887 has been identified with 

Mr. Williams's boyhood gave him little the Prohibition party, 
chance of schooling, as the locality in which At St. Croix Falls in 1870, Mr. Will- 

his father settled had not yet ad\anced far iams was married to Laura E. Sevey, of 
enough to provide schools convenient to the Taylors Falls, Minn., and five children were 
scattered homesteads. All the opportunities born to this union: Lewis, now in Califor- 
he had were in a log school house situated nia; Ida, wife of William Bruffle. of Lake- 
some three or four miles from his home, land, \\"is. ; Ralph, a cattleman in Wyoming ; 
\Mien he was about twelve years old he went Marilla. deceased ; and Warren, at home, 
to Amboy, 111., where he attended school for The mother of this family died June 24, 
two years, and then to Cameron. IMinn.. 1884. Mr. Williams married (second) 
and to other places, engaged in looking after Emma D. Sevey, a sister of his first wife, 
stock. In 1865 and 1866 he went to North and one son has been born, named for his 
and South Dakota and then back to Osceola, father. 

Wis., where he went into the lumbering Mr. \\'illiams is fraternally associated 

business, in which he was engaged until with the A. O. U. W. In religious 
1879. settling in Cumberland, Wis., at that views he is a ^Methodist. Probably few citi- 
date. He served as foreman in the pineries zens of the countv have a more thorough 
for different companies and also did some knowledge of land and lumber values in 



COMMEMORATIVE' BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



143 



this section than lias Mr. W'iUiams. Years 
have been devoted to tlie study of tlic re- 
sources of all this territory, and his opinion 
is that of an expert. Personally Mr. Will- 
iams is a most courteous gentleman to meet, 
and his conversation gives the visitor new 
ideas of the vast surrounding regions and of 
the difficulties with which the early settlers 
had to contend. 

MAJOR ALFRED SURRANEOUS 
EATON, a well known business man of Su- 
perior, Douglas countv, and a veteran of the 
great Civil war who saw much active service 
therein, represents an old New England fam- 
ily, many members of which have been dis- 
tinguished for patriotic service in behalf of 
the nation. Both his grandfathers were 
members of the Continental army during 
the stirring days that "tried men's souls," 
and four of his I)rothers, as well as himself, 
cheerfully respowded to the call of their 
country when rebellion theratened its de- 
struction. One of them, John A., lost his 
life upon the field of Petersburg. The par- 
ents of these valiant brethren were Eben and 
Hannah (Cross) Eaton, who lived and died 
upon a farm at Newbury, N. H., reaching 
the ages of sixty-three and sixty-four years, 
respectively. They were the parents of six 
sons : Albridge, now a citizen of Creston, 
Iowa; John A.; Alfred Surraneous and his 
twin brother, Albert S\lvanus, who now re- 
sides at Warner. N. H. ; Jes.se W., of New- 
bury, in the same State; and Edwin, who 
was too young to enter the military service, 
and now lives at Vancouver, Washington. 

Alfred S. Eaton, whose name heads this 
article, was born in Newbury, Aug. 13. 
1840. He passed his boyhood upon the 
farm, receiving an academic education. 
When the news of the fall of Fort Sumter 
and the President's call for volunteers 
reached him, he lost no time in offering his 
services, and was enrolled April 30. 1861, 
in Company H, 2d N. H. V. I. Upon the ex- 
piration of his ninety days in that organiza- 
tion, he re-enlisted in Co. H. loth N. H. V., 
and continued in service throughout the 
memorable conflict and until his final dis- 



charge, April 24, 1866. Most of this period 
was spent with the Army of the Potomac, 
and his meritorious conduct w'on regular 
promotions until he held the rank of Major 
in his regiment. Besides numerous minor 
engagements, he took part in the battles of 
Fredericksburg, Fort Royal, Floney Flill, 
Petersburg and James Island. At the last 
named place he commanded the color com- 
pany, seventeen men in which were killed in 
a single volley of the enemy's fire, lie re- 
ceived a slight wound from a bullet which 
had passed through the body of one of his 
comrades. At Honey Hill he took from the 
pocket of a Confederate soldier who had 
fallen in the fight, a Testament, upon the fly 
leaf of which he found a note requesting the 
finder to forward it to his family in Alabama. 
This commission the Major was careful to 
carry out, and in due time had the satis- 
faction of receiving an acknowledgment of 
its receipt by the family. He had many 
other thrilling experiences, which cannot 
here be enumerated. 

After the restoration of peace. Major 
Eaton located at Black River Falls, Wis., 
where he carried on a mercantile business for 
five years. For fifteen years more he dealt 
in hardware at Greenwood, Clark county, 
in the same State, also conducting a general 
store for a time at Agenda, Ashland county. 
Thence he went to Minnesota, and became 
interested in the North St. Paul Casket Com- 
pany, in which he is still a stockholder. After 
three years' residence at that place, in 1891, 
he became a resident of West Superior, 
which has since been his home. He conducts 
a general real estate, loan and fire insurance 
Inisiness. and long since established an en- 
viable reputation for business integrity and 
general probity of character. 

On Oct. 12. 1868, Major Eaton was 
married to Miss Emma Brown, daughter 
of Peris Brown, Mr. Eaton's partner in busi- 
ness at Black River Falls. Mrs. Eaton was 
born at Marengo, 111., and is the mother of 
two living daughters : Viola Adell, now 
Mrs. Dudley W. Jones, of Black River Falls; 
and Genevieve j\Iay, a student at the Su- 
perior State Normal School. The family 



144 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



is identified with the Congreg-ational Church, 
and enjoys the best social advantages. Ma- 
jor Eaton has always been a leading spirit 
in the Grand Army of the Republic. While 
living in Greenwood he organized the John 

A. Eaton Post, No. 213, which was named 
in honor of his brother who fell a martyr 
to the cause of freedom as previously stated. 
He was commander of the Post during his 
residence at that place, and for ten years 
past has served as quartermaster of Alonzo 
X aimer Post No. 170, at Superior. He is 
also prominent in the Masonic fraternity, 
and besides being identified with the local 
Lodge and Chapter, he is captain general of 
Superior Commandery, No. 25, Knights 
Templar. Among other organizations in 
which he holds membership are the Knights 
of Honor and the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen. Few men can point to more hon- 
orable business or military careers, and none 
are held in higher regard by their associates. 

ROBERT B. McLEAN was among 
the earliest pioneers in Superior, 'Douglas 
Co., Wis., and has been connected with 
numerous public improvements in that city. 

Mr. McLean was born in Geneseo, Liv- 
ingston Co., N. Y., Oct. 15, 1832. He was 
a son of Robert and Margaret McLean, 
natives of County Antrim, Ireland, who 
came to the United States in 1831. Robert 
McLean was a fanner. In 1848 he moved 
from New York State to Saginaw, Mich., 
and lie died at Howell, Livingston Co., 
Mich., aged eighty-six years. His father, 
Hugh McLean, of Scotch descent, was a 
linen draper and weaver in Ireland, but died 
in New York. Mrs. Margaret McLean died 
in Livingston county, N. Y., in 1848, when 
about forty years old. She left seven chil- 
dren, of whom four are now living. Robert 

B. McLean is the only one in Wisconsin. 
Robert B. McLean received his educa- 
tion in the district schools of New York 
State and Michigan. His summers he spent 
in fishing, supplying white fish and trout to 
the Detroit and Cleveland markets, and he 
worked in the lumber woods during the 
winter. In the spring of 1853 Mr. McLean 



went to Isle Royal, Mich., where he spent 
the summer fishing. The next winter he 
worked in the copper mines at Eagle Har- 
bor. The following spring he came to the 
Plead of the Lakes, found employment in 
a surveying party under Thomas Clark, and 
spent several months laying out the town 
site of Superior. In the fall of that year, 
upon the ratification of the treaty with the 
Chippewa Indians, relinquishing their title 
to lands along the Minnesota shore of Lake 
Superior, Mr. McLean accompanied a party 
prospecting for copper. He laid out the 
town of Beaver Bay, Minn., where Mr. 
Clark located a colony of Germans, and 
where Mr. McLean spent the winter. 

In the fall of 1855 Mr. Clark took the 
contract for carrying mail from Superior to 
Grand Portage, and Mr. McLean became 
the mail-carrier. He made monthly trips, 
using a small boat in summer and going 
through the woods on foot in w'inter. In 
1856 Mr. McLean was appointed post- 
master at Beaver Bay ; this position he filled 
for a year, and then returned to Superior, 
where he was engaged in making surveys 
and explorations. In the summer time Mr. 
McLean did considerable fishing for east- 
ern markets, and was often foreman of a 
lumber camp in winter. In 1879 he was 
elected a member of the town board of su- 
pervisors, the district including all of Doug- 
las county, on which he served, with the ex- 
ception of two years, until 1890. He was 
interested in securing the right of way 
through Superior for the Northern Pacific 
Railroad, and ofificially opened the first 
street in West Superior. Mr. McLean was 
a member of the committee of citizens ap- 
pointed to organize the village of Superior, 
and also one of the inspectors at the first 
election held in Lake County, Minn.^ at 
Grand Marais. 

Mr. McLean married in February, 
1 866, Anna C. Clark, a daughter of Thomas 
Clark (II). Mrs. McLean was born in To- 
ledo, Ohio, and died at the age of forty - 
four, Aug. 3, 1893. She was a member of 
the Episcopal Church. Children as follows 
were born to Mr. and Mrs. McLean: John 




ROBERT B. McLEAN 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



145 



C, wlio died in 1891, aged twenty-five 
years; Carrie C, Airs. F. C. Thompson; 
Thomas C. ; Robert B. ; and Lee R. 

Mr. McLean has always belonged to 
the Democratic party. He is a member of 
the K. of P., has filled the principal offices 
in Nemadji Lodge, and helped to institute 
several other lodges. 

JOHN JAY HIBBARD, now living in 
practical retirement in Duluth, is one of the 
surviving pioneers at the ITead of the Lakes 
and has witnessed and participated in the 
remarkable development of that region. He 
was born at Lockport, N. Y., April 5, 1830, 
son of Jacob and Polly (Millard) Hibbard. 

On the paternal side Mr. Hibbard 
springs from one of the oldest and most pa- 
triotic families in America, being a direct 
descendant of Robert Hibbard, a manufac- 
turer of brick and salt at Salisbury, Eng- 
land, who came to Massachusetts in 1629. 
He located in that part of Salem afterward 
known as Beverly, and carried on the manu- 
facture of salt at that place, wdiere he died 
May 7, 1684. His descendants, some of 
whom spelled the name Hebard, were re- 
spected and influential people in different 
parts of New England. About thirty of the 
number are known to have taken part in the 
Colonial wars with the French and Indians, 
and about sixty participated in the Revolu- 
tion, while 130 were engaged in the war of 
1812. Jacob Hibbard, the grandfather of 
John Jay, and a native of Methuen, Mass., 
joined the militia of that State, and took 
])art in the battle of Bunker Hill, where his 
brother Jtjseph was killed. After the war 
he settled in Washington county, N. Y., but 
his death occurred at Rutland county. Vt., in 
1823. His son Jacob, father of John Jay 
Hibbard. was bom at Ryegate, Vt., but en- 
listed from Xew York under Gen. Hamp- 
ton tluring the second war with England and 
did honorable service at the battle of Platts- 
burg. He was a millwright ancl carriage- 
maker, also doing general mechanical work 
when occasion offered. For some years he 
carriefl on business at Hennitage, Wyom- 
ing Co., X. Y., where he served as super- 
10 



visor and filled other official positions. He 
died there in 1869, aged seventy- four years. 
It is related as an interesting incident of his 
early life that he was once away from home 
during a flood which swept away the bridge 
over the Connecticut river, and, returning 
after dark on horse-back, he was much as- 
tonished to learn upon reaching home that 
the bridge was gone and his faithful steed 
had crossed on a single timber laid length- 
wise for a temporary foot bridge. Mrs.. 
Polly Hibbard died near Nicodemus,, 
Kan., in- 1894, aged ninety-four years. She- 
was born at Whitehall, N. Y., and was a 
daughter of Abiatha Millard, a veteran of 
the Revolution and a brother of David Mil- 
lard, who became famous as one of the first 
American travelers in the Holy Land. A 
sister of these gentlemen became the mother 
of President Millard Fillmore. The mother 
of Mrs. Polly Hibbard was before marriage 
a Miss Ashley, of Rutland county, Vt., and 
her mother was a relative of John Jay, the 
famous diplomat and Chief Justice of the 
United States, in whose honor John Jay 
Hibbard was named. 

John Jay Hibbard learned the trades of 
millwright and carriagebuilder. In 1852 h(j 
went to Canada, spending several years in 
Oakville and Bradford, and conducting a 
shop at the latter place. Having been more 
or less afflicted with ague from boyhood, he 
determined to seek a climate in which he 
would be free from that malady, and in 1856 
he paid a visit to the Head of the Lakes. 
Being convinced that he had found the de- 
sired location, the following year he brought 
his family and built a sawmill at Burlington 
Bay, now Two Harbors, which he operated 
for four years, making that place his home 
during this period. In 1861 he took 
up his residmce in Duluth, his wife be- 
ing one of four white women then at that 
place, though there were a few others at 
Oneota, now W^est Duluth. In 1S62 Mr. 
Hibbard moved to Superior, which was his 
home for the next eight years, during which 
time he was engaged in various occupations. 
A part of the time he dealt in cattle, driving 
herds from southern Minnesota and ship- 



146 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ping to Eastern markets by water. For sev- 
•eral seasons. he packed fish for market, being 
the first person to engage in that business on 
an extensive scale, packing eight hundred 
barrels in five weeks. His seine was about 
half a mile in length, and he employed about 
twenty men, who applied to him the title ot 
"Captain," by which he is still known to 
most of his old acquaintances. The opening 
of navigation in the spring of 1865 was un- 
usually late, and provisions became very 
scarce at Superior, from which point all the 
adjacent territory was supplied. When the 
steamer "Cuyahoga," became ice bound out 
in the lake and lay thus for over two weeks, 
some of the dealers were planning to buy up 
its cargo and exact exorbitant prices from 
their customers. Learning of this fact, Capt. 
Hibbard on the 3d of June walked out three 
miles on the ice to meet the vessel and bar- 
gained for all the provisions on board, which 
■ he divided among the people at reasonable 
prices, defeating the plans of the schemers. 
Mr. Hibbard was an early in.vestor in 
real estate in Superior and Duluth and still 
owns considerable property in both cities. 
In the latter he has erected a number of 
buildings and otherwise assisted in the im- 
provement of the town. He has also dealt 
in timber lands to some extent. In the fall 
of 1865 he became a member of a party 
which cut a trail through the woods from 
Duluth to Vermillion Lake, where the gold 
mines were just beginning to attract atten- 
tion. This expedition consumed about six 
weeks and considerable privation was en- 
dured by the party. While on the way ]Mr. 
Hibbard picked up some specimens of iron 
on the site of the present city of Tower. In 
1903 Mr. Hibbard became interested in min- 
ing properties in the State of Jalisco, Mex- 
ico. He made a trip to that location, travel- 
ing about eight thousand miles by rail and 
about four hundred miles on horseback, and 
visited the richest quicksilver mines in the 
world. 

In political principle, IMr. Hibbard has 
always been a Democrat, though an Aboli- 
tionist, and an advocate of government banks 
and ownership of pul.ilic institutes. He has 



always opposed the issue of public bonds for 
any purpose. He is decided and outspoken 
in his views on all public questions and, 
while taking an active interest in local af- 
fairs, he has never been a candidate for any 
salaried oftice. He was an intimate friend 
of the late Ignatius Donnelly, and attended 
as a delegate every State convention of his 
party in Minnesota from 1863 to 1896. In 
1876 he was elected a delegate to the National 
Greenback convention at Indianapolis, which 
nominated Peter Cooper for President, but 
he did not attend. In 1896 he was a delegate 
to the National Populist Convention at St. 
Louis. During the Civil war, when parti- 
san feeling was very strong-, he vigorously 
denounced the law making greenbacks legal 
tender in some cases but not in others, and a 
party of over sixty civilians and soldiers 
congregated with the intention of lynching 
him. Learning of their plans he went to 
the spot and fearlessly faced the mob, which 
rapidly dispersed. In the early days he 
spent considerable time among the Indians, 
meeting with some interesting adventures 
and becoming familiar with their customs 
and language to a great extent. Owing to 
his skill in various occupations he was called 
"Ka-kin-a-ga-go" (the man who can do 
everything) and was known far and wide 
among the Chippewas by the cognomen. 
Soon after he located in Duluth, a large party 
of Indians was encamped on Minnesota 
Point, and one of their dogs was in the 
habit of preying upon Mr. Hibbard's chick- 
ens. Detecting the brute, he promptly shot 
it. which greatly enraged the Indians, who 
threatened to exterminate the whole white 
settlement unless one hundred dollars worth 
of provisions was given them. Fearing 
these threats, some of his neighbors offered 
to contribute toward the amount, but Mr. 
Hibbard sent word to the camp that he 
would shoot every Indian found there after 
a certain hour, and the whole party had dis- 
appeared before the appointed time. 

In 1854 Mr. Hibbard was married to 
^liss Sarah A. Hill, a native of Sunderland, 
\'t., but then a resident of Wethersfield, N. 
Y. She is a daughter of Hiram and Amanda 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



147 



(Sinalley) Hill, both of whom represented 
Colonial families in New England. Hiram 
Hill was born about the beginning of the 
nineteenth century. He removed from Ver- 
mont to New York and about 1853 settled 
in Kane county, 111., where he died twenty 
years later. Elis father, Abner Hill, was of 
Welsh descent. Mrs. Amanda Hill died in 
1878. aged over seventy years. Her father. 
Lewis Smalley, who was a farmer, spent 
his later life in Friendship, Allegany Co., N. 
Y. Having been crippled by an accident, 
he spent much of his time knitting and sevv'- 
ing. He was a descendant of David Smalley, 
one of the signers of the English Magna 
Charta. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hibbard are the parents 
of two sons and four daughters ; Afelia B., 
\\ts. John McLaren who died in Duluth in 
1878. aged twenty-three years; Clell D., 
connected with the United States engineer 
coqjs at Duluth; Estelle F. and Gertrude H., 
both deceased ; Inez, the wife of Henry Sis- 
ler, of Portland, Ore. ; Edwin J., a resident 
of Duluth, who is a pattern-maker, connec- 
ted with the National Iron Works. 

EDW^ARD E. STROTHMAN is the 
senior partner of the Strothman Iron Co., 
of West Superior. His parents were Will- 
iam and Anstein Louise (Christon) Stroth- 
man, and he was born near Milwaukee, Aug. 
18, 1845. 

William Strothman, who was a native of 
Prussia, and son of a farmer noted for his 
remarkable strength, spent most of his boy- 
hood on a farm near Amsterdam ; later he 
became superintendent of a large estate, 
overseeing about 250 men. In 1832 he 
came to the United States, lived for about 
two years in Cincinnati, and then moved to 
Milwaukee, where he was the first German 
settler, the only other white men in the place 
being Solomon Juneau. Capt. Walker, Dr. 
Chase and Capt. Sanderson. Mr. Stroth- 
man was employed in Milwaukee about three 
years, and then settled on a farm three miles 
out of the city, where he died in, Januar\ , 
1887, at the age of seventy-four. His wife 
died on the farm when forty-four years old. 



She was born in Stettin, Germany, and her 
grandfather came to Germany from Paris. 
When her father was a child of four years 
he and his brother, aged six, v^'ere accident- 
ally left on a vessel bound from Paris to 
Amsterdam ; they remained in the latter 
place and there grew up. 

Edward E. Strothman had a twin broth- 
er, John, who died in November, 1898; he 
had been a partner in the firm of Strothman 
Bros., which was succeeded by the Stroth- 
man Iron Co. The Strothman brothers had 
great gift's of mechanical invention, even as 
boys ; while at home on the farm, with only 
such tools and materials as any farm might 
afford, they manufactured an automatic can- 
non, which loaded and fired itself. 

At the age of eighteen Mr. Strothman 
began to learn the machinist trade in the Bay 
State Iron Works at IMilwaukee, at the same 
time studying draughting, designing and 
mechanical engineering. He spent four 
years in the Bay State Iron Works, and a 
year or two with the E. P. Allis Co. and 
the Cream City Iron Works, subsequently 
starting a small shop for constructing patent 
water wheels. About 1872 the Strothman 
brothers moved to Minneapolis, where they 
were employed for a number of years in the 
North Star Iron Works. John Strothman 
then became superintendent of the A. Pray 
Manufacturing Co., while his brother re- 
mained with the North Star Iron Co. Smne- 
what later the firm of Strothman Bros., 
opened a general machine shop and foimdiy, 
wnich they carried on for about eight years. 
One of their contracts was the building of 
three famous "Jumbo" pumps for the city 
water works, capacity 14,000,000 gallons 
])er day, which are still in operation at the 
lowest known expense for repairs. 

In the spring of 1888 the Strothman 
brothers came to West Superior, which was 
then a ])rimiti\e town, with no paved streets. 
They at once erected a substantial brick 
building, macliine shop, foundry and forge 
works, which was the first establishment in 
any of these lines at Superior, and which has 
been in continuous operation ever since. In 
this foundry all kinds of machines are made 



148 



CO^aiEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



to (irtlcr, including- steam engines, dredging 
machines, arcliitectural iron work, and much 
mining machinery, which is used in the min- 
ing regions at the Head of the Lakes ; from 
twenty to tifty men, according to the season, 
are employed in the works. In 1901 Edward 
E. Strothman devised an improved propeller 
wheel, which he has recently patented; this 
wheel gives increased speed with the same 
powder, and has excellent backing qualities; 
it can be readily attached to any vessel, and 
orders are being placed for it as fast as its 
merits become known to vessel owners. He 
has also invented a hydraulic dredging pump, 
which has proved a great success; it will take 
out from 150.000 to 200,000 yards of sand 
in twenty-four hours. Many other labor- 
saving devices have been invented by Mr. 
Strothman, but few of these have been 
patented. 

In 1869 Edward E. Strothman married 
Etta L. Banker, who was born in Racine, 
Wis., a daughter of Chauncey Banker, of 
Milwaukee. Two sons have come to this 
union : Clarence, general manager for the 
Deering Harvester Co., at Aberdeen, S. D., 
a fine penman and able business man ; and 
Herbert L., an active business man, connect- 
ed with his father in the Strothman Iron Co., 
who after leaving the Superior high school 
took a course in mechanical and electrical 
engineering at the University of Wiscon- 
sin, at Madison. Mr. Strothman, the father, 
has been coimected with the Congregational 
Church for the last forty years. He is a Re- 
publican in principle, his first vote having 
been cast for Lincoln, but he is not an active 
politician. 

GLEN FLORA. The flourishing town 
of Glen Flora. Wis., has not always enjoyed 
so euphonious a cognomen, in fact there are 
many still surviving who can recall when 
Miller's Siding was the only name by which 
to designate a very desirable locality of Rusk 
county, to which that great civilizer, the rail- 
road, had penetrateil during the summer of 
1885. The natural advantages and the in- 
dustrial outlook soon drew first class settlers 
to the reyion. and in the abo\e vear O. K. 



Otis, Thomas Padgett, E. E. Buck and John 
La Port made permanent settlement. 

The dense forests surrounding the site 
of the present town, suggested lumbering as 
the initial business, and naturally, a sawmill 
erected by Frank S. Miller in 1885 was the 
first industry started here. This passed into 
other hands in 1886, being purchased by the 
Glen Flora Manufacturing Company, which 
operated it four years, and platted a towMi 
in 1888. The company established the first 
mercantile business here, carrying it on in 
connection with their milling interests, con- 
tinuing until 1893, when they were suc- 
ceeded by the Crescent Lumber Company, 
which operated until 1894, and this com- 
pany was succeeded by W. F. Switzer, who 
operated until December, 1900. The mill 
property was afterward bought l)y H. W. 
True, who dismantled the mill. ■Sir. True 
had built a mill at Glen Flora in igoo, which 
he operated until May, 1903, when he sold 
it to its present manager, C. A. Coon. 
Another mill, the Stoker Brothers', two 
miles distant, has been operated for several 
years. 

In 1894 Theodore Briant built, and has 
ever since operated, the two charcoal kilns. 
In 1892 E. E. Buck estabished a general 
store, and in 1896 Mr. H. W, True opened 
a mercantile business, being succeeded in 
1899 ^''y the Eau Claire Grocer Co. In 1902 
Mr. True and Lee Van Patter purchased the 
E. C. Grocer Co.'s stock, but Mr. True sold 
his interest in 1903, Mr. Van Patter contin- 
uing the business. For a couple of years 
Bert Fults operated a store, which was 
burned out in 1902, but was rebuilt and re- 
o])ened in 1903, and w'as a second time de- 
stroyed by fire. He rebuilt again but is not 
in business now. • Mr. C. A. ^lagnus also 
owns a general store, while a racket store is 
kept by C. W. Tyler and a drug store is 
owned by H, C. Johnson. "The \\'est Ho- 
tel" is the only hostelry and is managed by 
E. Biller. The Glcii Flora Star was estab- 
lished in 1901 by D. W. Maloney, and is an 
independent Republican organ. In 1888 the 
])ostofiice was established with A. J. ]\IcLcn- 
nan as first postmaster. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



149 



The Glen Flora Co-Operative Creamery 
was built here in 1903. at a cost of $4,700. 
This ])lant is thoroughly cciuipped, furnished 
by the Chicago Building Company, and be- 
gan operations very satisfactorily in June, 
1904. J. \V. & E. \V. Noble have a mill for 
the manufacture of hardwood furniture and 
machinery squares one and one-half miles 
east of town; J. M. Xelson and A. C. Holden 
have a small mill a short distance from town, 
as has also J. C. Riegel. 

The first public school was opened in 
1887. The present school building is a mod- 
ern structure. The residents of Glen Floia 
take much interest in the school, for it is an 
exceptionally fine one. It is State graded of 
the first class, with nine grades, 170 pupils, 
and three competent teachers. 

The different religious denominations 
are well represented, and the ^Methodist, 
Swedish Lutheran, Baptist and Norwegian 
Lutheran bodies all have houses of their 
own, and the Catholics have the erection of 
one in contemplation. The Woodmen have 
a flourishing lodge, and social conditions are 
all that could be desired. The jx^pulation is 
350. A number of well developed farms 
now lie adjacent to Glen Flora, and the peo- 
])!e are of a quiet, industrious, law-abiding, 
intelligent class. The soil here is a clay 
loam, wonderfully adapted to grass and 
grains. 

THOMAS H. SEXTON has been a 
resident of Duluth for over fifty years, and 
is now living retired in that city. He is one 
of the oldest settlers of the Upper Lake re- 
gion, where he has spent over half a cen- 
tury, and is now enjoying in quiet the ac- 
cumulations of a busy life, full of typical 
experiences of the pioneer in this section. 

Mr. Sexton was born in 1825 in County 
Clare, Ireland, son of Timothy and Anna 
( Howard) Sexton, who left their native land 
in 1826, bringing their family to Toronto, 
Canada. There Timothy Sexton followed 
the business of market gardener, and after a 
time he located on a farm near that city. His 
last years were spent in London, Ontario, 
and he and his wife both lived to reach old 



age. Their family consisted of thirteen chil- 
dren, of whom Thomas H., the eldest, is the 
only one to settle in the Upper Lake Region. 
He lived about Toronto and on the farm un- 
til 1853, in which year he came to the Head 
of the Lakes on the steamer "Sam Ward." 
After spending a few days at Superior he 
went to Ontonagon and secured employ- 
ment as engineer in a copper mine. 
The following year he came to the Head 
of the Lakes and made a "claim" 
on the site now occupied by the 
Duluth post office, but abandoned it because 
he thought there were too many rocks and 
mosquitoes in the locality. His next location 
was in Two Harbors, Minn., where he made 
a "claim" in 1855, just after the Indian title 
had been extinguished by treaty. His home 
was at Two Harbors until 1882, though 
much of his time was spent in the copper 
country. In that year he sold his property 
at Two Harbors to the Duluth & Iron 
Range Railway Company, which was pre- 
paring to lay a track through that region, 
and, coming to Duluth, he invested in lots on 
East Fourth street, on which he put up a 
number of houses, which yield him a nice 
income. His own home, built in 1888, is a 
modern and comfortable residence, and here, 
retired from active labors, Mr. Sexton is 
enjoying the results of his successful busi- 
ness career. His means have been acquired 
by honorable industry and good manage- 
ment, and he is esteemed by all his associates, 
whether in business or private life. 

Mr. Sexton was married, in 1882, to 
Mrs. Amelia Murphy, a native of Soldin, 
Germany, who came to the United States in 
childhood, and lived for some years with an 
uncle, Michael Finger, who was an early set- 
tler at Lomira. near Fond du Lac, Wis. Her 
parents, Ferdinand and \Vilhelmina (Fin- 
ger) Lemke, both died in Germany; Mr. 
Lemke kept a grocery store at Soldin, where 
some of his relatives are still prominent. 
Mrs. Sexton was first married, at Fond du 
Lac, Wis., to Richard Murphy, who died 
there in May. 1879, aged forty years. By 
that union there were two children, who died 
in infancy. To Mr. and Mrs. Sexton have 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



lieen born lour children, Howanl. Thomas 
H., Florence and James. This family attend 
the Congregational Church. In political 
sentiment Mr. Sexton is a Democrat, but he 
has never taken any active interest in poli- 
tics or craveil official honors. 

H. W. TRUE, cashier of the First Na- 
tional Bank, at Ladysmith, Wis., is eminent- 
ly litted for the responsible position he holds. 
He is calm and dispassionate, with the cour- 
age of his convictions, and much decision of 
character, and he is assertive when the oc- 
casion demands it. In his business relations 
he is straightforward and positive, com- 
manding respect and confidence. In appear- 
ance he is a man of towering stature and 
dignified bearing. Mr. True was born on 
Kelley's Island, Ohio, situated in Lake Erie, 
twelve miles from Sandusky, July i6, 1861, 
son of William and Harriet ( Randall) True, 
natives of Maine and England, respectively. 

The True family record can be traced 
back to early colonial days, and contains the 
names of honorable, patriotic men and cul- 
tured, noble women. William True was an 
architect and builder. In 1870 he moved to 
the vicinity of Muscatine. Iowa, and later to 
Mason City, carrying on his business in both 
localities for a number of years. His death 
occurred at Glen Flora, Wis., Aug. 20, 1898, 
when he was aged sixty-eight years. 

The boyhood of H. W. Tnie was passed 
upon his native island. \\'hen he was two 
and one-half years old his mother died, and 
naturally his early life lacked in much that 
a mother's tenderness and care provides, but 
he received a good education in the public 
schools, finishing in the high school of Mason 
City, Iowa. At the early age of sixteen 
years he began his career as a clerk in the 
store at Mason City, and by being very fru- 
gal and attentive to business, by the time he 
was twenty-one. he was able to establish 
himself in the flour and feed business, which 
he successfully carried on for eighteen 
months. Subsequently he embarked in the 
butcher business, and was associated with a 
Mr. Crosslev, for a period of a vear and a 
half. 



In 1884 Mr. True was married to Miss^ 
Maggie B. Rogers, of Burr Oak, Iowa, and 
in 1885 he came to A\'isconsin. In 1886 he 
settled at Hawkins, then known as ]\Iain 
Creek, where many logging camps were 
then established. For three years he re- 
mained in charge of the stores of the com- 
panies operating these camps, and later he 
established a general store, which he him- 
self conducted until 1895. During this pe- 
riod he dealt largely with the Indians, buy- 
ing of them furs, game, etc. While living 
there Mr. True was appointed postmaster of 
Hawkins, and was the first to hold this office. 
In 1895 he disposed of his interests in that 
town and went to Glen Flora, where in 1896 
he established a general store. In igcK) Air. 
True built a mill in Glen Flora, which he 
successfully operated until May, 1903, when 
he disposed of the property. In 1903 Mr. 
True bought the W. F. Switzer Mill. The 
mercantile business he carried on from 1896 
to 1902, when he admitted Lee \'an Patter 
to partnership, the same continuing until the 
following year when the partnership was 
dissolved, Mr. True retiring. He owns 1,000 
acres of land in Rusk county, 400 of it ad- 
jacent to Glen Flora. 

Always a stanch Republican. Air. True 
has been called upon to fill the positions of 
chainiian of the town board for six terms, 
township clerk two terms, and assessor two 
terms. He was appointed supervisor of as- 
sessment in November, 1901. In addition 
Mr. True has been delegate to both State and 
national conventions, and has always been 
active in local affairs. For four years he 
ably filled the position of deputy surveyor of 
Chippewa countv. He is a natural mechanic, 
and delights in work requiring mechanical 
skul. Air. True has been a hunter of rather 
more than local reputation, and since resid- 
ing in v.'hat is now Rusk county has killed 
twenty-six bears, and deer without number. 
He is a true devotee of the sport. 

On Jan. i, 1904. Air. True was elected 
to the position of cashier of the First Na- 
tional Bank, of Ladysmith, and already he 
has made some desirable innovations cal- 
culated to secure better accommodations to 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



patrons, and still stronger financial connec- 
tions outside. In educational matters Mr. 
True has taken a deep interest, and is always 
ready to assist in extending school facilities. 
Eraternally he is a member of Mystic Tie 
Lodge, I. O. O. F. ; the M. \V. A.'; and the 
K. of P. 

Mr. True has an abiding faith in the fu- 
ture of Northern Wisconsin, and has nobly 
borne his part in the upbuilding of Rusk 
county. Xo man stands higher in the public 
estimation than he, and the honorable posi- 
tion he has attained to in life has been \v(M1 
on his own merit. 

Mr. and Mrs. True have three children, 
Herbert C, Fred W., and Erwin B. The 
eldest graduated at the head of his class in 
1903, at the age of eighteen years. 

CHARLES A. PETERSON enjoys 
the distinction of being tiie oldest man now 
living in Duluth who was bom within the 
present city limits, his birth having taken 
place Dec. 21, 1857, at Fond du Lac, which 
is now a part of Duluth. 

Peter J. Peterson, his father, was born 
in Sweden, and came to the United States 
in boyhood. He had received good educa- 
tional advantages in his native land, and after 
coming to this country was a student at the 
old Chicago University. In about 1855, 
soon after his marriage (which took place 
in Chicago), he came to the Head of the 
Lakes, locating land on the site of Fond du 
Lac. Before long a portion of his land was 
platted as a part of the town site, of which he 
was one of the original proprietors, and some 
of this property still forms part of his estate. 
A plat of the village made by him in 1857 is 
still in existence. Mr. Peterson engaged in 
farming to some extent, and also got out con- 
siderable timber, for a sawmill at Milford's 
Bay (now Oneota), and he proved quite a 
successful business man. He also became 
(juitc influential in local affairs, for he was 
a public-spirited citizen, and ever ready to 
give his time and means to carry out projects 
for the advancement or improvement of his 
neighl)orhood. He efficiently filled a num- 
ber of offices, among others tliat of justice 



of the peace at Fond du Lac for si)me years, 
and in that capacity performed a number 
(jf marriages. Politically he was an active 
Republican. His religious connection was 
with the Lutheran Church, and the only serv- 
ices of that church held in this locality dur- 
ing his lifetime were conducted in his house. 
He died in 1873, at the age of forty-nine 
years. 

Mr. Peterson was married, in Chicago, 
to Christina M. Olson, who was bom in 
Arvika, Vermland, Sweden, and came to the 
United States when a young woman, the 
ocean voyage taking three months. She 
lived in Chicago for a time previous to her 
marriage, and came to Fond du Lac on the 
■ i.ady Elgin," the ill-fated steamer which 
afterward sank in Lake Michigan. Six chil- 
dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, 
namely : One died in infancy in Chicago. 
Charles A. is mentioned below. Oscar A., 
who was a dealer in timber and merchandise, 
died Sept. 4, 1902, at Fond du Lac, Minn., 
aged forty-three vears. Alma M. is the wife 
of F. F. Porter, of Oakland, Cal. Emil is a 
druggist in Duluth. Hilma R. is engaged in 
teaching in that city. The mother died sud- 
denly at Fond du Lac, May 31, 1905, of old 
age. Her sisters, Mrs. Peter Nelson, of 
Red Wing, and Miss Olson, of Duluth, are 
the only other representatives of her family 
in this country. 

Charles A. Peterson attended the public 
schools at Fond du Lac and Superior high 
.school, from which latter he was graduated 
at the age of fifteen years. Later he took a 
special business course at a night school in 
Duluth. After his father's death he contin- 
ued the lumber business for some time, but 
in 1890 he sold out at Fond du Lac and set- 
tled in Duluth, opening a real-estate office 
which he has conducted ever since, doing a 
good business in that line and in insurance. 
He has also invested to some extent in min- 
ing lands on the Mesaba range. Since 1901 
he has been dealing in lumber, principally 
cedar, and does considerable logging each 
winter, in this industry giving employment 
to a number of men the year around. As 
will be seen, his interests are varied, but he 



15^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



tinds time to give faithful attention to them 
all, and, like his father, is thrifty and pros- 
perous. He has held but one official position, 
when he served as deputy probate judge of 
St. Louis county, to fill a vacancy. How- 
ever, he is deeply interested in politics, as a 
stanch member of the Republican party, at- 
tends many conventions, and has acted as 
delegate to State conventions, etc. He is a 
member of the Garfield Republican Club. 

On June 19, 1893, Mr. Peterson mar- 
ried Miss Elizabeth Eraser, who was born in 
Saginaw, Mich., daughter of Alexander Era- 
ser, now of Duluth, ex-surveyor general of 
logs. Fifth District of Minnesota. One child 
has blessed this union, Chauncey A. The 
family attend the M. E. Church. Mr. Peter- 
son's fraternal connection is with the Modern 
Samaritans. 

REV. DETLOE LOESTROM is 
pastor of the Swedish Baptist Church at 
West Superior, Wis., one of the oldest 
churches in the place, organized in 1887. 

This church began with but six mem- 
bers; in a couple of years this had grown to 
a membership of sixteen, and they erected 
then- first building. The church has had a 
number of pastors. The first was Rev. Mr. 
Backman, who officiated at the organization, 
assisted by Rev. Mr. Halverson, and who, 
after the incumbency of Rev. INIr. Rosquest, 
returned for a second pastorate ; he was fol- 
lowed by Rev. Mr. Jungberg; Rev. Ered 
Linden, now of Duluth ; Rev. Anton Ander- 
son, at jiresent in Brainerd, Minn.; Rev. 
Matthev. Wickman, and the present pastor. 

Rev. Detlof Lofstrom was born in Swe- 
den June 27, i860, and came to America 
shortly before his twenty-seventh birthday. 
Two years later, in 1889, he entered the 
Theological Seminary at Morgan Park, 111., 
and graduated in 1892. He was ordained 
the same year and became pastor of a church 
at Holdredge, Neb , where he remained two 
and a half years. Eor six years, beginning 
with 1894, he was at Grantsburg, Wis., and 
from ;i ere went to his present charge. 

In iSgi, at Morgan Park, occurred the 
marriage of Rev. Mr. Lofstrom to Justin 



Nelson. They have four children, one son 
and three daughters. 

The church at West Superior is growing 
steadily in numbers and interest, now having 
a membership of eighty-eight, with a Sun- 
day-school enrollment of seventy-five. The 
present church building was erected in the 
year 1900, and under the leadership of the 
present faithful and efficient pastor the fu- 
ture outlook of the church is most promis- 



JAMES H. TAYLOR, a successful 
contractor and machinist at Ashland, Dou- 
glas county, as well as a prominent citizen, 
was born in Wilmington, Del., Jan. 23, 
1855. His parents were Henry and Sophia 
(Jelly) Taylor, natives of Leicester, Eng- 
land, who came to the United States in 
1845. The paternal grandfather, Henry 
Taylor, was a quarryman in the slate quar- 
ries of Leicester, and was killed in i860 by 
a premature explosion during some blasting 
at the quarry where he was working. The 
maternal grandfather was Jacob Jelly, an 
officer in the British navy, who died of a 
fever while in the. East Indian service. 

Henry Taylor, father of James H., was 
a farmer by occupation, and left England to 
settle on a farm in Delaware, where he died 
at the age of seventy-five. His wife was 
one year younger at the time of her death. 
Mr. Taylor was a devout member of the 
Presbyterian Church. In the politics of his 
adopted country he took little interest. 

James H. Taylor went to a public school 
near Wilmington and was a pupil at an 
academy for a few terms. When he was 
seventeen he went to New York City and 
learned the trade of a machinist. He se- 
cured a good position with a New York 
company, and in 1873 was sent by his em- 
ployers to Colorado to erect a stamp mill. 
Pie met with great success in the enterprise 
and remained at different points in the State 
for five years and eight months, putting up 
mills and smelting establishments. He con- 
tinued in the employment of the same firm 
until 1887. 

In 1887 Mr. Taylor located in Ashland 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



153 



and founded llie firm of Scott & Taylor. 
They built a factory for the manufacture 
of sash and doors, together with all kinds of 
trimming and dressing lumber for the in- 
terior finish of buildings. This business they 
still operate, and for the last few years they 
have filled contracts for buildings. In 
April, 1902, the firm built a double shingle 
mill at Mellen, Ashland county, and in their 
various operations they employ a force of 
seventy-five men. Mr. Taylor's experience 
as a machinist enables him to keep their 
own plants moving like clock work. 

In 1884 ]\lr. Taylor was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Charlotte A. Keeler, the 
daughter of Jacob Keeler, of Danbury, 
Conn. Mr. Taylor is an earnest worker in 
the A. O. U. W., having filled all the chairs 
in the local lodge, and in the B. P. O. E., 
while his wife is prominent in the W. C. T. 
U. and has received the degree of honor. 
She is enthusiastic in the cause of woman's 
rights, and at the local election in the spring 
of 1902 was very active in bringing out the 
women of Ashland to vote on the saloon 
question and other issues. 

FREDERICK SMITH THOiMPSON. 
the ])opular postmaster at Superior. Dou- 
glas county, was born in Oneida, 111., Feb. 
19, 1872, a son of Delos Charles and Ade- 
laide (Chaffee) Thompson. 

The great-great-grandfather came from 
the north of Ireland soon after the farm 
riots of 1848. Before that outbreak he had 
owned considerable property. Iiut it was then 
confiscated, and he began life anew in the 
new world. Edward O. Thompson, the pa- 
ternal grandfather, was born in New York 
City, and later located in Unadilla, N. Y., 
where he manufactured woolen goods. His 
son, Delos C. was born in New York State, 
went to Kansas in 1867, and a year later 
to Winnebago City, Minn., where he dealt 
in dry goods. His death in 1878 was an un- 
timely one, as he had readied only his forty- 
sixth year. His wife, also a native of New 
York State, is still living and makes her 
home in Superior. On her mother's side 
she is of English descent and of \Velsh 



stock on her father's. Her father was Wil- 
liam Chaffee, a pioneer farmer of Green- 
ville, Montcalm Co., Mich. 

F. S. Thompson attended the public 
schools of Winnebago City and completed 
the high school course, from which he was 
graduated when he was only seventeen. He 
at once secured a position as bookkeeper in 
a lumber office and worked there about two 
years, but in the spring of 1890 he went to 
Superior and was employed as a clerk in the 
postoffice. In time he was promoted to be 
assistant postmaster, and in 1897 was given 
the appointment of postmaster. He was re- 
appointed in 1902, but in July, 1903, the 
postoffices of Superior were consolidated 
into one main office, under one postmaster, 
and since that time Mr. Thompson has been 
superintendent of Station A, the same office 
of which he was postmaster. 

In September, 1900, Mr. Thompson 
was married to Caroline McLean, who was 
born in Superior and is the daughter of 
R. B. McLean, one of the earliest residents 
of the place. Mr. Thompson is a member 
of the Presbyterian Church, and Mrs. 
Thompson of the Episcopal. Fraternally 
Mr. Thompson is affiliated with the Masons, 
and is a Republican in his politics. In his 
official capacity he has shown himself most 
efficient, and socially he is very popular. 

WILLIAM H. HOLLENBECK, one 
of the most progressive and pul)lic-spirited 
citizens of Fond du Lac, a suburb of Du- 
luth, Minn., and a man widely and favorably 
known, was born at Freeport, III., March 
16, 1840, a son of William H. Hollenbeck, 
Sr., and Harriet (Stevens) Hollenbeck. 

William H. Hollenbeck, Sr., was born 
at Great Barrington, Mass., and settled at 
Freeport about 1837, becoming the first 
clerk of court of Stephenson county, and 
filling other ofiices of a public nature for 
a number of ye:.rs. He became an import- 
ant man, commercially, carrying on a large 
mercantile business for some years at Free- 
port, and was thus engaged when killed in 
a railroad accident, when seventy-four years 
of age. Mr. Hollenbeck was descended 



154 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



from Holland ancestors, liut nntortnnately 
the lannly records have not been preserved. 
His" niotlier, Lonise Ransom, died at the 
age of eighty-tive years, in Massadnisetts. 
She had the lionor of being tlie gnmdmotlier 
of J. Slo.tt P'assett. once Republican candi- 
ilate for governor of New York. The lin- 
eage of tlie Ransom family has been traced 
back to the ninth century in Italy. 

Harriet Stevens HoUenbeck. mother of 
our subject, was born near Niagara Falls, 
N. v.. about 1S20, and came to Illinois 
Mith her parents. The family first settled 
at Kaskaskia, then the capital of Illinois, 
but afterward her father, Leonard Stevens, 
settled in Mason county, 111., forty miles 
from a neighlxir. He reached an advanced 
age. and ilied honored by his community. 
Mrs. HoUenbeck died at Superior, Neb., 
Sept. I, 1901. aged ninety years, four 
n.ontlis and fourteen days. 

William Henry HoUenbeck, tlie subject 
proper of this biography, remained at Free- 
port until he was twenty-four yea.rs old, 
and then spent some vears as telegraph op- 
erator and agent for the following railroad 
companies: Wabash, C. B. & Q., C. M. 
& St. Paul, Northern Pacific. In 1872 he 
came to Fond du Lac as agent for the 
Northern Pacific, but after a year returned 
to Chicago and was with the \\abash. How- 
ever, since December. 18S2, he has lived 
continuously at Fond du Lac. At that date 
he opened a store which he still carries on. 
In 1898 he was made agent at that station 
for the Northern Pacific and has been post- 
master since 1S97; he was also postmaster 
for eighteen months during 1892-93. Mr. 
HoUenbeck takes a great interest in horti- 
culture and has a beautiful home, with ele- 
gant grounds in which he allows his taste 
full play. 

Mr. HoUenbeck took a leading part in 
organizing the village of Fond du Lnc, lo- 
cating tlie station and establishing the elec- 
tric light plant, which is owned and con- 
trolled by the city government of Duluth, 
of which the village became a part in 1895. 
During the existence of the village Mr. Hol- 
lenheck was its recorder. He was also in- 



strumental in inducino" the Northern Pacific 
railroatl to restore its service at Fond du 
Lac, which it had abandoned for a time. In 
another direction has Mr. HoUenbeck done 
yeoman service in bis community, and that 
is in preserving the historical annals of the 
Upper Lake Region. He has a photograph 
of the old trading post of John Jacob Astor 
at Fond du Lac, marked with his initials. 
Viith the date 1797. 

In 1866 Mr. HoUenbeck was married to 
Carrie A. Turner, a native of Indiana, born 
near Lafayette, who died in 1870, at Ham- 
ilton, 111., before she was nineteen years of 
age. and is buried where she was marrieil. 
at Fairmount, 111. She was a consistent 
member of the Methodist Church. One 
child was born of this marriage, Avenel T., 
now chief clerk in the telegraph depaitment 
of the Chicago & Northwestern railroad at 
St. Paul. On June 5, 1872, :Mr. HoUenbeck 
married Theressa Krause, who was born at 
Fond du Lac. Minnesota. 

The growth of Fond du Lac has been re- 
markable and the increase in its property 
values and its position in the commercial 
^vorld is largely due to the efforts of Mr. 
HoUenbeck, who has concentrated his nat- 
ural abilities upon it. The place has a popu- 
lation of intelligent, patriotic, thinking men 
and women, many of whom are well known 
in connection with the present development 
in higher thought and aggressive commer- 
cialism. 

NELS NELSON, chairman of the 
town board of \\'ashburn, is one of the old- 
est and most influential citizens of that 
place. He is a native of Norwa\- and was 
born in Christiansund, June 16, 1855, the 
son of Nicholas and Ingeborg (Jorgine) 
Nelson, both natives of the same locality. 

The ancestors of Nicholas Nelson had 
followed the sea for many generations, and 
he himself commanded a vessel engaged in 
the commerce of the North Sea, but alxiut 
1876 he bought a large fann near Christi- 
ania, at Akern. where he spent his remaining 
years, dying in 1897, at the age of sixty- 
nine, and his wife, likewise tlie descendant 



COMMK.MORATRE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



155 



of an old Xoiwcgian family. suivi\ed him 
only about a year and dicil at aijout the same 
age. The family were de\uted supporters 
of the Lutheran Church, and Mr. Nelson 
not only was greatly interested in missions, 
but often filled pulpits, and was active in 
all forms of church work. 

Nels Nelson lived on a farm in Norway 
until 1881, when he came to America, and 
pushing westward to Wisconsin, settled 
first in Marathon county, and then worked 
at his trade as a carpenter in St. Paul, Win- 
ona and LaCrosse. Four years after his ar- 
rival in America he went to Washburn, then 
a village of not more than 250 inhabitants. 
There he built one of tl^e first hotels in the 
place, known as the "Nelson House," and 
kept the management of it in his own hands 
until 1902, when he rented it. It has al- 
ways been a popular place and has enjoyed 
a large patronage. 

During his residence in Washburn Mr. 
Nelson has shown a great interest in public 
afifairs, and has been prominent in town and 
county politics. Until 1892 he belonged to 
the Democratic party, but in that year be- 
came a convert to Republican principles 
and has supported them ever since. From 
1889 to 1 89 1 he served as a member of the 
town board, and since 1900 has been chair- 
man of the board and a member of the coun- 
ty board, in the State convention of 1902 
Mr. Nelson was a prominent candidate for 
railroad commissioner, but as there was a 
strong desire to put an eld soldier on the 
ticket he failed to get the nomination. In 
1896 he was elected on the board of educa- 
tion and has served continuously ever since. 
The development of the fine school system 
in the town is due partly to his efforts, while 
his personal supervision of the construction 
of the Garfield school building resulted in 
the erection of a model structure, and' he is 
known as the father ot that school. 

Mr. Nelson has taken a very great in- 
terest in several social and fraternal organi- 
zations and has filled various offices in them. 
He is an e.x-president of the Ind. Scan. 
Workingmen's Association, and is a mem- 
ber of the Scan. H. & E. F. of America ; 



of the I. O. R. M. and of the Woodmen of 
the World. 

The first wife of Mr. Nelson, to whom 
he was married in 1888, was Julia Johnson. 
Sne was born in Gulbransdahl, Norway, in 
18O7, but only lived to be twenty-four, leav- 
ing her husband with one child. Alma. An- 
other child, Albert, had died at the age of 
three. Mr. Nelson's second marriage oc- 
curred in 1897. Flis wife's maiden name 
was Lizzie Gunderson, who was born near 
Trondhjem, Norway, but came to the 
United States in childhood w ith her parents, 
who settled in Menomonie, Wis. To this 
union have come three children, Albert, 
Nicholas and George Clifford. 

HANS P. FULEY, vice-president of 
the Sawyer County Land Company, came 
to Hayward in 1883, when the town was iii 
its infancy. He is of Norwegian birth, born 
in Enebak, near Christiania, March 18, 1858. 
His parents, both natives of Norway, were 
Ole and Annie (Gulbranson) Fuley, the 
former, a farmer by occupation, dying 
when Hans P. was but two and a half years 
old. His mother afterward married Chris- 
tian Fuley, whose last name was taken from 
the farm which had been occupied by several 
generations of H. P. Fuley's family. 

Hans P. Fuley attended the public and 
high schools of his native place, graduating 
in 1876. Two years later he immigrated to 
America, shipping from Christiania on the 
shij) "Angelo" across the North Sea to Hull, 
England, and taking passage from Liverpool 
on the "Indiana," of the American line, for 
Philadelphia, where he landed the eighth of 
September. He went first to Nebraska 
Cit). Neb., where he lived for about two 
years with an uncle, Hans Anderson. From 
there he went to La Crosse, Wis., finding 
employment in the lumber mills and in the 
woods. Aiter three years of this life he 
found his way to Eau Claire, and shortly 
after to Duluth, Minn., from which place he 
came to Hayward in 1883, the year in which 
Sawyer county was formed. Hayward was 
just beginning to be settled at that time, and 
for two years Mr. Fuley was engaged in the 



1^6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPIilCAL RECORD 



lumber woods. In 1886 he was elected 
town clerk of Hayward and of Sawyer 
county and held that office continuously 
until 1890. He was appointed deputy coun- 
ty treasurer in 1891, under County Treas- 
m-er Charles Hubbard, iiolding the posi- 
tion for that year, but in the spring of 1892 
he was again elected town clerk and re- 
mained in that position for ten consecutive 
years. A Republican in politics, he takes 
an active interest in all public matters, and 
for many years has been a frequent delegate 
to county, congressional and assembly con- 
ventions. In 1902 he was prominently men- 
tioned as a candidate for State Treasurer, 
but withdrew before the convention. He lias 
also served for a number of years as a coun- 
ty committeeman. For some time past Mr. 
Fuley has been actively and successfully en- 
gaged in the real estate business in connec- 
tion with the Sawyer County Land Com- 
pany. 

In 1888 Mr. Fuley married Lena Ander- 
son and they became the parents of. four 
children: Harry, Nina E., Minnie A., and 
^^'illiam A. Mrs. Fuley died March 14, 
1898, at the age of thirty-four. Mr. Fuley 
is a member of the Independent Scandina- 
vian Workmen's Association, in which so- 
ciety he was the second to hold the office of 
Grand President. He is a Mason, a member 
of Keystone Lodge, No. 263. at Hayward, 
and Pekegema Chapter, No. 67, at Rice 
Lake, and also belongs to the M. \V. A. He 
is one of the energetic and successful resi- 
dents of Sawyer county, active in public af- 
fairs, and possessing the confidence and es- 
teem of all classes. 

ALWIN A. MUCK, proprietor of tlie 
Bank of Lake Nebagamon, has been inti- 
mately identified with many of the move- 
ments for the development of his home 
town, acquiring his wealth and position by 
efforts along lines which have also been 
helpful to the community at large. He is a 
native son of Wisconsin and was born in 
Jefferson. July 7. 1866. His parents were 
Christoplier and Antoinette Muck. 

Christopher Muck and his wife were na- 



tives of Saxony, Germany, and both came 
to this country in 1852, but their marriage 
occurred after their arrival liere. Christo- 
pher Muck was a butcher by trade and op- 
ened a market at Jefferson, later removing 
to Michigamme. An industrious and pros- 
perous citizen, he gave little attention to pub- 
lic affairs and passed a quiet life until his 
death in 1884, at the age of fifty-three years. 
His wife still survives him and resides at 
Lake Nebagamon, nearly seventy years old 
now. Of her children the following seven 
are living: Henry, of Iron Mountain, 
Mich. ; Anna, of Lake Nebagamon ; Alwin 
A. ; Emma, the wife of Frank Redding, of 
Lake Nebagamon ; Charles, of Junction 
City, Ore. ; Herbert and Alma, Mrs. 
Charles Derrie, both of Lake Nebagamon. 
When only a boy ALvin Muck went with 
his parents to Michigamme and was there 
brought up, attending the public schools. 
He learned the butcher's trade and was also 
employed for a time in a mercantile estab- 
lishment. Still another phase of his early 
life was that of a miner, as he worked more 
or less in iron mines. In 1892 he went to 
Iron River, Wis., where he was employed 
by a firm dealing in meats and general mer- 
chandise, and where he remained six j'ears. 
Mr. Muck located at Lake Nebagamon 
in 189S and for two years carried on a hard- 
ware store there, the first one opened in the 
town. His interests were not confined to 
this one enterprise, however, as he was also 
dealing in real estate and had some other 
business connections. In 1900 he bought a 
stock of general merchandise, clothing, 
boots and shoes, etc.. in the management of 
which his brother-in-law. Charles Derrie, 
and a brother, Henry Derrie, were his part- 
ners. At the same time he purchased the 
Bank of Lake Nebagamon, an institution 
which had been started two years previous- 
ly bv Hunter, Steckbauer and Ripley, and 
the two enterprises have since been conduct- 
ed by ]\Ir. Muck in connection with each 
other. 

Mr. Muck's real estate holdings have 
lieen considerable, as he has invested rather 
largely in timber lands as well as in villao-e 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



157 



property. He has also erected several 
buildings in the village. He has invested in 
Oregon, as well as in Wisconsin, and is con- 
nected with his brother Charles both in 
these properties and in some gold mines in 
the Cascade Mountains, in the former State, 
which latter they are now preparing to de- 
velop. He is president of the Muck-Dun- 
ning Hardware Co., of Portland, Ore., and 
is about to remove to that city. Mr. Muck 
is also interested in the Carbon Coal Co., 
which owns some valuable coal mines near 
Centralia, Washington. 

Mr. ?kluck was married in 1889 to 
Miss Emily Derrie, daughter of Edward 
and Rosa Derrie, of Champion, Mich. To 
this union have come two children, Emma 
and Roy. The family attend the Catholic 
Church and take a prominent part in its 
various activities. 

A Republican in his political views, Mr. 
Muck was a strong candidate before the con- 
vention of igo2 as a member of the Assem- 
bly from the 2d district of Douglas county. 
At Iron River he was a member of the 
tow-n board, and at Lake Nebagamon has 
been a member of the school board two 
years. Fraternally he is a member of the 
M. W. A., a charter member of the local 
lodge, I. O. O. P., and of the Encampment 
and Canton at West Superior, also a mem- 
ber of the B. P. O. E., in all of which he 
is a prominent factor. 

Mr. Muck has been uniformly success- 
ful in business, and by his honorable deal- 
ings and courteous manners has gained an 
enviable reputation and popularity among 
his associates. 

CHARLES AUGUSTUS STARK, a 
successful attorney and prominent citizen of 
Rice Lake, Barron Co., Wis., was born at 
Randolph, Wis., Dec. 25, 1854, a son of 
Abel and Jane (Ely) Stark, the former of 
whom was a native of Lyme, Conn., and 
came to Wisconsin in 1851. He resided 
upon a farm at Randolph until his death in 
1868, when he was sixty-four years of age. 
He was active in local affairs, serving as jus- 
tice of the peace and cnuncilman of the town 



of ^\'estford for many years. In party af- 
filiations he was a Democrat. Religiously 
he was a Baptist, and was a most worthy 
and good man. His ancestors came from 
Scotland in 1664 and settled in New Eng- 
land, although the first of whom there is any 
definite record is Abel Stark, brother of 
General Stark, of Revolutionary fame. Na- 
than, son of Abel Stark, was the grand- 
father of Charles A. Mrs. Abel Stark, 
mother of our subject, died at Randolph in 
1886, aged seventy-three years. She was. 
born at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and was a 
granddaughter of the celebrated Dr. Wil- 
liam Pitt Ely, of Hanover, N. J. The Ely 
family has long been prominently identified 
with the history of that portion of New Jer- 
sey. Mr. and Mrs. Abel Stark had eleven 
children, of wh'):n Charles A. Stark was 
the youngest. 

Charles Augustus Stark was educated in 
the public schools of his locality and later 
studied law at the University of Wisconsin, 
from which he was graduated in 1879. Fo'' 
some time he was engaged in practice at 
Chicago, but returned to Randolph and car- 
ried on the homestead for three years, and 
then opened up an office. May 13, 1887, 
he located at Rice Lake, where he has since 
resided, successfully engaged in a general 
practice. He is a Republican in politics, and 
for eleven years has served with conserva- 
tive ability as city attorney. Mr. Stark has 
also served as delegate to State and con- 
gressional conventions several times, and is 
ahvays sent to the county conventions, his 
influence and ability being generally recog- 
nized. 

In March, 1889, Mr. Stark was married 
to Lillian M. Stults, daughter of Silas and 
Mary (Musson) Stults, of Rice Lake. 
Mrs. Stark was born in Cooks Valley, 
Chippewa Co., Wis. Two children have 
been bom to Mr. and Mrs. Stark, Ralph 
and Blanche. The family all attend the 
Episcopal Church. Fraternally Mr. Stark 
is a member of the M. W. .X. and A. O. U. 
W.. being Master Workman of Weal Lodge, 
and is deservedly popular in all these or- 
f:anizations. 



158 



COMMEMORATI\-E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



TIIO.AIAS EVANS PUGH, one ot 
Ashlaii(.rs most successful contractors, \vho 
came to the city in 1887 and has ever since 
been active in furthering its rapid growth, 
is a native of Wales, and was born in the 
parish of Llanbister, Radnorshire, Jan. 25, 
1853. tlis parents were Richard and Mar- 
garet (Evans) Pugh, both natives of the 
same locality. 

Three generations of the family have 
come to this country. Richard Pugh came 
with his family in 1867, and his mother, 
wI:o was left a widow in early life and who 
married for her second husband a man 
named Morgan, preceded her son by a few- 
years. Her death occurred in Hagerstown, 
Md. The maternal grandfather, Rev. 
Thomas Evans, a Baptist minister, was 
bom in Wales, March 31, 1775, and died 
in Radnorshire, Nov. 28, 1830. His wife. 
Mrs. Jane Evans, was born May 26, 1783. 
and died at Claremont, near Wliitbv, Ont., 
April 15, 1868. 

When Richard Pugh came to America 
he made his tirst settlement at Aurora, 111., 
but later he went to Indiana and passed the 
rest of his life on a farm near Wolcott. 
Both he and his wife were Baptists in their 
faith and were very acti\e in church work. 
Richard Pugh was noted for his love of 
music, and his son carefully preserves the 
hymn book in which his father copied all 
the music by hand. For many years he 
lead the music in the Baptist Church in his 
native place. Mr. Pugh was a Republican. 
He was bom April 20, 1820, and lived until 
Sept. 27, 1892. His widow still survives 
and lives with one of her children in Wol- 
cott. They had children as follows : Jane 
E.. widow of Evan A. Jones, of Wolcott, 
Ind. ; Eleanor, Mrs. James C. Jones, of 
Monticello, Ind.; Richard C, of Wolcott; 
Thomas E. ; iMargaret E., who died in in- 
fancy, JNIay 24, 1861, and John B., of Ant- 
werp. Ohio. 

Thomas E. Pugh attended school in 
Wales, and after coming to America, was 
also in the public schools of Aurora. At the 
age of eighteen he began to learn the car- 
penter's trade, and for most of his life has 



worked in that line. He began in Indiana, 
\\ liere he did some contracting, and also put 
up buildings in Belleville, Wis. Since 1887 
Mr. Pugh has been in Ashland engaged in 
contracting. Among the many substantial 
strvictures he has erected may be mentioned, 
as among the most elaborate and well built 
in the city, the four Wilmarth blocks. He 
has also done much work in the neigliboring 
towns. In 1896 he built his own residence, 
one of several houses he has built for 
himself, and which he still owns. During 
the winter of 1903-04 ]Mr. Pugh started a 
sash and door factory at 102-106 2d 
avenue West, equipped with modern ma- 
chinery for the manufacture of all interior 
finish, including sash, doors, blinds, scroll 
sawing, turning, etc. Five men are em- 
ployed in this establishment, besides a large 
number on his various building contracts. 

In 1884 Mr. Pugh and Miss Clara B. 
]\Iorley were united in marriage. Mrs. 
Pugh was the daughter of A. J. Morley and 
was born in Lafayette. Ind., where both her 
parents died. The children who have been 
born to this union are as follows : Erma and 
Elma, twins, born Nov. 27, 1886, and Hal- 
lee, who died Sept. 11, 1897, aged nearly 
eight years. The family are connected with 
the Congregational Church, of which Mr. 
Pugh is chairman of the board of trustees. 

Mr. Pugh is a Republican and is much 
interested in public affairs, but he finds his 
time too much occupied for him to be active 
in politics. He served one term in the city 
council, but declined re-election on account 
of the press of his own duties. Fraternally 
he belongs to the B. P. O. E. and the M. 
\\'. A. In all relations of life he is greatly 
liked and hignly esteemed for his useful life. 

WILLIAM H. KLINE. A railroad 
center like Superior naturally numbers 
among its residents many who are brought 
thither bv their connections with the differ- 
ent roads. 

\\'illiam H. Kline's ancestors came to 
this country from either Holland or Ger- 
many, and for several generations the fani- 
ilv has li\ed 'n Pcnnsvlvania. The gfrand- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRArHiCAL RECORD 



159 



father, Josepli Kline, was a farmer who 
iived and died in Lebanon county. His son, 
Joseph, Jr., was a dealer in tin and hard- 
ware at Trevorton, Westmoreland county. 
He married Catherine Baumgardner, also 
a native of Pennsjdvania, of German de- 
scent. Her father, George Baumgardner, 
of Lebanon county, was a farmer and shoe- 
maker, who lived to the advanced age of 
eighty years. 

\\ illiam H. Kline was born in Dauphin 
county. Pa., in December, 1853. His boy- 
hood was passed in Northumberland county, 
where he attended the public schools, and 
then in his father's shop learned the trade of 
tinsmith. On reaching his majority Mr. 
Kline left home to begin life on his own ac- 
count, and fi^r a time was employed in mer- 
cantile houses. In 1877 he went to Ne- 
braska and spent a year in a store there. He 
was next in a real estate office in Burlington, 
Iowa, and then spent soine time in Platts- 
mouth. Neb., entering the employ of the 
Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy road in a 
clerical capacity. After several years in 
Plattsmouth, he was transferred to Lincoln, 
Neb., where he was division store keeper. 
In 1888 he severed his connection with the 
Burlington road and took a position with 
the Eastern railroad of Minnesota as store 
keeper in West Superior. Two years later 
he was stationed at St. Paul as chief clerk 
in the company's general store, and then in 
1896 returned to West Superior again as 
store keeper. There he had charge of all 
the supplies on the Eastern Division of the 
Cireat Northern System, including every- 
thing east of Cass Lake and between Duluth 
and St. Paul. 

In 1885 occurretl Mr. Kline's marriage 
to Miss Mary J. I"(jrd, who was born in 
Mexico, N. Y., the daughter of S. B. Ford, 
who later was a retired business man of Lin- 
coln, Neb. One son has been born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Kline, Bertram T. The family are 
members of the Congregational Church, 
while fraternally Mr. Kline is a member of 
two orders, the Royal Arcanum and the M. 
W. A. In his politics he is a Republican, 
])ut has neither the time nor the inclination 
for an active career in the political field. 



CHARLES LARSON, register of 
deeds of Douglas county, is a man who at 
a comparatively early age has achieved suc- 
cess solely by his industry and ability, which 
have enabled him to forge ahead rapidly. 

Mr. Larson was the child of Lars and 
Christina (Swanson) Larson, whose whole 
lives were spent on a farm in Wilshult, Ble- 
kinge, Sweden. Lars Larson had three sons 
and one daughter, all of whom came to 
Superior. The children were Andrew, 
Swan, Celia, the wife of Charles A. Swan- 
son, and Charles. 

Charles Larson received a good educa- 
tion in his native land, completing a high 
school course and studying bookkeeping. 
Before he had entirely finished the latter he 
came, in 1880. to the United States and 
located in Superior, then little more than a 
small frontier village. He worked in the 
lumber woods, meantime applying himself 
(Uligently to mastering the English lan- 
guage, and with the assistance of a little 
private instruction, his purpose was soon 
fulfilled. The year 1885 witnessed the com- 
mencement of his prospecting on Vermillion 
Range, where he invested in lands of which 
he still holds possession. About four years 
were spent there and on the Missabi Range 
prospecting for timber. Mr. Larson has 
also made investments in the Thunder Bay 
gold mining district and in several other 
directions. 

In 1870 Mr. Larson entered the engi- 
neering department of the city and for five 
years continued in that position. A Repub- 
lican in his attitude toward public affairs, he 
was elected alderman from the Fifth ward 
in 1898 and was ch(^sen again for that office 
in 1900. In the latter year he was also 
elected register of deeds for the county, and 
re-elected in 1902. In these public capaci- 
ties his duties were fulfilled to the utmost 
satisfaction of his constituents. He is con- 
nected with the K. of P., the Improved 
Order of Red Men, the Independent Scandi- 
navian W^orkmen's Association, the Scan- 
dinavian Benevolent Association and other 
fraternal organizations. 

On Dec. 3, 1902. occurred the nuptials 
of Mr. Larson and Miss Augusta Anderson, 



i6o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



daughter of Andrew and Christine Ander- 
son, of Black River Falls, Douglas Co., 
\W'.3. Mrs. Larson was born at Dalerne, 
Sweden, and came to this country with her 
parents in 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Larson are 
the parents of one son, born Dec. 31, 1903. 

JOSEPH P. COX, M. D., one of the 
most prominent physicians in Northern 
Wisconsin, was born in Chatham, Ont., 
May 7, 1859, son of Dr. Joseph and Mary 
(O'Flynn) Cox. 

Dr. Joseph Cox, the father, was an Eng- 
lishman who took his medical degree in Ips- 
wich University, and for a time occupied 
the chair of chemistry at that university and 
at Oxford. He came to Canada in 1849, 
living a few years at Chatham, then going 
to Detroit, Mich., where for some years he 
was professor of chemistry in the Detroit 
Medical College. He then went to Milwau- 
kee, and after a time to Oconto, Wis., 
where he engaged in the drug business 
until his health gave way. His death 
occurred in 1889, in St. Thomas, Ja- 
maica, where he had gone in search of re- 
newed health. He was but fifty-nine years 
of age when he died and had made a name 
for himself in the field of chemistry, both 
as a teacher and as a practical chemist. He 
had a family of three children, of whom 
two survive: Dr. Joseph P., mentioned be- 
low; and Edward A., a pharmacist in Mil- 
waukee. 

Dr. Joseph P. Cox passed his boyhood 
in Milwaukee, where he attended the public 
and parochial schools, and prepared for col- 
lege. He matriculated in the University of 
Indiana in 1876. completing the full course 
and graduating in 1879. Previous to this 
he had studied medicine with the noted 
physician Dr. J. Marion Sims, and in 1880 
he entered the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons in Minneapolis, for post graduate 
work, also acting for some years as a dem- 
onstrator of anatomy in the college. From 
there he went to Sykestown, N. Dak., 
and then to Fort Totten. that State, as 
United States Post Surgeon, serving also 
as postmaster at Sykestown, his commission 



being signed by Walter O. Gresham. While 
in this part of the country he acted as com- 
missioner in the organization of Wells and 
other counties, in Dakota Territory, being 
the first commissioner appointed by Terri- 
torial Governor N. G. Ordway. Upon the 
completion of this work he went to St. Paul, 
Muin., where for some time he was actively 
engaged in the practice of his profession. In 
1885 he accepted the management of the 
Eau Claire Hospital, remaining in charge 
several years. He went to Hayward as 
government physician to the Indians of 
Wisconsin, receiving his appointment under 
President Harrison, and resigning on 
President Cleveland's election. After this 
he devoted himself to his private practice, 
and organized and conducted the Good Sa- 
maritan Hospital at Hayward, at that time 
the largest lumbermen's hospital in north- 
ern Wisconsin. He remained in Hayward 
until 1899, becoming an important factor in 
local politics, and filling the position of 
chairman of the Republican county com- 
mittee for several years. During this time 
he also edited the Republican Hustler, a po- 
litical organ established by himself, through 
which he carried on an aggressive cam- 
paign, and succeeded in electing Myron H. 
McCord, as congressman from the Ninth 
Congressional district. He was a frequent 
delegate to State and Congressional conven- 
tions, and often stumped the State in the 
interests of party candidates. In 1899 he 
came to Spooner to accept the position ot 
district surgeon of the Chicago, St. Paul, 
Minneapolis & Omaha Railway Company, 
which he still retains. At the first election 
after his coming to Washburn county, he 
was elected chairman of the Republican 
County Committee, a position which he con- 
tinues to fill with satisfaction to his party. 
Dr. Cox is a member of the International 
Red Cross Association, and has had personal 
supervision of all the work of the associa- 
tion in northern Wisconsin. He is health 
officer for the town of Spooner ; surgeon for 
the North American Fidelity Life Insur- 
ance Company ; and examining surgeon for 
the North British Life Insurance Company, 



CO!\IMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



i6i 



of Eoiulon, Englaj'ul ; the New York Equity 
Insurance Company ; the NeAv York Mu- 
tual Life Insurance Company; the Phoenix 
Life Insurancae Company, of Hartford, 
Conn. ; the Guarantee Fund Life Asso- 
ciation, of Davenport, Iowa; the K. O. 
T. M. ; .Y O. U. W. ; Brotherhood of Lo- 
comotive Engineers and Firemen ; Endow- 
ment Rank, K. P. ; Catholic Knights of 
Wisconsi:i ; and M. W. A. He is a promi- 
nent member of the B, P. O. E. In addi- 
tion to all his other interests Dr. Cox has 
found time to invent and patent the Sims 
Obstetrical Brace, named in honor of his 
famous teacher, which meets a long felt 
need among physicians. 

Dr. Co.x was married in Hayward, to 
Kate E. Coe, a prominent teacher in the 
SawA'er county schools, and they have the 
following children : Mary, Fabriola, Flor- 
ence and Joseph AIcKinley. The Doctor has 
long been a regular contributor to the med- 
ical journals of the countrj', and is about to 
retire from active practice and establish a 
periodical to be called the "Aseptic Medical 
Journal," a fifty page quarto devoted to the 
interests of ph3'sicians in America, of 
which he will be sole editor. 

WILLIAM L. JACKSON. Duluth 
nunil)ers among her business men several 
successful real estate dealers, and among 
these none is more prominent than William 
L. Jackson, who was born in the County of 
Norfolk, Ontario, Jan. i, 1852, son of Jo- 
seph Jackson and Melinda (Dowling) Jack- 
son. 

Josepli Jackson, Sr., father of Joseph 
Jackson and grandfather of William L. 
Jackson, removed from New York State to 
the County of Norfolk, Ontario, about 
1830. He engaged in farming there until 
1849, when he joined the procession of for- 
tune hunters bound for the golden sands of 
California. He started on the long trip via 
Cape Horn, but was taken ill with fever and 
was put ashore at Rio Janeiro, where he 
died, aged about sixty years. His widow, 
whose maiden name was Becker, was of 
German descent. Slie survived some years, 
11 



and died aged about seventy-five. They 
were the parents of two sons and si.x 
daughters. 

Joseph Jackson, the youngest son of Jo- 
seph, Sr., was reared on the home farm. He 
engaged in lumbering in Ontario, and later 
followed the same occupation in Tawas and 
Alpena, Mich., and other places, later oper- 
ating a sawmill in Tonawanda, N. Y. At 
the present time he is serving as sheriff at 
Simcoe, Ontario. He was at one time a 
member of t!ie Dominion Parliament. His 
wife, Melinda Dowling, was born in On- 
tano, a daughter of Thomas Dowling, who 
came from Ireland. She died in Simcoe, in 
1878, aged forty-six years. 

William L. Jackson attended the gram- 
mar schools in his native town, and when 
old enough to enter the business world en- 
gaged in lumbering with his father. In 
1884 lie came to Duluth and opened a dry 
goods store, in which he met with remark- 
able success for eighteen months, when he 
sold out and entered the real estate world. 
He has proven himself perfectly at home in 
the latter line, and has handled a great deal 
of city property. He platted and laid out 
Jackson's Division, adjacent to Duluth 
Heights. In more recent years he has con- 
fined his attention largely to pine and iron 
lands, deriving much profit therefrom. He 
has an intuitive knowledge of real estate 
values and is able to represent lands in a fair, 
straightforward way. thus winning high 
praise from those who do business with him. 
Mr. Jackson has been twice married. In 
1879 he wedded Miss Matie Booth, a native 
of Tonawanda, N. Y., who died March 15, 
1890, aged thirty-three years. She was a 
member of the Disciple Church. Two chil- 
dren were born of this marriage : Jo.seph 
L., a fireman on the Duluth & Iron Range 
Road, and Ora B.. now Mrs. John Litz, oi 
Tonawanda, N. Y. In October, 1892, Mr. 
Jacksnn married (second) Miss Mary E. 
Francis, of Port Rowan, Ont. Both Mr. 
Jackson and his wife are members of the 
Presbyterian Church and are much interest- 
ed in its various works for the good of hu- 
manitv. Sociallv be Ih'Iiuic:'; to the ]\n\:\] 



i6j 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Arcanum, which he jomed in i' 
.a Democrat in poHtics. 



He is 



GEORGE CRAIG COOPER, a promi- 
nent attorney of Superior, Douglas county, 
was born in Dekalb county, 111.. May 26, 
1 860. His parents were James C. and M-^ ; 
garet E. (Newton) Cooper, the former a 
native of Sterling, N. Y. The ancestors of 
bt)th families were distinguished for pntr- 
•otic sentiments and loyal service in behalf of 
the government of the United States. 

William Cooper, the grandfather of 
James C. Cooper, took part in the battle of 
•Oswego during the war of 1812. His son, 
George C. Cooper, the father of James C, 
was a fanner who settled in Dekalb county, 
111., in i"848' and died there fourteen years 
later at the age of fifty-two years. He was 
one of the original supporters of the Repub- 
'Jican party and a staunch advocate of its 
principles during the balance of his life. 
James C. Cooper, whose existence extended 
through a period of only thirty-six years, 
was engaged in farming in Dekalb and Lee 
ci )unties in Illinois. His widow now lives in 
Kendall countv in the same State. Her 
father, Rev. Daniel Newton, was a Metho- 
<list minister who was born in New York 
and became one of the pioneer clergymen of 
Wisconsin, locating at Racine in 1835. His 
-death, which was caused by an accident, oc- 
curred at Seville, Ohio, when he had at- 
tained the age of eightj'-nine years. His 
wife, whose maiden name was Elizabeth 
Walker, was born in Illinois, opposite the 
city of St. Louis, in 1816. Her father, 
David Walker, was a native of North Caro- 
lina, who removed in early life to Tennessee 
and fought under Gen. Jackson at the battle 
oi New Orleans. He afterwards became 
one of the pioneers of Illinois, settling first 
in St. Clair county, and in 1826 at Ottawa, 
building the first house on the site of that 
city. He married Phoebe Findlay, a native 
of Wythe county, Va., whose father lost his 
life at the battle of Cowpens while serv- 
ing in Gen. Morgan's command. Rev. Jesse 
\Valker, a brother of David, preached the 
first iM-otestant sermon ever delivered in Chi- 



cago. Another ancestor of the subject of 
this sketch, named James Craig, came from 
Ireland early in the eighteenth century, set- 
tled at East Salem, Washington Co., N. Y., 
and afterward joined the Continental arm\ 
serving under Col. Alexander Webster. His 
daughter married William Cooper, the 
grandfather of James C. Cooper, previously 
mentioned. 

George C. Cooper spent his boyhood in 
his native county. After leaving the public 
schools he attended a seminary at East Paw- 
paw, 111., and at the age of twenty years be- 
gan the study of law in the office of Samuel 
Richolson, at Ottawa, Quebec. May 22, 
1S82, he was admitted to the bar and at once 
located at Huron, S. D., where he followed 
his profession for the next nine years. While 
there he took an active part in politics and 
was a delegate to the convention which 
framed the constitution of that State. Since 
1 89 1 he has been a citizen of Superior, and 
during this interval has not only won an 
enviable position among the members of his 
profession, but has also acquired the reputa- 
tion of being one of the most public-spirited 
citizens in Douglas county, if not in the 
State of Wisconsin. Among the noted 
cases in which he has been retained may be 
mentioned the impeachment case of the 
common council vs. Mayor Starkweather, 
in which he was prosecuting attorney. In 
igoo he was a delegate to the National Dem- 
ocratic convention, supporting the candida- 
cy of William J. Bryan, and the same year 
was the candidate for his party for' attorney 
general of Wisconsin. In nearly every po- 
litical campaign he has had numerous calls 
for his services as an orator and has gained 
an enviable reputation as a stump speaker. 
He holds a conspicuous place in the B. P. O. 
E., and in 1900 served as Exalted Ruler of 
Superior Lodge, No. 403. 

In 1892 Mr. Cooper was married to 
Minnie A. McCullen, a native of Canada 
and a daughter of .Alexander McCullen. of 
Wessington. South Dakota. 

JOHN A. PETTINGILL. To John 
A. Pettingill. merchant and real estate deal- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL Rl-:CORD 



163 



-cr, belongs the distinction of having built 
the first residence in what is now the town 
of Iron River. His first log cabin was built 
in 1887, and from that day to this his life 
has been closely interwoven with the his- 
tory of the town. 

Mr. Pettingill was first attracted to the 
town w'hile on a hunting trip, and after care- 
fully looking over the land, he chose a loca- 
tion there and prepared to make it his future 
home. He offered his filing that year on the 
S. E. one-fourth of section 7, range 8, and 
l)ut up a log cabin where the town now 
stands, and on the exact site of the present 
Grimpo house. The ne.xt July his family 
joined him. Even before he had secured his 
tilings he began making extensive improve- 
ments on his land, and had erected a frame 
building which cost $3,000. At that time he 
entered upon his mercantile career, carrying 
a small stock of groceries and such mer- 
chandise as the needs of the settlers required. 

Five years after taking up his land Mr. 
Pettingill decided to lay it out as a town 
site, and he had a tract one mile square sur- 
veyed and platted for the town of Iron 
River. So rapidly was that region being 
settled, that as soon as his advertisements 
api)eared, purchasers responded, and within 
one twenty-four liours he had 150 people 
there looking for homes, all of whom were 
iiis guests over night — such w-as the open 
hospitality of the time and place. The new 
town grew apace, and its prospects were of 
the brightest, when July 24, 1902, the whole 
l)lace was destroyed by fire, seventy-two 
l»uildings being swept away, while only fi\e 
cottages on a back street were saved. This 
was. of course, a great misfortune for Mr. 
Pettingill, but still undaunted he pushefl 
ahead, gave every encouragement possible 
to those who had been burned out, and with- 
in a year the town rose again with better 
buildings than at first. In May, 1892, Mr. 
Pettingill sold his mercantile interests to 
He'^sey & Hatton, and immediately pro- 
ceeded to organize a State bank. In this 
enterprise he was associated with his son, 
George L., X. C. Kclley and W. F. McEl- 
downey. After about a year Mr. Kelley 



bought out the Pettingill interests. In 1896 
Air. Pettingill again established himself in 
the mercantile hne, opening with a stock 
valued at $10,000, which he soon increased 
to $15,000. This business is now carried on 
by G. L. Pettingill & Co. In addition 
to these other interests Mr. Pettingill has 
dealt quite largely in outside real estate. 

The man whose career we have thus far 
followed in Iron River, w'as a New Yorker 
by hn^th, born in Otsego county in 1842, a 
son of Alonzo and Lucy (Davis) Pettin- 
gill, all natives of New York. John re- 
ceived his education in the public schools 
and was brought up on his father's farm 
in New York until he was ten years old. In 
1856 he went West with his parents and 
settled in Farmington, La Crosse Co., Wis. 
There he continued dealing in live stock and 
farming until 1887, when he took up his 
Bayfield county land as noted above. 

Mr. Pettingill was married Dec. 29, 
i8b2, to Ann Eliza Quiggle, who has borne 
him tW'O children : George L. and Eva, now 
Mrs. \\'illiam McEldowney, of Salem, Wis- 
consin. 

A strong Republican in his ideas, Mr. 
Pettingill has always taken a leading part in 
local politics. In La Crosse he served one 
year as a member of the county board and 
another as chairman of the town committee. 
In Iron River he has been chairman of the 
town and has represented his party fre- 
quently in the Legislature and in county 
and congressional conventions. Fraternal- 
ly he is a member of the Masonic order, 
Salem Lodge, No. 125, having attained the 
Knight Templar and the Royal Arch de- 
grees. In all the relations of life Mr. Pet- 
tingill has made an honorable record for 
himself and is esteemed and respected by all 
who know him. 

COLIN JAMES McRAE. general fore- 
man of yards of the Superior Ship Building 
Company, is one of the many men of Scot- 
tish blood who have helped to make north- 
ern Wisconsin what it is. Although of 
Scotch descent, he is himself a native of 
Canada and was bom in Brechin, Ontario 



164 



COMiMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



county, Aug. 11, 1866, a son of Farquhar 
and Isabella (McRae) McRae. 

Farquhar McRae was a native of Edin- 
burgh, Scotland, a descendant of an old 
Scotch clan, but came to America in 1820 
and settled in Brechin, where he lived to be 
seventy-six years old. 

By profession he was a contractor and 
erected a great number of buildings, being 
a successful business man. His wife, al- 
though of the same name, was no connec- 
tion. She lived to be sixty-eight years old, 
and died in Brechin, the place of her birth. 
Her father, John McRae, was a farmer and 
lived to the unusual age of ninety. His 
son. Philip, an ex-member of the Ontario 
Parliament, was Reeve of the township of 
Mara for twenty-one years consecutively. 
In the family of Farquhar and Isabella Mc- 
Rae were eight sons and two daughters, of 
whom two sons are deceased. The others 
are Duncan, of Brechin, Ont. ; William, of 
Denver, Colo. ; Colin J. ; Mary, Mrs. Harry 
Casey, of Perry Sound, Ont. ; Christopher, 
a resident of Brechin ; Donald, an electrician 
of Duluth, Minn. ; Louis, of Brechin, and 
Flora, of Brechin. 

Colin J. McRae completed his education 
in the public schools and then learned the 
trade of carpenter and builder. When eigh- 
teen years old, he left Brechin and went to 
British Columbia, where he worked at .his 
trade for two years. His next venture was 
in Cleveland, Ohio, where he was employed 
in ship yards for another year and a half. 
In 1886 Mr. McRae went" to Duluth, still 
working as a carpenter, and became foreman 
for a contractor who erected the Temple 
Opera House and many other conspicuous 
buildings. When the American Steel Barge 
Co. was organized, he entered the employ 
of that company as a fitter, and helped to 
construct the "102" and many other of the 
famous whaleback fleet, of which the "102" 
Avas the second built. Mr. McRae has been 
with the concern ever since, although the 
works were soon moved to W^est Superior, 
and the business name is now the Superior 
Ship Building Company. Since Noveml)er. 
1901. he has been general foreman of the 



yards in which from i.ooo to 1,200 men are 
employed. 

Mr. McRae has always been a Republi- 
can, and his wide business experience along 
his own lines has been of great advantage in 
his work on the common council. In the 
spring of 1901 he was elected to that body 
from the Fifth ward and served on the com- 
mittee on harbors, docks and railroads, judi- 
ciary and taxation, viaducts, streets and 
bridges, where his advice was most practi- 
cal and valuable. In 1902 he was president 
of the city board of health, and in that year 
was a delegate to the Republican congres- 
sional convention of the Eleventh district, 
held at Chippewa Falls, where he supported 
Congressman John J. Jenkins for nomina- 
tion. 

On Feb. 6, 1894, Mr. McRae was mar- 
ried to Lizzie, daughter of Thomas and 
Mary Ennis, of Madison, Wis. Her father, 
Thomas Ennis, is a native of New York and 
an early settler of Dane county. Wis., where 
he is still living on a farm. To Mr. and 
Mrs. McRae have been born two children. 
Harold John and William Leslie. The fam- 
ily belong to the Catholic Church. Mr. Mc- 
Rae has built a pleasant home on Grand ave- 
nue, supplied with all modern comforts, and 
there he and his wife are the center of a 
large circle of friends, including the best 
people of the locality. 

FRANK P. DOHEARTY, M. D., a 

physician who has been located at Butter- 
nut, Ashland county, since 1899, and has 
even in that brief period built up an exten- 
sive and lucrative practice, was horn in 
Peterboro, Ontario, in 1871, but has passed 
practically his whole life in the United 
States. 

The parents of Dr. Doheartv were Mi- 
chael and Mary (Daley) Dohearty, the 
former born in Ireland and the latter in 
Canada. The father was a machinist by 
trade, a blacksmith and boilermaker, who 
settled in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., during the 
early childhood of his son, Frank, and is 
still a resident of that place, living retired. 
The doctor was the eldest of the five children 



COMMEMORATiXE BlOGRAPll ICAE RECO;>:j 



born to his ixirents, the t)thcrs being LYecI- 
€rick, a bookkeeper and teacher; \\'illiam 
H., a stenographer, and now attending Mil- 
waukee Medical College; Anna, the wife of 
Joseph De Keyser, a general jnerchant of 
Pound, Wis., and Mar)% a successful teacher 
in the public schools of Sturgeon Bay. 

Dr. Dohearty was brought up in Stur- 
fjeon Bay and was given a good general 
education in the public schools, in which he 
completed the full course and was grad- 
uated, lie then began reading medicine 
imder the preceptorship of Dr. H. C. Se- 
bree, of Sturgeon Bay, and did sufficient 
preliminary work with him to matriculate 
at the medical school of the Northwestern 
University of Chicago. That year (1893) 
was the first time the four-years medical 
course was offered there, and Dr. Dohearty 
was one of the first men to enroll his name 
for it. He was graduated June 17, 1897, 
and for the first year and a half practiced 
at Crivitz, Wis., but as that town was stead- 
ily losing ground, he removed to Butternut 
in 1899. and there has rapidly worked up a 
hue practice, as he is not onl}^ the senior 
physician in the place, but a man of most 
genial dis])osition and affable manner. 

Shortly before going to Butternut, Dr. 
Dohenrty was united in marriage to Miss 
Mary Tomney, of Appleton, Wis., May 22, 
1899, ^"'1 they are the proud parents of 
three little daughters. Rose, Winifred and 
Ann. Dr. Dohearty is devoted to his pro- 
fession and is a keen student of the medi- 
cal literature of the day. He keeps in close 
touch with his professional confreres and is 
a member of the County Medical Society, 
the State Association and the American 
Medical Association. He holds the position 
of health officer for both the township and 
village of Butternut. Fraternally the doctor 
belongs to the M. W. A., the Catholic 
Knights of Wisconsin and the Catholic 
Order of Foresters, and is as popular in all 
-'icial relations as he is professionallv. 

CAPT. JARVIS WHrrF. The West 
numbers among its most valued citizens 
inanv who are descendants of the oldest 



New England families, antl the sturdy qual- 
ities that have been inherited from those 
first pioneers have been a large factor in the 
development of the western prairies. Cap- 
tain Jarvis White, whose faith in the future 
of Superior has done much to make it what 
it is, traces his ancestry back to the earliest 
days of New England, for he is a lineal de- 
scendant of that William White who landed 
from the "Maytlower" at Plymouth Rock in 
1 620. 

Capt. White was born at Whiting, Addi- 
son Co., Vt., in 1833, the son of Nathan and 
Lucinda (Beals) White, natives of Massa- 
chusetts. There were six sons and one 
daughter in the family. Of the three now 
living, Jarvis White is the oldest. One 
brother, Nathan, who served in the Rebel- 
lion as a member of the 42d M. V. L. is 
a resident of Worcester, Mass. Edwin, an- 
other brother, served in the war in the same 
regiment, and is now residing in the same 
city. The oldest son was Charles, who was 
in the war like his brothers, but in the 
i52d 111. Regiment. He was a carpenter 
and builder and died from the effects of a 
fall while engaged at his trade. 

Jarvis White was about ten years of age 
when his parents moved from Vermont to 
Milford, Mass. He was educated in the 
public schools. In the first year of the war 
he enlisted as a private in Company G, 24th 
M. V. I., Oct. 13. 1861. The regiment 
first saw service at Roanoke Island under 
Gen. Burnside, and thence was sent to 
Newbern, N. C. It also participated in 
the siege of Morris Island, where its 
ranks were so depleted that the sur- 
vivors were sent to Fort Marion, Fla., 
and there remained until the spring of 
1863. In that vear Mr. White re-enlisted, 
together with about 300 others of his regi- 
ment, and at the same time was given a| 
furlough. But the most important part of 
his military experience was yet to come. He 
took part in Gen. Grant's Virginia campaign 
and was in many of those important and 
bloody engagements. In the battle of Deep 
Bottom, Aug. 14, 1864. be recei\'ed a severe 
gun shot wound through the thigh and was 



166 



CO.M.AIEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



unable fur several inonlhs to rejoin his reg- 
iment. When he did so he was promoted 
from 2d lieutenant to captain and served 
in that capacity until the close of the war, al- 
though' in the meantime he was offered the 
rank of major. His troops were among the 
first to enter Richmond after the retreat of 
the Confederates, and they remained there 
doing garrison duty until the regiment was 
mustered out, Jan. 20, 1866. 

After the four and a half years of service 
Capt. White returned to ]\Iassachusetts and 
engageil in mercantile business at Milford. 
In 1874 he moved to Davenport, Iowa, and 
remained in business there until 1890. He 
had previously secured property in what 
came to be known in 1888 as South Super- 
ior, and where at that time there was not a 
single building. He was among the first to 
begin building and still owns half a dozen 
residences erected by himself and a large 
number ol lots well located. In 1897 he 
was elected to the State legislature. That 
same year he was appointed postmaster. He 
has likewise served as alderman from his 
ward and the complete confidence which his 
fellow-citizens repose in him is evidenced 
by the fact that these ofificial honors have all 
been bestowed upon him wholly unsought 
by himself. 

Capt. White has been twice married. 
His first wife, Sarah Jane Grant, died May 
3, 1861, and in 1892, in Davenport, Iowa, 
he was married to Loretta D. Hickman. 
Mrs. White is a fine musician, while her ar- 
tistic taste and marked love for flowers are 
attested by her beautiful garden and the sur- 
roundings of their home. 

In 1856 Capt. White voted for Fremont, 
the first Republican candidate for the presi- 
dency, and he has never wavered in his al- 
legiance to that party. In his fraternal af- 
filiations he is a 32d degree Mason and a 
Knight Templar Past Commander, an hon- 
ored member of Alonzo Palmer Post, G. A. 
R., at W'est Superior, and of the Loyal Le- 
gion, Chicago. 



both in the East and the West, and organ- 
izer of the Bayfield Transfer Railroad, was 
one of the magnates of the lumber world, 
and was perhaps even better known as one 
of the owners of the famous Dalrymple 
farm in North Dakota. 

Mr. Dalrymple was a native of Pennsyl- 
\ania, born in Sugar Grove, Warren county, 
April 17, 1825. Although reared to farm 
pursuits he was given a good education in 
the public schools and at the academy in 
Jamestown, N. Y., and after completing his. 
studies he taught in Warren county, Pa. 
So satisfactory was his work that he was 
made superintendent of the schools of the 
county, a position he filled for several years. 
Later INIr. Dalrymple left professional work 
and entered the mercantile world, beginning 
in Pittsfield, Pa., where he operated in oil 
and timber lands and manufactured lumber, 
thus laying the foundation for the larger 
fortune he eventually obtained. As his. 
wealth increased, he extended his operations 
into the West and bought extensive tracts 
of land in North Dakota and in Bayfield. 
The Dalrymple farm in the Red river valley, 
referred to above, he owned in partnership 
with his brother, Oliver. 

In 1883 the Bayfield Transfer Railway 
Company was organized by Mr. Dalrymple. 
The first board of directors were William F. 
and Oliver Dalrymple, George H. Noyes, 
William B. Acoc'ks and Patrick W. Purtell. 
Of these only Mr. Noyes now remains on the 
board, his associates being J. M. Smith, H. 
C. ,Hale, T. W. Dockery and B. K. Miller. 
Jr. The Transfer Railroad extends from 
Bayfield to Red ClifY, and was finally con- 
structed in 1897. The company holds leas- 
es for two other independent lines, each six 
miles in length. 

Mr. Dalrymple was a man of unusual 
energy, with shrewd business instincts, 
though conservative withal, and he accumu- 
lated a large fortune. His death occurred 
July 21, 1 90 1, and was felt to be a distinct 
loss to the community. 



WILLIA]\I F. DALRYMPLE (de- AUGUST FREES, a leading merchant 

ceased), a man of varied business interests of Taylor county, and for many years post- 



CO.MME.MOKATINl!; BJOGRAl'llJCAL RECORD 



167 



master of Little Black, was born in Schles- 
%vig-Holstein, Germany, in 1850, son of Au- 
gust and Caroline (Johanson) Frels, of that 
province. The father was a State official of 
roads, and lived and died in the Fatherland. 
.-August Frels was educated in his native 
land, and when he was hfteen j-ears old be- 
gan his mercantile training there. In 1878 
he came to America, and landed in New 
York. He pushed on almost immediately 
to Schleisingerville, where he had an uncle 
living on a fann, and stayed there for a short 
time. For two years he clerked in a store 
in New' Holstein, and then went to Little 
Black, and opened a general store in that 
place, then just being settled, and there, since 
1881, he has carried on a general merchan- 
dise trade. 

Mr. Frels has always been a Republican, 
but although belonging to that party, in 
1888. during Cleveland's first term, he was 
appointed postmaster, an office he has held 
through all succeeding administrations up 
to the i)resent time. He is active in local 
affairs, has been one of three jury commis- 
sioners for the county, serving two terms of 
three years each, and he is the township 
school treasurer. His interest in educational 
questions has always been keen, and he has 
worked to make the schools of his locality 
as well equipped as possible. 

Mr. Frels was married in 1880 to Regina 
Lehmkeck, also a native of Schleswig-Hol- 
stein and they have had two sons born to 
them. The eldest, August, born in 1881, 
is a finely educated young man, a graduate 
first of the Milwaukee Academy, and then of 
the Spencerian Business College of that city. 
With a naturally bright mind, well trained 
and conversant as he is with both German 
and English he should have a successful ca- 
reer I)efore him. The other son, Henry, 
three years younger, has been given a good 
education in the public schools, and being 
naturally inclined toward a business life, is 
now engaged with his father in Little Black. 
Mr. Frels is a man of fine business at- 
tainments and of great executive ability, 
qualities that have assured him a high de- 
gree of success. In public and private re- 



lations alike he has won deserved respect, 
for he is a good citizen, of most irreproach- 
able character, and devoted to his wife and 
children, in whose society he finds his most 
welcome recreation. 

THOMAS VINCENT BADGLEY, one 
of the influential and public-spirited citizens 
of Superior, Douglas county, is a son of 
Isaiah Badgley, and was born Nov. i, 1852, 
in the County of Hastings, Ontario. 

Grandfather Cornelius Badgley was a 
pioneer of County Prince Edward, Ontario, 
whither he came from Delaware. Although 
of New England descent, he remained loyal 
to the English cause and preferred to live 
under that flag. His son, Isaiah, who be- 
gan life with no capital but determination 
and grit, became the owner of a finely im- 
proved farm. This place, which is still 
ow-ned by one of Isaiah Badgley's sons, is 
largely devoted to fruit culture. Both Cor- 
nelius and Isaiah Badgley were active work- 
ers in the Methodist Church; the latter was 
a class-leader and entertained many minis- 
ters from time to time. His death in 1878, 
at the age of sixty-eight years, was the re- 
sult of an injury. Isaiah Badgley married 
Therese Howard, now in her eighty-ninth 
year, and still living on the homestead farm. 
Her father met his death by drowning while 
comparatively a young man. Two of her 
brothers are prominent ministers of the M. 
E. Church in Canada, Rev. Nathan Howard 
and Rev. Erastus Howard. Isaiah and 
Therese (Howard) Badgley had a large 
family of children, of whom Thomas Vin- 
cent is the only one living in Wisconsin. Ira 
C. and Cornelius W'. are prosperous farmers 
in Canada. Erastus I. has been for over 
twenty years a professor of Classics, Phil- 
csophy and Mental Science and now holds a 
chair in Victoria University, Toronto. James 
A., is a lumber merchant of Emer.son, Mani- 
toba. Therese E. is the widow of R. W. 
Graham, of Minneapolis. 

Thomas Vincent Badgley and two of the 
brothers are graduates of Albert University, 
Belleville, Canada. Thomas Vincent gave 
special attention to the classics and to mod- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ern languages, took first class honors the 
second and fourth years, and was gold 
medalist and valedictorian of the class of 
1880. After leaving college he studied law 
for a time in Manitoba, but before complet- 
ing his law course turned his attention to 
real estate, in which business he was en- 
gaged for six years. After teaching three 
months in Duluth, as principal of the Adams 
school, Mr. Badgley came, in April, 1887, 
to Superior. Though his teaching proved 
very successful, he soon gave it up in favor 
of real estate, and in 1888 opened one of the 
first abstract oftices in West Superior. He 
has a very complete set of abstracts of his 
own compilation, and has sold over half a 
million dollars worth of real estate. Mr. 
Badgley is also local agent for the Mutual 
Life Insurance Co., of New York. In addi- 
tion to his own property Mr. Badgley han- 
dles much real estate for non-resident invest- 
ors from all parts of the world. His own 
residence in Central Park is one of the best 
homes in that suburb. 

Mr. Badgley married, Aug. 14, 1882, 
Emma Ethelda Sills, of Belleville, Ontario, 
and they have two children : Clarence E. C, 
a student in the Blaine high school, and Ma- 
bel Blanche, also a high school student. ]Mr. 
Badgley is a Republican but is not an active 
p(>litician. He is a member of the Commer- 
cial Club, and is treasurer of the trust fund 
'>f the Citizens' committee, whose object is 
to discourage extravagance and curtail ex- 
penditure in city and county finances. Both 
Mr. and Mrs. Badgley are connected with 
the M. E. Church, Mr. Badgley being stew- 
ard of the Cummings Avenue Church. One 
of his most enjoyable occupations is teach- 
ing a Sunday-school class. Mr. Badgley is 
known as a citizen always ready to vise his 
influence on behalf of the best interests of 
his city. 

BYRON FERRELL. a merchant of 
South Superior, of the firm of B. Ferrell & 
Co., is one of the early settlers in his part of 
the citv, whither he came in the spring of 
189T. ' 

Byron Ferrell was born in Herkimer 



county, N. Y., in April, 1847, ^ son of Wil- 
liam and Lucinda (Griggs) Ferrell. The 
Ferrell family is of Irish ancestry, but the 
first of the name in America came in Colon- 
ial times, and the grandfather of Byron was 
a soldier in the Revolution. William Fer- 
rell had six children, only one of them a 
daughter, and of the five sons, three fought 
in the Rebellion. Austin, the oldest, en- 
listed in the 135th N. Y. V. He survived 
the war, but died a number of years ago. 
Homer was in the i6th N. Y. Heavy Artil- 
lery, and his death occurred in March, 1898. 

Byron Ferrell entered the service when 
only about seventeen and enlisted in Com- 
pany F, 46th N. Y. V. I. He joined his 
regiment immediately after his enlistment 
and was in front of Petersburg during that 
famous siege. He was constantly under fire 
until the evacuation and his regiment was 
the second that entered the place. He was 
in Washington at the time of the grand re- 
view, having gone through his service with- 
out a wound, though more or less broken 
in health by the exposure and hardships he 
had undergone. He was mustered out at 
Elmira, N. Y., in June, 1865. 

In the spring of 1867 Mr. Ferrell enlist- 
ed again at Utica, N. Y., and was assigned 
to Company F, 9th Infantry. The 9th was 
at that time stationed at San Francisco, and 
he joined the regiment at that point. Later 
his company and Battery M, of the 2d Ar- 
tillery, were sent to Sitka, Alaska, as that 
territory had been recently purchased from 
Russia. Mr. Ferrell remained in Alaska for 
a vear and eight months. In 1869 orders 
were issued to reduce the army to 25.000 
men, and this resulted in the consolidation 
of the 9th and the 17th regiments. Company 
F, therefore, left Sitka and proceeded to 
Plum Creek, Neb., where it was consolidat- 
ed «ith Company I, 17th Inf., though the 
name of Company F, of the 9th regiment, 
was retained. In April, 1870, Mr. Ferrell 
was mustered out at Omaha, having served 
in all nearly four years. 

Returning to New York, Mr. Ferrell 
found conditions less promising for him 
than farther West, and in 187 1 he located 



COMMEiMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



169 



at Tomali, ]\Ionroc Co., Wis., in which 
State he has remained ever since. Wiiile at 
Tomah, in December, 1887, he was married 
to Miss Tena Laib, who has borne him four 
boys, WilUam D., George B., Frank J. and 
Homer. 

Mr. Ferrell is a member of Alonzo Pal- 
mer Post, G. A. R. In his pohtical S3'mpa- 
thies he is a Democrat and while not taking 
a specially active part in local affairs, he is 
regarded as essentially one of the good citi- 
zens of the town. 

DAX DANIELSON, Esq., an attorney 
and magistrate of Superior, Douglas coun- 
ty, was born in the parish of Tveta, Verm- 
land, Sweden, Feb. 26, 1870. He was the 
son of D. O. and Anna L. (Larson) Dan- 
ielson, whose whole lives were passed in the 
home province of Vermland. 

The paternal grandmother was a native 
of England. She married Olaf Danielson, 
who was in early life a sea-captain but later 
gave up the sea and settled down as a farmer 
in Vermland. Their son, D. O. Danielson, 
was an influential citizen and filled a number 
of elective offices in that locality. Besides 
managing his farm, he was in the grain 
business. 

Dan Danielson attended the public 
schools and took a four years course at a 
State school at Amal. Fle then studied law 
with the Circuit judge at Tveta. In July, 
1888, he came to the United States and after 
spending one year at Duluth. settled per- 
manently at Superior. In the latter place, he 
first opened a book and music store, but after 
alx>ut six months he gave this up and began 
dealing in real estate. The business he con- 
tinued until the fall of 1891. In that year 
he was elected justice of the peace, and has 
since, during the absence of the regular 
judge, often served an municipal judge. In 
his legal practice he has made a specialty of 
real estate law. In 1899, to fill a vacancy, 
he was appointed by Mayor Dietrich a mem- 
ber of the board of education, was re-ap- 
pointed in 1900 by Mayor Parker and re- 
appointed in 1903 by Mayor O'Hare. He 
was married May 4. 1892, to Octavia C. 



Osberg. Mrs. Danielson was born in 
Neillsville, Wis. They have one child, 
named Russell Osberg. The judge is a 
member of the Star of Bethlehem and of 
the Grand Commandery, Woodmen of the 
World. 

SCHOOLS OF RUSK COUNTY, 
WTS. The schools of Rusk county. Wis., 
are under the charge of Prof. W. N. Mack- 
in, a well known educator whose long ex- 
jjerience- combined with judgment, tact and 
scholarship, admirably fits him for the 
work. 

The second school v-'ithin the limits of 
what is now Rusk county was held in a 
room rented at Ladysmith in what was the 
"Corbett Hotel," now the "Manly Hotel," 
and was opened in the fall of 1884 by Miss 
Mary Grandmaitre as teacher. Previous to 
the creation of Rusk county, in 1900, there 
were graded schools at Glen Flora. Weyer- 
hauser, Apollonia, Tony, Warner (now 
Ladysmith), and Bruce, all having been es- 
tablished as two department schools, and 
are now State graded of the first class. 
Since the organization of Rusk county, 
graded schools have been established at In- 
gram and Hawkins, but these have not 
been advanced to the first class as yet. The 
high school buildings are fine structures and 
are a credit to the citizens. 

From Superintendent ^lackin's report 
to the board of supervisors of the county, 
for the school year ending in June. 1903, 
it is learned that six new districts were cre- 
ated that year and since then five more have 
1)ecn added, making a total of fifty-three 
districts. Twenty new buildings have been 
erected in the county for school purposes 
since June. 1902, and since that time the 
number of teachers has been increased ac- 
cordingly, there being eighty-three em- 
ployed at present. The salaries for the year 
ending June, 1903. amounted to $19,205.60, 
which was $4,320.40 more than the pre- 
vious vear. The teachers are well paid, 
and their efficiency is attested by certificates 
of high grade, fifteen of the number having 
State certificates, seven first grade, fifteen 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



second grade and thirty-eight third grade. 
One-half of the whole number of teachers 
have received professional training and 
many of them are graduates of normal 
schools. 

Superintendent Mackin has labored un- 
tiringly to bring the schools of the county 
to the highest possible state of efficiency. 
On many occasions he has urged the cen- 
tralization of schools and transportation of 
pupils, which methods, when adopted, give 
the students the advantage of graded school 
work, an advantage which is alike apparent 
to both teachers and parents. In their su- 
perintendent Rusk county has an enthusias- 
tic worker, and the results of his efforts may 
best be judged by comparing the present 
educational status of the schools of this 
county with that of others under the same 
conditions. 

PATRICK J. MUNGAVIN has been 
roadmaster of the Lake Superior division 
of the Northern Pacific railroad since '1882, 
and he is known as one of the most indefati- 
gable workers on that division and one of 
the most reliable men the company has in 
this region. 

Mr. Mungavin was born March 26, 
1849, i" Countv Clare, Ireland, son of Mi- 
chael and Judith (Mindgue) Mungavin, 
who came to the United States in 1830, set- 
tling on a farm in Vermont. The fatlier en- 
gaged in railroad work. In a few years the 
family removed to Chesterton, Ind., where 
Mr. Mungavin carried on a farm and gro- 
cery store, and he died there August, 1869, 
at the age of nearly fifty years. He took 
considerable interest in the public affairs 
of the community in which he settled, and 
was a Democrat in political sentiment. His 
widow still lives at Chesterton, aged more 
than three score years and ten. 

Patrick J. Mungavin received his edu- 
cation in the public schools, and during his 
youth worked on the farm and in a saw- 
mill. At the age of nineteen he left home 
and spent the next several years traveling in 
the South and West, engaged most of the 
time at lumbering or on steamboats. Since 



1872 he has been at railroad work, in that 
year entering the employ of the VVisconsni 
Central Railway Company, with which he 
continued seven years, in various capacities. 
Upon the termination of his connection with 
that company he received a very compli- 
mentary letter from Mr. Phillips, the super- 
intendent of construction and general man- 
ager of the road, which he still preserves. 
In May, 1879, Mr. Mungavin became an 
employe of the Northern Pacific Railway 
Company, with which he has ever since re- 
mained. His first employment was as brake- 
man, but after five months he became a con- 
ductor, and because of his industrious hab- 
its and persistent devotion to duty he rose 
in time to his present position, that of road- 
master of the Lake Superior division. His 
office is in Duluth, but his duties take him 
all over the Lake Superior region. Mr. 
Mungavin has never relaxed his persever- 
ance as a worker, and he is often engaged 
far into the night, long after his subordi- 
nates have finished their day's work. This 
tireless attention to the details of his numer- 
ous duties has won him a high place in the 
confidence of his employers, and he enjoys 
an excellent reputation among his superiors 
on the railroad and commands the highest 
respect of the men under him. 

Mr. Mungavin was married, in 1883, to 
Miss Mary Tierney, a native of Kentucky, 
whose father, Peter Tierney, was an early 
settler of Brown county, Wis. Six children 
have blessed this union, namely : Mary, 
Thomas, Catherine, Laura. James and 
Florence. The family are Catholics in re- 
ligious faith. Their home is in Superior, 
and they are among the most respected res- 
idents of that place. 

REV. JOHN H. NASON. Among the 
various philanthropic institutions at the 
Head of the Lakes, none are more credit- 
able to their patrons than the Lake Superior 
Mission and the Douglas County Humane 
Society. While the noble work accom- 
plished by their organizers could not have 
been carried out without the co-operation of 
many benevolent people, their establishment 



COAIMKM()R.\ri\E BIOGRAPHICAL RI'XORU 



171 



and continued existence is chielly due to tlie 
earnest enthusiasm, energy and persever- 
ance of Rev. John H. Nason. 

Mr. Nason was born at Homer, Cort- 
land Co., N. Y., July 7, 1840, to Rev. John 
and Sarah Caroline (Lee) Nason. His pa- 
ternal grandfather, a descendant of an old 
Puritan family, removed from i\laine to 
Central New York in 1806. His son. Rev. 
John Nason, entered the Methodist ministry 
in early life, but owing to ill-health, retired 
to a fami, and the last years of his life were 
spent at Blodgett's Mills, N. Y., where he 
reached the age of eighty-two. Sarah Lee 
Nason was a foster daughter of Adam Hes- 
ler, of Cazenovia, N. Y., and died at an ear- 
ly age. 

John H. Nason received an academic 
education in the schools of Homer, and 
there htted himself for the ministry. His 
reading was largely done in the home li- 
brary, with little other assistance or direc- 
tion than that alYorded by his father. He 
was ordained a minister of the Congrega- 
tional Church in 1862, and after filling pas- 
torates at several different points in New 
York and Pennsylvania, in 1882 he went to 
^linnesota and engaged in the home mis- 
sion work. After about ten years at Fair- 
mont, Anoka and Montevideo, in August, 
1892, he located at Superior for the purpose 
of beginning similar work among the lum- 
bermen, boatmen, frontier settlers and other 
neglected classes in that pioneer region. His 
sister. Miss Emma C. Nason, of Sault Ste. 
Marie, Mich., had inaugurated the work 
about three years earlier through traveling 
evangelists. 

In the beginning the enterprise was a 
private one and in September, 1893, they 
opened tlie mission house, furnishing cheap 
meals and lodgings, a reading room and fre- 
quent religious services. The scope of the 
work gradually increased, and in Septem- 
ber, 1900, the establishment was incorpo- 
rated, being now managerl by a board of 
directors. Rev. Mr. Nason has been the su- 
perintendent of the mission for several 
years and lias ever been found an indefati- 
gable worker in this noble cause, as well as 



in other philanthropic enterprises. The 
work has many phases, une of wliich is the 
distribution of religious literature and 
standard secular reading through the lum- 
ber camps, the railroad and mining villages, 
and on the boats visiting Superior, a branch 
of its activities which is constantly being 
enlarged. Evangelists are sent out among 
the remote farming settlements of the 
Northwest, while still another department 
which has accomplished a wonderful work 
is that which is engaged among unfortunate 
.vomen and children. 

For eight years, from 1894 to 1902, Air. 
Nason was agent of the Douglas County 
Humane Society, under the appointment of 
Gov. Upham, and did much while in that 
office for the protection of neglected chil- 
dren and animals. The work to which Mr. 
Nason expects to give the balance of his 
busv life, however, is that of the mission 
which he has been instrumental in establish- 
ing, and which has been very successful 
along the lines of work it lias undertaken. 
The mission is now preparing to construct 
a commodious three-story brick building at 
a cost of $30,000, as a home for the friend- 
less and as the headquarters of its rapidly- 
growing missionary work. 

W. D. TYLER, now serving his sec- 
ond term as county clerk of Iron county, has 
been for several years a resident of Hurley. 
He was Ixirn on a farm in Manitowoc coun- 
ty. Wis., March 22, 1861, his parents being 
J. O. and Lauretta (Rickaby) Tyler, both 
natives of New York State. J. O. Tyler 
was lirought up on a farm and followed the 
occui)ation of farmer in New York State 
until he was twenty-one years of age. He 
tlien came to Wisconsin and settled on a 
farm in Manitowoc county, where he passed 
the remainder of his life, dying in 1895. He 
served five years in the Union arm)' during 
the Civil war, as a member of the 14th W. 
V. I., and was wounded in the left hip at 
tlie battle of Cold Harbor. His wife died 
on the Wisconsin farm in 1888. Their chil- 
dren were as follows : PI. M., a merchant 
of Northport, Wis.; Alvira, deceased; W. 



i7i 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



D. ; Bertha, deceased; Emma, wife uf J. E. 
Daefter, of Marinette, Wis. ; Eva, wife of 
E. C. Barrows, of Nashville Center, Minn.; 
and Almira, wife of W. E. Wallace, of Tru- 
man, Minnesota. 

W. D. Tyler, like his father before him, 
grew up on the farm. He received but lit- 
tle education and at the age of thirteen left 
home and went into the lumber regions of 
Wisconsin, where he worked for six years. 
He then tried his fortune in North Dakota, 
finding employment there at various occupa- 
tions for five years. Returning to his native 
State, he secured employment with the Chi- 
cago & Northwestern Railroad Company, as 
agent at Glenbeulah. He remained with the 
Northwestern road for thirteen years, act- 
ing as agent at different stations, his longest 
stay being at Saxon, where he was agent 
for ten years. In 1900 he was elected as the 
Republican candidate for county clerk of 
Iron county and is now serving his second 
term in that office, his residence being in 
Hurley. 

On Oct. 26, 1892, Mr. Tyler married 
Lillian Barrows, of Winnebago Ci'ty, Minn., 
and they have two children, Lyle, aged 
eleven, and Laura, seven, both attending 
school. Mr. Tyler is a member of the Mod- 
ern Woodmen of America, Iron Ore Camp 
No. 3718, of Hurley, and of Gogebic Camp 
No. 88, Knights of' Pythias. 

MAHLON P. BARRY, an influential 
citizen of Rice Lake, Barron Co., Wis., was 
born at Walton, Delaware Co., N. Y., Oct. 
22, 1836, a son of Rev. Alfred C. 'and 
Adelia (Robertson) Barry, both natives oi 
New York State. 

Grandfather Azel Barry for many years 
a magistrate at Victor, Ontario Co., N. Y., 
in 1840 moved to Wisconsin, locating on a 
farm near Honey Creek, Racine county, 
where he lived to be nearly seventy years of 
age. His wife, Dinah E. Butler, came of 
Revolutionary stock. 

Rev. Alfred C. Barry, the father, who 
was a L^niversalist minister, came to \\ns- 
consin in 1846. He was one of the most 
tloquent preachers of his day, and for many 



}ears had charge of the church of his faith 
at Racine, and was also stationed at Elk- 
horn. His wife was born in Delavan coun- 
ty, N. Y. She lost her father when a child, 
and her mother, Mrs. Susanna Robertson, 
spent the remainder of her life at Racine. 
Mahlon P. Barry was carefully edu- 
cated, attending first the schools of his 
neighborhood, then Racine high school' and 
the college of the same city, after which he 
became a traveling salesman for the J. I. 
Case Threshing Machine Co., and thus con- 
tinued for several years. April 23, 

1861, he enlisted in Company F, W. V. I., 
and was honorably discharged in July, 

1862. He served in the famous Iron Bri- 
gade and enlisting as a private, was dis- 
charged as quartermaster sergeant. 

Returning home, Mr. Barry became trav- 
eling freight agent for the Chicago & 
Northwestern Railroad, and later general 
lumber agent for that same road. Still 
later he became general freight agent for 
the Wisconsin Central Railroad, with head- 
quarters at St. Paul, and thus continued for 
fi\'e years. In 1894 he located at Rice 
Lake, taking charge of the construction and 
operation of the Blueberry Railroad be- 
tween Cameron and Rice Lake, and was its 
general manager and only resident official 
for five years, or until that road was sold 
to the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Sault Ste. 
Marie Railroad. Since then Mr. Barry has 
been engaged in a general real estate and 
fire insurance business and represents some 
of the leading companies in his line. Mr. 
Barry has been appointed justice of the 
peace and is proving a very efficient and 
capable man in the right place. In relig- 
ious matters he attends the Christian Sci- 
ence Church. Like many of the old sol- 
diers, he is prominent in the G. A. R., be- 
longing to M. W. Heller Post, No. 166, of 
which he is commander. He is also a 32d 
degree Mason and belongs to De Molay 
Commandery, of Lyons, Iowa. 

PETER EIMON, Vice-President of 
the Twohy-Eimon Mercantile Co., and one 
of the most successful business men of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



173 



West Superior, Douglas county, is a native 
of Wisconsin, born in Dane county, May 
29, 1866. 

Mr. Eimon's ancestors were farmers in 
Norway, and his parents, Ole and Sarah 
(Thomley) Eimon, were natives of North- 
land, in that country. The former came to 
the United States about i860 and settled on 
a farm in Dane county, Wis., later movinj^ 
to Osseo, Trempealeau county, where he 
now lives, aged seventy-eight years. Mrs. 
Sarah (Thomley) Eimon died at Osseo in 
1886, when fifty-five years of age. 

Peter Eimon attended the public schools 
of Trempealeau county and took a course 
in the Business College at Whitehall, Wis 
He began his business career as a clerk in 
a general store at Pigeon Falls, whence he 
went to Osseo. and in i88g came to West 
Superior, opening a retail grocery store 
which developed into a large grocery and 
provision business. In 1895 the Eimon 
Mercantile Company was incorporated, 
Peter Eimon, president. July i, 1902, this 
concern was consolidated with the Twohy 
Mercantile Co., and has since been known as 
the Twohy-Eimon Mercantile Co., of which 
he is vice-president. This company sells more 
goods than any other jobbing house in the 
city. Mr. Eimon has also a large, well im- 
proved farm near Cooperstown, N. D., 
which he secured as "wild land"' in 1883. 

On Dec. 29, 1892, Mr. Eimon and Jo- 
sephine Ekern, of Pigeon Falls, Wis., were 
married, and two children have come to 
them. Perry and Orra. The family is con- 
nected with the Norwegian Lutheran 
Church, of which Mr. Eimon is a director. 

Mr. Eimon is a member of the local 
lodge of Masons, of Terminal Lodge, I. O. 
O. F., of the M. W. A., and K. M. He has 
been a lifelong Republican, but is not an 
office-seeker. Mr. Eimon is one of the cr.m- 
paratively small number who came to West 
Superior in its infancy, and who havo been 
steadily identified with its growth and ])ro- 
gress. He has the confidence and esteem 
of his associates in all the relations of life. 

L.\WREXCE P.RENNEN, street 
commissi<jncr of West Superior since his 



appointment in .Ajn-il, 1900, and a servant 
of the municipality in several capacities, has 
been a resident of that city since 1889. Mr. 
Brennen is a native of New Orleans, La., 
where he was born in April, 1853. 

Lawrence Brennen, Sr., the father cf 
our subject, was born in Ireland, but came 
to America and was employed for many 
years on the boats of the lower Mississippi, 
with his residence in New Orleans. He 
was accidentally drowned from the steam- 
boat "James Montgomery," when his son 
and namesake was only a little boy. After 
his death his widow removed with her ch.il- 
dren to Louisville, Ky., where Lawrence 
passed many years of his early life. When 
the Rebellion came the boy was much too 
young to be accepted as a soldier, but, filled 
with the enthusiasm and the excitement that 
pervaded the people in those troublesome 
times, he resolved to share as far as possible 
the experience of a soldier. He was then 
only about ten years old, but large for his 
years, and succeeded in getting into the 
command of Gen. Rosseau in the capacity 
of drummer boy. He accompanied the 
army as far as Chattanooga, Tenn., whence 
he was returned to his home at Louisville, 
chiefly through the efforts of his mother. 

But the spirit of adventure with which 
Mr. Brennen was possessed, even as a boy, 
was by no means subdued, and he soon after 
secured a position on the steamer "Charm- 
er," which was engaged in carrying supplies 
for the army between Evansville, Ind., and 
Nashville, Tenn. This was an exciting and 
dangerous business, as guerrillas lined the 
banks of the Cumberland and were ever on 
the alert to annoy and capture any Union 
boat navigating that stream. Not far from 
Clarksville, 'i'enn., on the Cumberland, an 
attack of this kind occurred and Mr. Bren- 
nen received a shot, evidently from a con- 
cealed guerrilla, which severely injured one 
of his arms. He was many weeks in re- 
covering from his wound and the effect of 
the rebel bullet is still plainly in evidence. 

Some time later, while employed on 
bo'ird the steamer "St. Patrick," which plied 
between Louisville and Memphis with sup- 
plies, Mr. Brennen had another e.xciting ex- 



174 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



perience. On arriving at Cairo, on the way 
down, the Union authorities at that place 
became suspicious of the real character of 
the boat and conceived the idea that she 
might be in the service of the Confederates 
instead of the Union forces. The cargo 
was therefore removed and the boat and 
crew sent to Paducah, Ky. Military condi- 
tions w-ere such that it was difficult to get 
away from Paducah, and Mr. Brennen, 
with the others in a like condition, re- 
mained there for some time. They were fin- 
ally taken before Gen. John M. Palmer, who 
was in command, and Mr. Brennen, boy 
that he was, plead his cause for release with 
much earnestness. Pie was finally put on 
board the flagship "Blackhawk" and served 
on that boat for a time, but eventually 
reached home in safety. Certainly his war 
experiences, as a boy not yet in his 'teens, 
■were equal to those of many an enlisted sol- 
dier. Mr. Brennen has now in his posses- 
sion an autograph letter from Gen. Palmer, 
written in reply to one he addressed to that 
brave old soldier in 1896, which he justly 
prizes very highly. In his letter Mr. Bren- 
nen referred to the incident above narrated, 
and the general in his reply expressed a re- 
membrance of the same, although after an 
interval of more than thirty years. 

Louisville was Mr. Brennen's home for a 
time following the war, and there his moth- 
er died. That broke up the home, and for 
more than twenty-five years Mr. Brennen 
worked on steamlxiats on the Mississippi 
river and its tributaries. For the last thir- 
teen years of that time he was with the 
"Diamond Joe" steamboat line company, 
and during the last seven years he resided 
at Dubuque, Iowa. In 1889, owing to his 
long and successful experience in steamboat- 
ing, he was invited to go to the Head of the 
Lakes and take charge of the business of the 
Northern Steamship Company. He accept- 
ed the proposition and for six years success- 
fully conducted the affairs of this company. 
Since that time he has been otherwise em- 
ployed. 

Mrs. Brennen was formerly Miss Viola 
Shinoe, and was married in 1887. She has 



a son and two daughters, Thomas, Olive 
and Ethel. 

ISlr. Brennen is a strong Republican in 
his views and is active in the interest of his 
party. For the four years previous to his 
appointment as street commissioner he was 
a member of the city council, serving as al- 
derman of his ward from 1895 to 1899. The 
aims of fraternal organizations appeal to 
him, and he is a member of both the Odd 
Fellows and the Order of the Maccabees. 
Mr. Brennen's public record has made him 
Aery generally esteemed as a citizen, and his 
personal character has won him many warm 
friends. 

AUGUST DOENITZ. Industry and 
perseverance, when backed by good native 
ability, always bring their own reward, and 
seldom more unmistakably than in the case 
of August Doenitz, register of the United 
States Land Office, Ashland, who has forced 
his way forward until he is now classed 
among the most influential citizens of Ash- 
land and of Northern Wisconsin. He was 
born in Weisenfels, Germany, Aug. 21, 

1854. 

August Doenitz, Sr., and his wife Fred- 
ericka (Sultze) Doenitz, parents of our sub- 
ject, came from Germany, their native land, 
in 1873, and went first to Sheboygan coun- 
ty. Wis., where they bought a farm in the 
town of Greenbush, and later removed to a 
farm in Waushara county, where the father 
died Dec. 18. 1885. His widow is still liv- 
ing there. Her father, Heinrich Sultze,' 
had come to this country in 1854 and was 
one of the pioneers of Greenbush, Wis., 
where he pre-empted land and operated a 
grist and sawmill. He died Jan. 23, 1875, 
at the age of seventy, and his wife, Freder- 
icka, died April 12, 1889. 

August Doenitz (2) was about nineteen 
years old when the family came to Wiscon- 
sin. For the first few years he worked on 
his father's farm, then went to Plymouth, 
Wis., to learn the tinner's trade, and after 
three years opened a hardware store at 
Plainfield, Wis., and also dealt in agricul- 
tural implements. In 18S8 he concluded 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



that Aslilaiul offered a more inviting tield, 
so he removed again, and opened a tin shop 
there, linding that occupation better for his 
health than something more coniining. 
Shortly he organized the Ashland Screen 
and Manufacturing Company, in which he 
was the principal stockholder and the man- 
ager, and he still retains an interest in the 
concern. He is also secretary of the h'ahrig 
Metal Company. 

Politics offered a congenial field to Mr. 
Doenitz and his active career in that line 
began when, after a few years' residence in 
Ashland, he was elected to the county board 
of supervisors. He served two years, and 
during that period was chairman of the 
board. He was nominated for the assem- 
bly, but declined that he might promote the 
election of C. A. Lamerieux as State sena- 
tor. Jan. 12, 1898. he was appointed regis- 
ter of the United States Land Office at 
Ashland, and was reappointed April 5, 
1902. His unflagging interest in politics 
has taken him all over Northern Wisconsin, 
and he has become both well known and in- 
fluenial. He has been a delegate to many 
of the State and congressional conventions. 

At Plymouth, Wis., Nov. 9, 1880, oc- 
curred the marriage of Mr. Doenitz to Miss 
Hulda Ackerman, who was born in Rhine, 
Sheboygan county. Oct. 3, 1857, the daugh- 
ter of Mr. and Mrs. John M. Ackerman. 
There ha\'e I)een two children from this 
union: Ottu. a student of the Wisconsin 
University, and Norma, a student in the 
Ashland high school. 

Mr. Doenitz was reared in the Lutheran 
faith and still holds to the teachings of that 
church. He is a prominent Mason and be- 
longs to Ashland Commandery No. 22. K. 
T., Wisconsin Consistory, Valley of Mil- 
waukee, and Tripoli Temple N. M. S. He 
is in every sen.se a self-made man and start- 
ed in life not only handicapped by slender 
means, but by utter ignorance of the lan- 
guage of his adopted country. He studied 
English not only in the evening, but at 
every possible opportunity until he mastered 
it. He began working for $150 a year, and 
from that humble beginning has worked his 
way along until he now has a competence. 



WILLIAM JOSEPH LEADER is one 
of the most efficient and popular officials of 
Douglas county. He was born in Galena, 
111., a son of John and Lenora (O'Donog- 
hue) Leader. 

The ancestors of the Leader family mi- 
gnited in the sixteenth century from Eng- 
land to Cork, Ireland, where members of 
the family have ever since been prominent. 
John Leader, father of William Joseph, 
came from Cork about 1840 and located at 
Syracuse, N. Y. In 1850 he went to Gale- 
na, where for several years he taught school. 
After this he spent a few years in gold min- 
ing in Idaho, and still later was employed 
as a clerk by the Illinois Central Railroad. 
His last years were spent in retirement, and 
he died in January, 1894, at the age of six- 
ty-six. Mrs. Lenora Leader comes of an 
old family of County Kerry, Ireland, where 
she was born. She is still living at Galena, 
aged seventy years. 

William J. Leader was graduated when 
sixteen years old from the Galena high 
school. He learned telegraphy in the Illi- 
nois Central station, and was employed as 
telegrapher at various places in Illinois, 
Missouri, Texas and other States. For five 
years he was train dispatcher for the Wab- 
ash Railroad at Springfield, 111. In 1884 
he went to Washburn in charge of a crew 
of longshoremen on the docks built by the 
Omaha Railway Compan\'. He became 
first cashier of the Omaha station at Super- 
ior in the fall of 1884 and remained there 
until the spring of 1887, when he was elect- 
ed assessor for the town of Superior, which 
included most of Douglas county. The fol- 
lowing year he was made deputy county 
clerk, in 1890 deputy county treasurer, and 
in I'"ebruary, 1891, was appointed county 
clerk to fill a vacancy. He filled the latter 
])osition about two years, and he has ever 
since been connected with that office, being 
now deputy county clerk. Mr. Leader has 
held his position under successive incum- 
bents of the office of county clerk and is con- 
sidered one of the most capable of the pub- 
lic officials of Douglas county. In 1887 the 
value of property in West Superior began 
to rise rrii)idly. Mr. Leader has invested 



176 



COMAIEMORATR-E BIOCtRAPHICAL RECORD 



quite extensively in real estate and has 
bought and sold considerable property. 

j\Ir. Leader married in 1882 at Dallas, 
Texas, Maggie Caton, a daughter of Mi- 
chael Caton, a farmer of New Diggings, 
Wis. Mr. Caton is now li\ing at Desmet, 
S. D. Mr. and Mrs. Leader are the parents 
of three childyen. Cora. Catherine and 
Honora. 

Mr. Leader is secretary of St. Erancis 
Xavier Church at Superior. He is a mem- 
ber of the B. P. O. E. and C. O. F. He has 
always been an advocate of free trade, and 
contributes liberally to campaign literature 
and other political publications. Mr. Leader 
is a Democrat, but is very popular with local 
Republicans. 

ICHABOD BROWNELL HILL, who 
enjoys the distinction of being one of the 
oldest living natives of the State of Wis- 
consin, was born in Baraboo. Jan. 8, 1842. 
He was the son of Valencia B. and Mary J. 
(Johnston) Hill, both born in Colchester, 
Vt. His paternal grandfather came from 
County Antrim. Ireland, and settled in Ver- 
mont before the Revolutionary war ; he was 
a physician and surgeon by profession and 
did some service in that line at the battle of 
Plattsburg. 

Valencia B. Hill, while yet a young 
man. was foreman of the Lake Champlain 
Lumber Co., but soon caught the fever for 
western immigration and went to Wiscon- 
sin. The family reached that State during 
the Black Hawk war and were obliged to 
take refuge in Fort Winnebago until peace 
was restored. Then Mr. Hill selected a 
clearing on Webster's Prairie, about three 
miles above the present city of Baraboo, on 
the Baraboo river. In company with "Abe" 
Woods, a well known pioneer of Sauk 
county, he opened a trading post, which 
they conducted for several years, skillfully 
avoiding any difficulties with the Sauks. 
Mr. Hill built the first dam on the Baraboo 
river and put up a saw mill. This was washed 
out the next year, but he rebuilt it about a 
mile farther up the stream and continued 
there in the lumber business for fifteen years 



or more. Thence he remQ\-ed to a farm in 
Hillsboro, Vernon Co., Wis.; the -town and 
village being named after the: Hill family. 
Here he died in 1857, at the age of fifty- 
five years. His wife, Mary J. Hill was of 
Scotch-Irish lineage, the daughter of a 
farmer near South Bend, Ind., w'here he 
died. Her mother, a Miss Knight, was his 
second wife. Mrs. Hill had four brothers, 
the shortest of whom was six feet, two 
inches in height and weighed over two hun- 
dred pounds. Mr. and Mrs. Hill had eight 
children, two dying in infancy. Those who 
lived to maturity were : Cornelia J., Mrs. 
Jas. Mack, who died in Kansas; Caroline, 
Mrs. F. Willey; Icahbod B. ; William E., 
who lives in Virginia; Mary M. ; and Eva- 
line, the w'idow of D. J. J. Hamilton. The 
home of the three surviving daughters is 
Marquette, Kan. William E. Hill spent 
three years in the United States Army dur- 
ing the Civil war, serving first in the Tenth 
Wisconsin Battery and later in the 5th U. 
S. Regulars. 

Ichabod Brownell Hill attended the pub- 
lic schools at Hillsboro, living on the home 
farm until he was fifteen years old, when he 
began to earn his own livelihood. When the 
Rebellion broke out he enlisted, May 10, 
1 861, and for the next four years, in the 
Army of the Potomac, he endured all the 
privation and suffering which that active 
service entailed, until, in July, 1865. he was 
discharged as Orderly Sergeant. Enlisting 
in Co. I, 6th W. V. I., at first for three 
years, he was among those whose first ap- 
pearance at Madison, fitted out in regalia of 
their own individual selection, afforded 
cause for much amusement until the proper 
uniforms were supplied. The season of 1861 
was spent near Washington. In all the sub- 
sequent campaigns of the famous "Iron 
Brigade" Mr. Hill took part, and was one 
of the twelve still in the ranks at the final 
discharge, while of the ninety men who 
went out in the company only one escaped 
without wounds. Sixteen of the number 
were killed at Gettysburg and eleven at 
Gainesville. Mr. Hill was wounded in each 
of these engagements and at the battle of 




IGHABOD B. HILL 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAFHICi\L RECORD 



177 



the Wilderness he was left on the field for 
dead. At Gainesville his right leg was 
si>lintere(l but he managed to hobble about 
a mile when he overtook an ambulance and 
forced the driver to take him into the Union 
lines, the Confederate Cavalry being close 
behind them. After the Wilderness he was 
iletailed as a scout, having done much duty 
previously in that line, and also was on se- 
cret service duty in Washington and vicin- 
ity, so that he was with the regiment only 
at intervals. When Richmond fell he was 
returning from Ohio in charge of a squad 
of deserters. Twice he was taken prisoner, 
once at Gettysburg, during the first day, 
when he escaped through the assistance of 
a Confederate officer whom he had previ- 
ously befriended while guarding him as a 
prisoner; and again at Hatcher's Run, 
where he remained in prison about ten days. 
Thus his experiences were of the most var- 
ied order and he saw much of both the hor- 
rors and glories of war. 

After the war Mr. Hill followed the car- 
penter trade at Hillsboro, also farming 
there and at Bloomer. Wis. Four years he 
spent at Fergus Falls, Minn., and several 
more at Baniesville, Minn., where he acted 
as superintendent of construction on ele- 
vators and other buildings. Since 1890 he 
has lived at Superior, contracting. When 
he located there there were few buildings 
south of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapo- 
lis & Omaha Railway, and he has seen the 
main part of the city grow up about him. 
Both in Superior and in the other towns 
where he has lived he has taken an active 
part in local politics, holding various offices. 
In principle he is a Democrat, but on local 
questions has always taken an independent 
stand. He is a meml)er of Alonzo Palmer 
Post, G. A. R. His church affiliations are 
with the Methodist Church. 

On December 24, 1865, Mr. Hill was 
married to Margaret J. Church, daughter 
of Truman and Elizabeth Church, of Hills- 
l)oro. Wis. Mrs. Hill was born in Indiana, 
but came in infancy to Green county, Wis., 
and thence to Hillsboro. Her father, an 
old soldier who served twenty-two months 

12 



in the ]Olh Wis. Battery, died in 1893 at 
Wonewoc, aged seventy-one years. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hill have two sons and three daughters 
livmg and have lost an infant son. The 
others are Frank Hill, of Superior; Ford, 
in Dakota; IHorence and Clara, graduates 
of the Superior High School; and Helen, a 
graduate of the Superior Normal School 
and now engaged in teaching in that city. 

MICHAEL X. OISTAD. In thedc:;th 
of Michael X. Oistad, Washburn lost not 
only one of its prosperous and influential 
business men. but also a citizen whose sin- 
cerity of purpose and rectitude of life marie 
his example one of great worth in the com- 
munity, and the universal respect in which 
his fellow citizens held him was amply desn- 
onstrated by the large attendance at his fun- 
eral services, the largest assembly on such 
an occasion ever known in Washburn. Mr. 
Oistad was born in Torpen, Xorway, May 
28, 1863. and his death occurred in Wash- 
burn, May II, 1901, but in this short span 
of life he had achieved as much as many 
men accomplish in a much kniger time. 

The parents. Xels Oistad and Julia, his 
wife, are still living on a farm in Norway, 
and there Michael was reared and in that 
countr)- secured a good common school edu- 
cation. The youth at the age of eighteen 
came to America and made his way west- 
ward from Xew York to Wisconsin, where 
he had relatives in Black Earth, Dane coun- 
ty, and for four years was occupied there 
in a general store kept by his uncle, H. M. 
Xordrum. During this period Mr. Oistad 
studied diligently to master the English lan- 
guage, being his own teacher in the main, 
and also took a business course in Madison. 
About 1885 he left Black Earth and spent 
two years in a Duluth wholesale grocery 
establishment. From that point he went to 
Washburn, where he worked in a retail gro- 
cery store for a few months. Then in part- 
nership with Albert Paulson he bought the 
stock and business. After a few years Mr. 
Oistad Imught out Mr. Paulson and con- 
tinued the establishment alime until his- 
death. 



1/8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Within two years after engaging in tlie 
grocery business the firm built a two-story 
residence and store, and later a one-story 
building was erected on the adjoining prop- 
erty, all of which came eventually into the 
possession of Mr. Oistad. Beginning with 
only his savings, he was uniformly success- 
ful in business and also invested c^uite large- 
ly in western pine lands. 

Mr. Oistad's marriage to iliss Carrie 
Paulson, the daughter of Peter C. and An- 
drina (Anderson) Paulson, of Black Earth, 
occurred June 27, 1889. Mr. and Mrs. 
Paulson came from Norway in early life, 
settled permanently at Black Earth, and 
there reared a large family, eight of whom 
are still living. Three reside in Washburn : 
Mrs. Oistad, Annie, now Mrs. Kenney, and 
Albert. Since the death of her husband, 
Mrs. Oistad, with her three children, Elmer, 
Alice and Raymond, has continued to make 
her home in Washburn. In the spring of 
1 90 1 Mr. Oistad had begun making prepa- 
rations for a visit to his parents in Norway, 
on which he was to be accompanie'd by his 
family. These calculations were cut short 
1)y his untimely illness and death, resulting 
in a serious disappointment to all parties 
concerned. 

Mr. Oistad was one of the organizers of 
the Norwegian Lutheran Church, and al- 
ways a most influential member of the so- 
ciety, with which his family are still con- 
nected. He was a Republican in politics, 
but while he was always well posted in local 
questions and had served for one year as 
supervisor, he was never an active partisan. 
In a business way Mr. Oistad was connected 
with the Retail Grocers' Association, and 
was also vice-president of the Washburn Ice 
Company. Fraternally he was a member of 
the Masonic order, and of the Independent 
Order of Foresters. In all relations of life 
he displayed in a marked degree the faculty 
of making and keeping friends. 

JAMES ATKINSON, one of the capa- 
ble and successful business men of Rice 
Lake. Barron Co.. Wis., was born at St. 
Louis, Mo.. April 20, 1852. a son of Dr. 



John R. and Sarah Ann (Selkirk) Atkin- 
son. 

Dr. John R. Atkinson was a native of 
Liverpool and studied medicine in England. 
He came to the United States when a young 
man, locating in Illinois. Later he re- 
moved to St. Louis, Mo., where he engaged 
in a large practice for some years. At the 
beginning of the war he enlisted in the 
Union army and was made paymaster of the 
Western division. For three years he was 
engaged in that service and did valiant ser- 
vice of many kinds for his country. 

At the close of the war Dr. Atkinson 
went to New York and speculated on Wall 
street, where he met with reverses, a man of 
his integrity of purpose and broadness of 
mind not being fitted to cope with those who 
make manipulation of stocks their life busi- 
ness. He afterwards became city editor and 
dramatic critic of the New York A^eius, a 
Democratic paper, although he himself was 
a Republican. The death of this truly great 
man occurred at Quebec when he was sixty- 
five years of age, and the world thereby lost 
a man of unusual attainments, both as a 
physician and an author. Dr. Atkinson was 
related to the famous Howard family of 
England, and was a half brother of Dr:' 
Roljert Dunglison, of Philadelphia, author 
of the Dunglison Medical Directory. His 
widow died at Quebec at about the same age 
as her husband. She was a daughter of 
Alexander Selkirk, who came from Scot- 
land, a lineal descendant of his namesake 
"Robinson Crusoe," and who for some time 
acted as bookkeeper for a firm of iron man- 
ufacturers at St. Louis. 

James Atkinson was educated in a pri- 
Aate school on Broad street, Philadelphia, 
studied bookkeeping at Gregar Munford's 
business college and has occupied positions 
of trust and responsibility, where his knowl- 
edge of that science has stood him in good 
stead. 

In February, 1879. he located at Rice 
Lake to take the position of timekeeper for 
Knapp, Stout & Co., well-known lumber- 
men. Two vears later he became book- 
keeper, and still later, chief manager of the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



1/9 



interests of this linn al Rice Lake for a 
number of years. After the business was 
sold to the Wisconsin i'ower Co., Mr. At- 
kinson was its chief manager for a time and 
still looks after the real estate interests of 
that vast corporation in the vicinity. In ad- 
dition to his other interests, Mr. Atkinson 
has become the owner of some valuable 
lands, and in handling- them has built up a 
very flourishing real estate business. 

In politics Mr. Atkinson is a Democrat 
and he has served several years as a member 
of the council of Rice Lake, and during his 
last term he was president of that body. 

Air. Atkinson married first in 1870, 
Laura Nedeau. who died in 1878. leaving 
two children, now deceased. In 1880, Mr. 
.\tkinson married Anna Peterson, of Rice 
Lake, who died about 1885, leaving no chil- 
dren. His third wife was Florence E. 
Gibbs, of Chicago, born at Reed's Landing. 
Minn., a most charming lady, refined and 
cultured, an earnest worker in the Presby- 
terian Church. Three children have l)een 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Atkinson, Ruth. 
Montgomery and Neal. Mr. Atkinson is 
himself a Catholic and he belongs to the M. 
W. A. 

EDWARD L. HAXTOX. The growth 
of South Superior has occurred largely 
since 1891, and among those who came at 
that time and have assisted in the develop- 
ment of the place was Edward L. Hanton. 

Mr. Hanton was born in 1858 in the 
town of Bums. La Cros.se Co., Wis. His 
father, Joseph Hanton, now deceased, was 
one of the pioneers of that place, and there 
reared his familj' of twelve children, four 
of whom are no longer li\ing. Edward 
Hanton received his early education in the 
public schools and was reared to the useful 
life of a farmer's lad, but he found this less 
to his taste than a more active business life, 
and he finally started out in W'est Salem in 
the livery liusiness. After three years there 
he moved to Soutli Superior in i8gi and 
engaged first in the hotel business ; later he 
was employed in the Labelle Wagon Works, 
for three years was connected with the fire 



department and has since then been in the 
real estate and insurance business. 

On Dec. 25, 1883, Mr. Hanton was 
united in marriage with Aliss Belle Shoe- 
maker, of Sparta, Wis., and to them have 
come three children, Carl, Leone and Ar- 
thur. The first named is a student at the 
University of Wisconsin. 

In his political opinions Air. Hanton is 
a Democrat and has displayed an active in- 
terest in the municipal life of the city. He 
served two years as a member of the county 
board of supervisors, and in igoi he was 
elected alderman from the 8th ward. Fra- 
ternally he is associated with the Odd Fel- 
lows, the Red Alen and the Alodern Wood- 
men of America. 

DEXTER HAVEXS SMITH. AI. D.. 
is a successful physician of Hurley, Iron 
county, where he has been in active practice 
for the last t\\o or three years. He was 
born in Weedsport. X. Y., July 23. 1866, 
son of John H. and Julia A. (Havens) 
Smith. John H. Smith was a native of 
Sherburne, Chenango Co.. X'^. Y., where he 
grew up and attended school. After leav- 
ing school he learned the trade of carpenter, 
at which he worked for a time in his native 
town. He soon, however, moved to Weeds- 
l)ort. where he went into the grain business, 
liecoming the owner of an elevator which he 
operated for some time. Later he went to 
California by way of the Isthmus of Pana- 
ma, settling for a while in San Francisco. 
He did some prospecting and was fairly suc- 
cessful, but owing to the accidental death of 
his friend and partner, returned to the East, 
and again went into the grain elevator busi- 
ness at Weedsport. In 1869 he .sold out 
his elevator interests, went to Denver, and 
then to Golden. Colo. In the latter place 
he engaged in the hay, grain and stock busi- 
ness until 1878, when he became interested 
in the water supply of Denver and thence- 
forth devoted himself to that business. He 
died in 1893. leaving considerable property. 
His wife is still living, making her home 
with her daughter in AliKvaukee. 

D. H. Smith was onlv three vcars old 



i8o 



COJNIME.MORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



when liis parents iiiox'ed to Colorado and he 
began his education in the public schools of 
Denver. This was supplemented by a course 
in the University of Denver, where he ob- 
tained his degree of A. 2^1. After this he 
took a medical course, graduating in 1895 
with the degree of M. D. Previous to his 
graduation he secured a special license and 
began his medical practice in 1891, as sur- 
geon of the Denver police and fire depart- 
ments. After receiving his diploma he 
practiced medicine in Denver until 1900, 
when he moved to Milwaukee. After a brief 
stay in that city he moved to Hurley, where 
he has already built up a considerable prac- 
tice and is meeting with much success. 

On April 13, 1897, Dr. Smith married 
Adelia Murray, daughter of Thomas and 
Hannah Murray, both natives of Canada. 
Mr. Murray was for many years in the oil 
business in Denver, where he died in 1892. 
His wife still resides in Denver. Mrs. 
Smith is a graduate nurse of St. Luke's hos- 
pital of Denver, and her professional know- 
ledge and skill make her a valuable assistant 
to the doctor. Dr. Smith was surgeon to 
the high school cadets in Denver, and is at 
present medical examiner for the A. O. U. 
W., of Hurley. He is a member of that 
order, Northern Camp No. 51, of Hurley, 
and of the Eagles, No. 247, also of Hurley. 

ANDREW EKSTROM is a popular 
and influential citizen of Superior, Douglas 
county, and is now serving as a member of 
the city council. He was born in Isanti 
county, Minn., Feb. 8, 1868, son of Hans 
and Charlotte Ekstrom, natives of Dahlen, 
Sweden, who came to the United States in 
1866. Hans Ekstrom took vip land in Isanti 
county and became a successful farmer. He 
died in 1888 at the age of sixty-five, his 
wife having passed away in 1878, when 
thirty-eight years of age. Hans Ekstrom 
was one of four brothers, and the only one 
to come to this country. One of the broth- 
ers is an officer in the Swedish army. To 
Hans and Charlotte Ekstrom were born 
children as follows : Hans, of Chicago ; An- 



drew; John, of Spokane, Wash.; Charles, of 
Isanti, Alinn. ; Anna, Bessie and Christine, 
of Isanti. 

Andrew Ekstrom attended the public 
schools until he was thirteen, when he left 
home and began work in the lumber woods,, 
his first position being that of cook. He 
spent ten winters in the woods, and in 1890 
came to West Superior. The next years he 
was employed as clerk in a grocery and pro- 
vision store, and since 1893 he has been a 
grocer and provision dealer, located at 
Fifth street and Hughitt avenue. He has 
had a steadily growing trade, and now car- 
ries one of the best stocks in the city. He 
also has an interest in the general store car- 
ried on by his brother Charles in Isanti,. 
Minn. Mr. Ekstrom has built several resi- 
dences and other buildings, some of which 
he still owns. He has always been a public- 
spirited citizen. He is a Republican, and in 
the spring of 1902 was elected alderman for 
the Fifth ward. 

In February, 1896, ]\Ir. Ekstrom was 
united in marriage to Ida Anderson, a na- 
tive of Sweden, but then a resident of 
Anoka, Minn. To this union have come 
four children, Dorothy Ida Alice, Warren 
Russell, Andrew Goodwin and Lawrence 
Sidney. The family attend the Lutheran 
Church. Mr. Ekstrom is a member of the 
I. O. O. F., Superior Lodge. 

REV. HORACE BATEMAN CRAN- 
DALL. To few men is it given to make the 
impress of a forceful personality felt over 
so broad a field as that which has for many 
years been the scene of the Rev. Horace 
Crandall's service, while his influence has 
been yet more widely spread by his many 
contributions to the press, where he has 
fearlessly set forth his views of current top- 
ics in the most able manner. 

The son of Horace Powell and Lois 
( Bateman) Crandall, he was born in the- 
town of Perrinton, Monroe Co., N. Y., Jan. 
10, 1823. His parents, born in Connecticut 
and ^'^ermont respectively, were descend- 
ants of old New England families. The 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



grandfather, John Crandall, had six sons 
and two daughters. Horace Powell Cran- 
dall followed the trade of a blacksmith for 
many years in Palmyra, Wayne Co., N. Y., 
and later in Randolph. Cattaraugus 
county. The last years of his life 
were spent in Calhoun county, Mich. 
Horace Powell Crandall married Lois Bate- 
man, who was born April 12, 1790, and died 
in the town of Allen, Hillsdale Co., Mich., 
June 19, 1853. The children of this mar- 
riage were nine in number: Nelson \V.. 
died at Homer, Calhoun Co., Mich., June 
22, 1845, aged thirty-three years; Cyrenas, 
died in California; Susan Delia (Mrs. Mc- 
Apes), died Oct. 26, 1847, aged thirty-three 
years; Norman H., died in Coldwater, 
Branch Co., Mich., in 1871, aged fifty-five; 
Laura Ann (Mrs. McGinnis), died at 
Grand Rapids, Mich., July 26, 1851, at the 
age of thirty years ; Edwin Cortland, died at 
Homer, Mich., Nov. 26, 1843, aged fifteen 
years and eleven months; Alfred Byron, 
died Dec. 6, 1850, at Homer, Mich., aged 
eighteen years and eleven months; Julia 
Ann, died in Monroe county, N. Y., ]\Iarch 
S, 182 1, and Horace Bateman is the only 
survivor of the family. 

Horace Bateman Crandall was educated 
in the public schools in Randolph, Cattarau- 
gus Co., N. Y. In the fall of 1842 he went 
to Michigan, going by boat from Dunkirk 
to Detroit, whence he walked to Homer, a 
distance of about 100 miles. Here he 
taught school for several winters and 
worked as a carpenter during the summer. 
He returned to Elmira, N. Y., in 1848, and 
on Jan. 31 of the following year he was 
married there to Mrs. Maria Snyder, whom 
lie had met in Michigan. Moving first to 
Mansfield. Pa., he went in the fall of 1849 
to Wisconsin, locating at Delavan, where 
he again plied his trade as carpenter. For 
some years he had been studying theology, 
and in i8;4 joined the Wisconsin confer- 
ence nf the M. E. Church. In 1856, at Apple- 
ton. Wis., he was ordained a deacon of the 
^r. E. Church by Bishop Simpson. Two 
rears later he was ordained an elder bv Bish- 



op Morris at Beloit, Wis. He began preach- 
ing at South Bristol, Kenosha Co., Wis., and 
later was stationed successively at East 
Troy, Burlington, Clinton and Sharon, 
Fond du Lac, Elkhorn, Omro, Menasha, 
Wausau and other places in Wisconsin. His 
last regular charge was at Fargo, N. D., 
then a town of 1,400 people. He was wide- 
ly known as a church builder and carried 
such work to a successful conclusion in 
Clinton, Sharon, Elkhorn, Marinette and 
other places. Being a capable business man 
as well 'as preacher he usually had charge of 
the finances wherever he was stationed. 

While at Elkhorn he received a recruit- 
ing commission and organized Company I, 
28th W. V. I. He was elected captain, but 
resigned and was regularly discharged in 
October. 1862, when he re-entered the min- 
istry. After resigning his charge at Fargo, 
he located homestead and timber claims in 
Richland county, N. D. As the Great 
Northern Railroad built through his land 
soon after, he platted the town of Colfax, 
where he lived for eight years, during which 
he served as postmaster and in several other 
official capacities. It was at this period, 
too. that he wrote a condensed history of 
Dakota Territory before its division, espe- 
cially of Richland county, which was pub- 
lished and widely circulated. He took an 
active part in the public afifairs of the terri- 
tory and was a delegate to the congressional 
convention in 1882 which nominated U. S. 
Marshal Ravmond as successor to Petti- 
grew. In 1884 he was a delegate to the ter- 
ritorial convention held at Huron which 
elected delegates to the national convention 
who favored the nomination of James G. 
Blaine. He was also elected a member of 
the delegation to Washington, D. C. to ar- 
range for the division of the territory and 
the admission of North and South Dakota 
as separate States. 

In November. 1886. I\Ir. Crandall came 
to West Superior, which then contained 
about 20.0 inhabitants. There he engaged 
in the real estate business. He was elected 
justice of the pence of the 4th ward, .serving 



lS2 



COAniE.MORATR'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



four years, and also ser\-ecl in tlie same ca- 
pacity in the 7th ward. Mr. Crandall is a 
member of Alonzo Palmer Post, G. A. R., 
at West Superior. He was a charter mem- 
ber of Superior Lodge No. 338, I. O. O. F. 
His church connections at present are with 
the Cumming avenue M. E. Church, where 
he is a member of the official board anil a 
local elder. 

Mrs. Maria Crandall, wife of Horace B., 
was a daughter of Jonathan and Irene 
(Mallory) Card, the former a farmer who 
came from New York to Wisconsin in 1852. 
Mr. Card's death occurred at Newton, Iowa, 
while his wife died at Elkhorn, Wis. The 
daughter. Mrs. Crandall, was born in 1820 
at Homer, Cortland Co., N. Y., and died at 
W'est Superior, Oct. 7, 1894. One child by 
her first marriage, to a Mr. Snyder, died in 
infancy. Of the five children of her mar- 
riage to Mr. Crandall, three died of diph- 
theria at Elkhorn and one died at Sheboy- 
gan Falls. A daughter. Rose Irene, Mrs. 
Jas. S. Stack, died at West Superior, 'Sept. 
21, 1888. leaving three sons, Arthur Mal- 
lory, James Raymond and Paul Crandall. 
who attended the high school at Madison 
and later at Superior. The two oldest are 
students at W'isconsin L^niversity. Mr. 
Stack and his sons reside in Superior. 

GILBERT OLSON, a most popular 
and respected citizen of Washburn, for a 
number of years before coming to that place 
had led a most varied and eventful life, and 
while engaging in many different pursuits 
gained a fund of valuable experience of men 
and affairs. 

I\Ir. Olson was born in Norway, the s^m 
of Ols and Catherine Christopherson. na- 
tives of that same locality. The family ar- 
rived in the United States in i860 and made 
their way to Minnesota, where Mr. Christo- 
pherson engaged in farming in Fillmore 
county. He Ijelonged to the Norwegian 
Lutheran Church and was prominent in all 
its affaifs. He died in Fillmore county in 
i8gg, at the age of seventy-four, while his 
wife's death had occurred many years be- 
fore, in 1877, when she was but forty-five 



vears of age. His mother, who hatl accom- 
panied the family to this country, lived to 
complete almost a century. 

Gilbert Olson had little opportunity to 
attend school, for only a few years after 
coming to America, while still only a boy. 
he was obliged to leave home and earn his 
living at farm labor. When fifteen he went 
to Chatfield, }>Iinn., and clerked in a general 
store for two years. His next employment 
was in a flour mill in Rushford, Minn., for 
two years more, when he went to Chippewa 
Falls, Wis., and worked in the woods. He 
was also employed there as a clerk in a hotel, 
and after he had thus gained experience in 
the hotel business he became proprietor of 
the "Taylor House'' at Hudson, Wis. His 
next venture covered several years spent in 
railroad contracting. 

After several years of wandering life 
Mr. Olson returned to Hudson, and once 
more took charge of the "Taylor House." 
After two years there he went to Cumber- 
land, where he was employed both in the 
"Cumberland House," and in farming. In 
1885 he removed to Washburn, where he 
built the' "Cumberland House," A\hich he 
conducted for about two years. Owing to 
death in the family he sold out his hotel 
business and built the Knights of Labor 
Hall, and in 1892 entered upon his present 
occupation, opening a confectionery store, 
where he also deals in bicycles, china and 
notions. Mr. Olson has ever since resided 
in W'ashburn, his family consisting of his 
wife, who was Nettie Oscar, of Crawford 
county, and their four children. Otto, Wal- 
ter, Evelyn and Gilbert. The others died 
very young. The family are connected with 
the Norwegian Lutheran Church. 

Mr. Olson is a Republican in pijlitics, 
and for three years served on the town 
board of supervisors. He is a member of 
the K. O. T. M., and in all relations of life 
is very highly respected. 

THOMAS DOVERY, editor and pro- 
prietor of the Barron County Shield, was 
born in the district of Valders, Norway. May 
17, T866.thesonof Ole and Carrie (Guttorm- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRArHICAL RECORD 



183 



son) Dovery. In 1874 tlie family came to 
Canada, and the year following to Wiscon- 
sin. Ole Dovery settled on a farm in Alani- 
towoc county and there passed the re- 
mainder of his days. His death came at the 
age of eighty years, while his widow, twen- 
ty-one years yuunger than he, is still li\ ing 
in Minnesota. 

When only sixteen Thomas Dovery 
went to Grand Forks, N. D., where he was 
employed in the office of the Grand Forks 
Daily Nezi's, then conducted by Senator 
Hansborough. There he learned much of 
the requirements and routine of a news- 
paper office, and when, four years later, he 
accepted a position on the Barron S/iicld, 
he proved himself fully qualified for the 
work. For three or four years he dis- 
charged the combined duties of printer's 
devil, foreman and editor and then, fully 
satisfied of his entire ability to conduct the 
paper for himself, he leased the Shield of the 
Hon. C. S. Taylor, July i, 1893. Three 
years later, Jan. i. 1896. he bought the 
plant and good will and by adding to his 
outfit modern presses as well as other ma- 
chinery and material, has now one of the 
best equipped printing offices to be found in 
Wisconsin, outside of the large cities. 
Wnen he assumed full charge of the paper, 
Mr. Dovery decided to increase the amount 
of local matter and has since not only given 
much more sjjace to news of Barron, but 
has secured the service of capable corre- 
spondents in other towns of the county. 
That his judgment was good is proved by 
his largely increased subscri])tion list, which 
now includes over 2,000 names. Having 
inherited the undaunted courage of his Vik- 
ing ancestry, Mr. Dovery has surmounted 
every obstacle opposing him and has come 
to be recognized as one of the potent forces 
in the business life of his city and county. 

Socially Mr. Dovey is identified with 
the Masonic Order and the M. W. A., in 
both of which he has filled important posi- 
tions. 

In 1889 Mr. Dovery was married to 
Miss E. A. Babcock, nf llarnin. The three 



children born to them are named Carlyle 
George, Carrie Marie and Margaret Irene. 

GUV A. (iRAFTON, M. D., a well- 
known physician of Hayward, Sawyer 
ct)unty, is a native of Minnesota, born in 
Winona, in 1876. His parents, L. W. and 
E. M. Grafton, were natives of Augusta, 
Maine, and were among the early settlers 
in jNIinnesota. 

The boyhood of Dr. Grafton was spent 
in Winona, where he attended the grammar 
and high schools. After graduating from 
the latter, he studied for two years in the 
office of the well-known physicians Drs. 
Stewart and English, who gave him the 
benefit of their knowledge and experience. 
He then entered the medical department of 
the University of Minnesota, matriculating 
in 1895 '^"'i graduating in 1899, one of the 
first classes to complete the four-years' 
course. In April of that year he received 
from the State board of examiners his li- 
cense to practice, and the following .August 
came to Hayward. where he has devoted 
himself to his profession. Dr. Grafton has 
been honored by the federal appointment to 
the position of physician in charge of 
the Indian Boarding School near Hay- 
ward. and also to the medical care 
of the Courtes Oreilles Reservation. He 
is surgeon for the North Wisconsin 
Lumber and Manufacturing Co. His 
pleasant office rooms contain a fine collec- 
tion of articles of Indian manufacture. Fra- 
ternally he is a member of the Knights of 
Pythias. 

In the spring of 1904 Dr. Grafton start- 
ed the Hayward Hospital, with accommo- 
dations for half a dozen patients, and it is 
filled most of the time. 

ADDISON C. BROWN. In 1856 the 
site of the present city of Sujierior, w'ith its 
30,000 inhabitants, was hardly more than 
a wilderness, and the tiny town, just strug- 
gling into existence, gave little promise of 
its 1 resent size and pros]ierity. But even 
then there were men found willing to cast 



1 84 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



in their lot with the new place and to let its 
future be theirs. Among these confident 
pioneers was Addison C. Brown, a native 
of Huron county, Ohio, born Tune 26. 
1824. 

Mr. Brown is descended from an early 
^Massachusetts family, his first American 
ancestor having come from England in the 
latter part of the seventeenth century. The 
grandfather of our subject, John Brown, 
was born near Beverly, Mass., and died 
■when his son, Henry H., was only a boy. 
The widow was married again to Gen. 
Hovey, and the family removed soon after 
to the State of New York, and thence to 
Erie, Pennsylvania. 

Henry H. Brown was married in Jan- 
uary, 1822, in Painesville, Ohio, to Miss 
Laura M. Merrill, a daughter of Abijah 
^Merrill. His business affairs made a per- 
manent home difiicult to secure for a time, 
and they lived first in Fairfield, Huron Co., 
Ohio, and after five years there, in Thomp- 
son, Seneca county. In 1835 they went to 
Bellevue, Huron county, and in 1861 to 
Wauseon, Fulton county. In that town 
Mrs. Brown died in February, 1866, aged 
sixty-two years, and her husband in August, 
1868, in his sixty-eighth year. To them 
were born six children, but only Addison C. 
and a sister, Lavina M., are living. 

Addison C. Brown grew to manhood in 
Ohio and was a shoemaker by trade. He 
was married in Bellevue. Ohio, July 6, 
1848, to Miss Elizabeth Bartlett, born in 
Worthington, Hampshire Co.. Mass., Oct. 
5, 1823. Their only son, Addison Gates 
Brown, was born in 1862, after they had 
gone to Superior. Mrs. Brown was unus- 
ually well educated, as her father had al- 
ways laid great stress on education. When 
his children were young they had a private 
tutor, and Mrs. Brown later took a four- 
years' course at Oberlin College. After 
settling in Superior she was for twenty 
years one of the most successful teachers in 
the place. 

Mrs. Brown's parents were Calvin and 
Lydia (Drury) Bartlett, both belonging to 



old Xew England families. Calvin Bart- 
lett's father was a captain in the war of the 
Revolution. Mrs. Bartlett was a school- 
mate of William Cullen Bryant. The fam- 
ily went to Ohio in 1837 and settled in 
Bellevue, where the parents spent the great- 
er part of their married life. Later on they 
removed to Wauseon, where Calvin Bart- 
lett died Sept. 15, 1869, aged seventy-one 
years, and his wife, twenty years later, at 
the age of ninety. Of their five children 
the only one living besides Mrs. Brown is 
Peter Tower Bartlett, of Toledo, Ohio. 

Air. and Mrs. Brown first saw Superior 
Oct. 30, 1856, and have watched it grow to 
its present size and prosperity. For many 
}ears Mr. Brown was actively engaged in 
business, but is now living retired and 
makes his home in that part of the city 
called the East End. 

In his early days Mr. Brown was a 
\\'hig, with strong anti-slavery proclivities. 
After the organization of the Republican 
party he became one of its stanch adher- 
ents. He and his wife are members of the 
First Presbyterian Church, and assisted in 
organizing the first church of that denomi- 
nation in Superior. With one other they 
are the only remaining charter members. 
Mr. Brown has ser\-ed as an elder in the 
church since its organization. 

ALONZO J. BARTON, deceased. In 
tlie long struggle between the North and the 
South many men of simple, unostentatious 
life showed themselves to be of the metal 
of heroes, and by their deeds of bravery, 
botli moral and physical, set a high stand- 
ard of character for those who should fol- 
low them. One such was Alonzo J. Barton, 
of Sumner, Barron county, who was born 
Feb. 23, 1836, and passed away Oct. 14, 
1888, loved and respected by all who knew 
him. 

Mr. Barton was born in Chautauqua 
county, N. Y., and spent his early life there 
on a farm, receiving his education in the 
public schools of the State. At the break- 
ing out of the Reliellion he enlisted in Com- 



COMMEMORATIVE BTOGRArillCAL RI'CORD 



185 



pany E, 9th \. A'. \'. Cav. and served with 
his regiment in ni;uiy engagements, till fin- 
ally he was taken prisoner, Oct. 11, 1863. 
He was confined in Libby prison but suc- 
ceeded in making his escape in a nmst dar- 
ing manner. Securing in some way a 
Rebel coat he walked out in broad dayliglit 
and made his way unchallenged to a point 
about thirty miles from Richmond, but 
there he was recaptured and this time con- 
fined in Castle Meade. For thirty-six da}S 
he was kept in a dungeon, receiving the 
most inhuman treatment. Happily he had 
strength to survive these hardships, but 
nevertheless contracted asthma from his ex- 
posure and sufferings and was a great suf- 
ferer from it for the remainder of his life. 
In May, 1864, he was paroled, but after the 
expiration of his parole, re-enlisted with his 
regiment and remained with it till finally 
<lischarged in November, 1865. For his 
bravery and valiant deeds he was promoted 
imtil he was finally made sergeant-major. 
After returning from the war, Mr. Barton 
\vas married, July 4, 1866, to Miss Lucy J. 
Covell, like himself, a native of New York, 
born in 1840. Mrs. Barton is still living 
and makes her home in I'urt Orchard, 
AN'ashington, with a daughter. The chil- 
dren born to this couple were five in num- 
ber: Bertrand E., of Barron. Wis.; Wini- 
fred L. and Willard L., twins, the former 
now Mrs. Percy J. Hudson, of Port Or- 
chard; Mabel I., also of Port Orchard and 
Blanche E., who died Dec. 9, 1899. aged 
twenty-one years. 

A year after his marriage Mr. Barton 
and his wife moved West and settled first in 
Houston county, Minn., \\here they re- 
mained till 1872. They then went to Wis- 
consin, locating first at Eau Claire and later 
at Sumner, Barron county, where tliey took 
u]) a homestead and settled permanently. 
In addition to the conduct of his farm. Mr. 
Barton took an active part in politics and 
filled several offices. .\ Republican in his 
party affiliations, he was elected sheriff in 
the fall of 1865 and in 1879 was again 
cho.sen for .tli;a office. Tn 1884 be was 



elected register of deeds, and filled both 
offices to the utmost satisfaction of his con- 
stituents. Mr. Barton was also an active 
worker in fraternal circles, belonging to 
Barron Lodge. F. & A. M., to the Knights 
of Pythias, of Rice Lake, and was also a 
member of the John A. Logan Union Vet- 
eran Union, Martin Watson Post. 

"Lon" Barton, as he was familiarly 
called, was held in the warmest afYection by 
his many friends, and his death left a long 
felt void in their hearts. His character was 
one of unusual beauty, with a deep love for 
truth, honesty and uprightness that scorned 
every suggestion of meanness, while to his 
friends he was loyalty and devotion itself. 

WILLARD L. BARTON, second son 
I if the al)ove and a well-known citizen of 
I'arron county, was born in Houston, 
Minn., Dec. 17, 1871. The following year 
his father settled in Barron county and the 
boy w-as brought up there on the homestead, 
receiving his education in the public schools. 
He remained at home till 1885, when he re- 
moved to Barron, where he still resides, 
though actively engaged in managing his 
140-acre farm near that city. Like his fath- 
er. Mr. W. L. Barton has been an active 
worker in the Republican ranks; in 1897- 
98 served as deputy register of deeds, was 
elected register in the fall of 1898, and re- 
elected in 1900, thus serving four years 
in all. 

Mr, Barton's marriage occurred March 
26, 1901. when he was united to Miss Hat- 
tie L. Blodgett. daughter of Albin and Rose 
L. Blodgett, of Barron. Mrs. Barton was 
born in Dunn county. Wis. She has borne 
her husband three children. Bethel, Law- 
rence and Ethel. The family are connected 
with the Methodist Episcopal Church, Mr. 
I'arton and his wife are well known in Bar- 
ron, where they have many friends and are 
looked upon with the highest esteem by all. 

W, L. STEPHENSON, M, D,. propri- 
etor of the Stephenson Hos]Htal and Sani- 
tarium at Ladysmith. and a physician of 



1 86 



COMMExMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



good repute, is an affable and polished gen- 
tleman. 

William Stephenson is a native of ^^'is- 
consin and was born in 1873, ^^^^^ Broad- 
head. His early education was secured in 
the public schools, as is that of the greater 
portion of American children, and as he had 
a predilection for the medical profession, as 
soon as it was possible, he began reading 
with T. W. Wuzum, of Broadhead, who 
fitted him for matriculation at Rush Medi- 
cal College, Chicago, which he entered in 
the spring of 1892. There he took a two 
years' course, with two special courses dur- 
ing the summer seasons. Subsequently he 
entered the Wisconsin College of Physi- 
cians and Surgeons at Milwaukee, from 
which he was graduated in 1895. 

Dr. Stephenson began the practice of his 
profession at Broadhead immediately there- 
after, and remained there until June, 1903, 
when he removed to Ladysmith and estab- 
lished himself in active practice. In Jan- 
uary, 1904, he purchased the hospital build- 
ing, which had been erected the previous 
year, and immediately prepared for the re- 
ception of patients. The hospital is a 
roomy one, offering accommodations for 
thirty-five patients, and being built for the 
purpose is specially suited to the con\-en- 
ience of both patient and staff. All the 
modern appliances are found there, includ- 
ing an X-ray outfit, etc. The success Dr. 
Stephenson has already attained is making 
his place a well known one, and his patron- 
age is fast outgrowing his accommodations, 
so that in the very near future, other Ijuild- 
ings will be required. 

On Aug. 19, 1894, Dr. Stephenson was 
married to Miss Maud M. House, of Broad- 
head, and they have become the parents of 
one son, Lee, born Aug. i. 1897. Fratern- 
ally Dr. Stephenson is a member of the 
Wisconsin State Medical Society. Central 
Wisconsin Medical Society, and the Barron, 
Rusk and Polk County Medical Society. 
He is also a member of the Masonic Order, 
the K. of P., Eastern Star and the ^lodern 
Woodmen of America. 



HON. CHARLES F. MORRIS. The 
present is often said to be the day of young 
men, whether in business or professional life, 
and the statement would indeed seem to be 
borne out by so rapid a rise to both profes- 
sional and political influence as that achieved 
by Hon. Charles F. Morris, an attorney-at- 
law, and a representative in the Wisconsin 
Assembly. ]\Ir. IMorris is a native of Chip- 
pewa Falls, \\'is., born Feb. 12, 1876. His 
parents were Patrick and Ann (Boyle) 
Morris. 

Both the father and mother were born 
in Ireland, but came to America in youth, 
settled in Massachusetts, and there married. 
Patrick Morris was first engaged in the boot 
and shoe trade in Worcester, Mass., but in 
1872-73 went to Wisconsin and settled in 
Chippewa Falls, where he engaged in a gen- 
eral mercantile business. This he carried 
on with much success until a short -time pre- 
vious to his death, in May, 1902. He was a 
Democrat in his views, an active worker in 
his party for many years after settling in 
Chippewa Falls, and filled the positions of 
alderman and city treasurer most creditably. 

Charles F. Morris was the youngest of 
nine children bom to his parents. He at- 
tended the Notre Dame parochial school and 
finished the course laid out there in 1892. 
Four years later, having determined on the 
law as his life work, he began reading in 
the office of Buchanan & Bowe, prominent 
attorneys, with whom he remained until his'- 
preparation was completed. He took the 
examination required by the State board of 
examiners in Aug^ist. 1899, and was form- 
ally admitted to the Bar, Oct. loth of that 
same year, before Judge O'Neal. Within 
a month he went to Iron River, having se- 
lected that point as the most promising for 
him, and Dec. ist of the same year opened 
his ot^ce. Young though he was, Mr. Mor- 
ris displayed a legal knowledge, which with 
his tact and judgment enabled him to buiUl 
up a good business rapidly. Fie is the i^os- 
sessor of a good working library, which is- 
unusually complete for so young a lawyer. 

Like his father. ^Ir. Morris is active m 



. COM-MKMORATIVE BlOGRArillCAL RECORD 



1S7 



politics, hi'.t he is a RepuWicaii instead of a 
IJeimicrat. i'"or se\eral years lie lias been city 
attorney for Iron River. In 1902 he received 
the nomination for assemblyman in the Re- 
iniblican convention and on the tirst ballot 
twelve out of the twenty votes were given 
him, whereupon the nomination was made 
unanimous. His election followed with a ma- 
jority of 1970 votes, a marketl tribute to the 
popularity of the young man and candidate, 
— only one indication of the general confi- 
dence in him which makes his voice so influ- 
ential in the party councils. 

Mr. Morris is a member of the Catholic 
Order of Foresters, and is keenly alive to the 
best interests of that organization. 

JOHX D. MORRISSEY, general 
freight agent for Superior of the Duluth 
South Shore & Atlantic Railway Company, 
has had over twenty-five years' experience 
in railroading, and has risen gradually from 
messenger boy on the Pennsylvania Rail- 
way to his present responsible position. He 
was born in Rogormick, County W'aterford, 
Ireland, June 22, 1863, his parents being 
James and Mary (^\'elch) Morrissey, both 
natives of Rogormick, where for genera- 
tions their ancestors had been agriculturists. 
In 1865 James Morrissey brought his fam- 
ily to the United States and located at Em- 
porium, Pa., where for years he was yard 
foreman for the Pennsylvania Railway Com- 
pany, Ijeing retired on a pension in 1891. 
He died Sept. 22, 1901, at the age of sixty- 
seven ; he had acquired considerable property 
in Em]iorium, and his widow still lives there. 

When he was twelve years old. John D. 
Morrissey I)egan work as messenger boy for 
the Pennsylvania Railway Company. He 
remained with the road eight years, becom- 
ing a telegraph operator and being employed 
at different stations. He was next witli the 
\\'estern Xew York & Pennsylvania Rail- 
road as operator at various stations and later 
became agent of the Buffalo. Rochester & 
Pittsburg Railroad, at East Bradford. Pa. 
In 1880 he entered the emplov of the Duluth, 
South Shfire & .\tlantic Railroad, as assist- 



ant agent at Xegaunee, ]\lich., whence he 
was Soon transferred as agent to Baraga, 
Mich., in 1893 transferred to Old Superior, 
as agent, and Nov. i, 1901, was appointed 
general freight agent for the city of Superior, 
which responsible position he still holds. 

At Limestone, N. Y., in 1885 Mr. Mor- 
rissey married Mary O'Brien, who was born 
in Belfast, N. Y., daughter of James and 
Margaret O'Brien, of Bradford, Pa. To 
this union has come one son, James L., born 
in 1887, at Gainesville, N. Y. The family 
are communicants of the Catholic Church 
and socially are well connected. Mr. Alor- 
rissey is a member of Tent 59, K. O. T. M., 
at Gainesville, N. Y., and also of the Elks 
Lodge No. 403, Superior. Politically he is 
a Republican. 

BENNIE JOHNSON, treasurer of 
Barron county, with a long record of official 
service in various capacities, is a Norwegian 
1)y birth and first saw the light of day in Gul- 
bransdalen, near Lillehammer, Sept. 14, 
1864. Llis parents were Johannes Olson 
Stalsberg and Goro (Nelson) Stalsberg, 
who were born and married in that same lo- 
cality and both parents and son were bap- 
tized by the same pastor. 

In the spring of 1866 the family reached 
the United States, after a sea voyage lasting 
eight weeks. The first year they spent in 
Rock county. Wis., whence they went to 
Vernon county, soon after to Pierce county 
and finally settled permanently in St. Croix 
county, where they bought wild land in 
1869 and improved it. The farm is located 
about one mile froin Baldwin and J. O. 
Stalsberg and his wife, both seventy-three 
vears of age, are still 1i\'ing on it. In the 
beginning it meant much hard work for both 
of them and the father had to secure employ- 
ment from his neighbors to support his fam- 
ily, often walking twentv miles to Hudson 
to get work. Of their children, five sons are 
living, one of whom, Nicoli S. was at Cum- 
berland for some time. 

Bennie Johnson is the only one of the 
familv living in Barron countv. His bov- 



iSS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



hood was passed in St. Croix county, where 
he was educated in the public schools. -\t 
the age of seventeen he went to Cumberland 
and having had some experience previously 
in a general store in Baldwin, he at once se- 
cured a similar position in the former town 
and was so employed till 1883. For the next 
two years he was in the post-ofitice there and 
then took a course in a business college in 
-La Crosse. After completing this course, 
Mr. Johnson was employed by a lumber 
company at Washburn for ten months and 
then returned to clerk for the Beaver Dam 
Lumber Company at Cumberland, for eleven 
years. For a time he was also interested in 
a general store at Minong, Wisconsin. 

I\Ir. Johnson has always been a Repub- 
lican but had little time to participate in pub- 
lic ati'airs. In 1898, however, he was chosen 
postmaster over four competitors and accept- 
ing the position, served most satisfactorily 
till March, 19 D3, and then was recommended 
for reappointment. During his incumbency 
the grade of the office was raised from one 
Avith a salary of $1,100 to one of $1,500. In 
May, 1903. the confidence of his fellow citi- 
zens in him was further attested by his elec- 
tion by the county board to fill a vacancy in 
the office of county treasurer. So entirely 
unsolicited was this appointment that Mr. 
Johnson was away on a fishing expedition 
when it was made. In the fall of 1904 he 
was renominated for that position. During 
his residence in Cumberland he rendered still 
further public service by acting as alderman 
of the Third ward for one term. 

The marriage of Mr. Johnson took place 
Aug. 14, 1889, when he was united to Miss 
Hannah Jacobson, who was born in Aden, 
Norway, the daughter of Jacob K. and Mary^ 
Newgard, now of St. Croix county, Wis. 
Thev have one daughter, Bessie G. The 
family are connected with the Norwegian 
Lutheran Church. 

FLOYD HOLLY. Throughout the 
Northwest few names are better known than 
that of Flovd Hollv, a famous hunter and 
trapper of that section for more than thirty 



years. Mr. Holly is a splendid type of the 
western woodsman and his record as a hun- 
ter stand unrivalled. One of the early set- 
tlers of the southern part of Bayfield county, 
Mr. Holly went thither from McKean coun- 
ty. Pa., where he was born in 1842. His par- 
ents were Nathan and Jane (^Hackey) Holly, 
of New Jersey, and he was one of twelve 
children, only three of whom are living. 
Floyd Holly was brought up on a farm and 
was thoroughly familiar with that work, 
and also with lumbering, as he was employed 
often in a sawmill. He was given a good 
education in the public schools and then en- 
tered the Alfred Academy, which he was at- 
tending when the Civil war broke out. 

Mr. Holly was among the first to enlist, 
and April 14. 1861, was enrolled in Com- 
pany G, 42d P. V. I. This was known as 
the Bucktail regiment, and from the 107 
men from Ceras, who enlisted in it, only two 
remained to be discharged at the close of the 
war. }tlr. Holly enlisted again as a veteran 
in 1863, in the same company and regiment, 
and was with the Arm)' of the Potomac fixe 
years in all, in active service, and participat- 
ed in fifty-three battles, including all the 
hardest fought ones which that army saw. 
.\t Gettysburg he was struck in the hip by a 
shell and at Fredericksburg in the breast 
with a buck shot : in the battle of the W'ilder- 
ness he had fired until his gun was empty and 
then ran, getting the fire of the enemy at 
such close range that it tore his clothing, 
cut away his ammunition, and even articles 
out of his pocket. Four of his brothers were 
also in the army, one, Alonzo Holly, serving 
in the same company with Floyd ; he died of 
smallpox after three years" campaigning. 
The others, LaFayette, Lewis and John, 
were in the 85th N. Y., and all went through 
the war. Lewis received a severe wound in 
the arm, and LaFayette was shot in the 
body; he lay in a trench between the two 
lines and probably saved his own life by be- 
ing able to bandage his wound with his shirt. 
Floyd Holly lost his hearing from exposure 
during his army life. 

Mr. Holly was discharged July 3. 1865, 



CO-M-ME.MORATl\E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



189. 



and returned home, where he was married 
the same fall to Sue ^lerman, of Richburg, 
Allegany Co., N. Y. Two years later they 
went to Eau Claire, Wis., where ^Ir. Molly 
was engaged in lumbering. In 1879 he went 
to Hayward, Wis., for a short time, and then 
took up land in liayiield county, the second 
man to settle in Cable. He followed logging 
for one season, but was occupied mainly in 
hunting and trapping. No other man prob- 
ably knows the northern part of Wisconsin 
so thoroughly as ]\Ir. Holly, for he has 
hunted over the whole region for many 
years. His record is a remarkable one, for 
in the line of game — to give one instance — 
he has killed as many as 100 deer in one 
season. He has also secured tw^enty-five 
bears in one season, and is the only white 
man in northern Wisconsin known to have 
killed a moose weighing as much as 1168 
pounds, and measuring six feet, three inches 
from the ftxtt to the top of the back. Of late 
years he has had to give up his old pursuits, 
as his feet were frozen twelve years ago, and 
both had to be amputated at the instep. 

^Ir. Holly has recently tiled on a h'nne- 
stead and owns 120 acres of land which he 
has developed and improved consideral)ly. 
His chief business is conducting a grocery 
store, where he keeps the line of goods 
usually found in a country store. In his 
politics he is a Republican, and does his ut- 
most in a quiet way to promote his party's 
success. In the G. A. R. he is a member 
of Post Xo. 260. 

Three children were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Holly, Clarence, George and Zua. The 
daughter is now Mrs. Shoof, and is a lady 
of culture and refinement. She was very 
carefully educated, both in tlie higher Eng- 
lish branches and in music, and for nine 
years was one of the most successful and 
prominent teachers in the public schools of 
Chicago. She is likewise a line linguist, and 
speaks several languages fluently. 

In spite of Mr. Holly's long military 
service, during which he was the hero of a 
score of pitched battles, and his manv sea- 
sons of life in the wilderness with all the 



attendant exposure, his three score years 
seem not to weigh upon him at all, and his 
eye is as keen and his nerves are as rigid as 
ever, and he can still hit the bull s eye at 
almost any distance witli the crack shots of 
the State. 

LOLTS .\. UURBEY, a pioneer in Tay- 
lor county, and an influential citizen, was 
for a number of years a well known hotel- 
keeper, but is now residing on a farm. He 
was born in the Province of yuebec, Canada, 
June 15, 1849, ^^^^ comes of a hardy, long- 
lived race. His grandfather, Andrew Bur- 
bey, lived to be 103 years old, and he and 
his wife, formerly a Miss Langlade, were 
wedded for over seventy-five years. Mrs. 
Burbey was a relative of the noted Lang- 
lade family, so closely identified with the 
early history of Green Bay, Wisconsin. 

Andrew and Matilda (Lamere) Burbey, 
the parents of Louis A., were natives of 
Quebec, and lived in that Province until 
Louis was two years old. They then mi- 
grated to the United States, and settled on 
a farm in Manitowoc, remaining there many 
years. In 1879, "^'^cy sold out and removed 
to Oconto county. Wis., where Andrew Bur- 
bey died in 1893. Although he was eighty- 
five years old Mr. Burbey enjoyed good 
health until a week before his death, and 
might well have lived longer if he had not 
been injured by being thrown out of a 
buggy in a runaway. Mrs. Matilda Bur- 
bey reached the age of seventy-five years. 
A brother, Francis Lamere, was one of the 
pioneers of Stevens Point, wdiere he located 
as early as 1847, ^'i<^' ^^pt a hotel. He had 
previously been engaged in driving a stage 
between Green Bay and Stevens Point. 

Louis A. Burbey was educated in the 
public schools of Manitowoc county, and re- 
mained at home assisting on the fami until 
he was twenty-one. His first employment 
otherwise was in driving a team in lumber 
camps. In 1876 he went to Taylor county, 
built the "Star Hotel" at Chel.sea. and for 
ten years was occupied in conducting it, 
which he did verv successfuUv. Bv 1886 



ll;)U 



COMMEMORATR'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Mr. Burbey was ready to resume agricul- 
tural life, so he bought 160 acres of wild land 
near the village of Chelsea, and has there 
made his home up to the present time. Over 
forty acres are now unUer cultivation, and 
he has a well kept farm with comfortable 
buildings. In the matter of buildings Mr. 
Burbey has been very unfortunate since 
coming to Taylor county, for in 1894 a 
forest hre destroyed not only everything on 
his farm, with all his personal property, but 
also his hotel property in Chelsea. In addi- 
tion to his hotel and other interests he has 
also until recently done considerable logging. 

Mr. Burbey was hrst married, in 1871, 
to Mary Elizabeth Bence, a native of Ocon- 
to, Wis., who died when only twenty-seven 
years old, after four years of married life. 
On Aug. II, 1875, Mr. Burbey was united 
in marriage to Miss Margaret Alie, who was 
born in Cooperstown, Manitowoc Co., Wis., 
a granddaughter of Joseph Alie, a pioneer 
of Green Bay and a veteran of the Black 
Hawk war, who lived to an advanced age. 
Mr. and Mrs. Burbey have a family of seven 
children, namely : Mary Elizabeth, wife of 
R. R. Allamang, of Chelsea; Louis, a pro- 
fessional cook and also a lumber scaler; 
Katie and Annie, teachers in the public 
schools; and Ruth, Dolphus and Prosper, 
still attending school. The two eldest have 
,also taught school. The family are con- 
nected with the Greenwood Catholic Church. 

Mr. Burbey has always been a strong 
Democrat, and has been very prominent in 
the public life of the town and county. He 
was town clerk for three years ; chairman 
of the town four years, two of which he also 
served as chairman of the county board ; has 
long been a member of the school board ; 
and for the past several years has been a 
justice of the peace. He has been sent as a 
delegate to almost every Democratic county 
convention. He is energetic and tliorough- 
!y capable, and has discharged all the duties 
of his various offices most satisfactorily. 

TOM O. MASON, wht^ alth.nigh still 
inidcr thirtv vears of ace, has alreadx' at- 



tained a position of commanding influence 
in Wisconsin's political ranks, has made his 
way entirely by the force of his tireless ambi- 
tion and his marked capacity for dealing 
with men and affairs. 

Mr. Mason was born in Independence, 
Iowa, July 16, 1874, son of John C. and 
Agnes (Hickey) Mason, natives of New 
York State, of Irish descent. When he was 
a boy his parents removed to Vail, Craw- 
ford Co., Iowa, where he attended the pub- 
lic schools. He entered the high school but 
was not able to finish the course as his par- 
ents both died and he was obliged to go to 
work. He served an apprenticeship as sta- 
tion agent and telegraph operator and soon 
mastered the system of telegraphy, follow- 
ing that vocation till he was nineteen years 
old. Mr. Mason then began his journalistic 
career, writing for a number of Iowa dail- 
ies and weeklies and acting as correspond- 
ent for metropolitan papers of Chicago, St. 
Paul and Minneapolis. In October, 1900, 
he purchased The Cumberland Advocate, 
published at Cumberland, Wis., which he 
still owns and edits. When he took it the 
paper was one of only eight pages, which 
Mr. Mason has increased to sixteen. Besides 
making the Advocate one of the largest and 
most influential country newspapers in Wis- 
consin, he has done much through this 
medium to boom Cumberland and in fact all 
northern Wisconsin, as he constantly en- 
larges both in regular and special editions, 
upon the opportunities and advantages of- 
fered by that section and an era of unpre- 
cedented prosperity has followed. Mr. Ma- 
son still represents a number of leading dail- 
ies in Northern Wisconsin and does consid- 
erable special writing for metropolitan jour- 
nals. 

Mr. Mason is a strong Republican and 
from the age of twenty has been active in 
politics. Two months before he attained his 
majority he was elected a member of Boone 
( Iowa) Republican county central commit- 
tee. He has won a prominent position 
among \\'iscon?in's politicians, and led the 
congressional fi^-lit in his district in 1904. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



191 



He was a delegate to the congressional con- 
vention at Spooner in IQ04, and was made 
chairman of die Eleventli District Congres- 
sional Committee, which position he now 
holds. By his management of the last con- 
gressional campaign, Mr. Mason secured for 
Congressman Jenkins the biggest ])lnrality 
ever received in the State for any congress- 
man. He took an active part in the strenuous 
campaign of 1904, and was a delegate to 
the Republican State convention held in 
May of that year. He has also served one 
term as alderman on the Cumberland city 
council. 

In everything that pertains to the com- 
mercial and educational advancement of 
Cumberland, Mr. Mason is heartily inter- 
ested and an active promoter of all such 
projects. He is secretary of the Cumber- 
land Advancement Association, the man- 
ager of the Opera House and secured from 
Andrew Carnegie a donation of $to.ooo for 
the construction of a new free library in 
Cumberland. 

On Oct. 8, TO02, Mr. Mason was united 
in marriage to Miss Grace Carroll, daughter 
of John C. and Delia fKetchum) Carroll. 
Mr. Mason is one of Cumberland's most able 
men and most valuable citizens. 

FURMAN ROLFE, one of the pioneers 
of South Superior, has lived in the town 
since its very beginning in iSqi- Wherever 
the name Rolfe is found in America, it in- 
dicates descent from one of three brothers 
who came to this country from England 
and who .settled, one in New York City, one 
in Massachusetts, and one in Buffalo. They 
came over in the early Colonial days and 
later descendants took part in the Revolu- 
tionary war. The family record is indeed 
ancient and honorable, as it can be traced 
back for 600 years, and so far as is known, 
no crime has ever been imputed to any of the 
name. 

Joseph Rolfe, the father of Furman, was 
a native of New Jersey, but when only a 
youth went with his father to Steuben 
county, N. Y. Then he married Susan 



Hight, also a native of New Jersey. Her 
father, John Hight, went to Steuben county 
in an early day and did much work all 
through that region as a surveyor. 

Furman Rolfe was born in Steul)en 
county, N. Y., in 1826 and lost his mother 
when he was a child. Of the four children 
of this first marriage he is the only one liv- 
ing. The father afterward married again 
and four children were born to this union 
also. Of these three are yet living: Rollin 
Milton and DeForest P. are prominent busi- 
ness men in Nebraska City ; their sister, Mrs. 
Mary A. Fulton, is living at Grand Island, 
Nebraska. 

In i8t3 ^^^- Rf^'fe moved to Tiosra 
county. Pa., and there took charge of the 
lumber interests of a company with whom 
he remained for twenty-two years. He had 
previouslv acquired considerable experience 
in that line, as he had worked under his 
father, who was engaged in the manufacture 
of lumber. In fact, until he went to South 
Superior his whole business life was con- 
nected with the lumber trade. 

Mr. Rolfe first went to South Superior 
in 1801 to assist in building the "South Su- 
perior Hotel." After the completion of that 
he was employed for about six months in 
assistino- in the erection of one of the Web- 
ster buildings, and in the spring of 1802 he 
was engaged by the South Superior Land 
Company to put up their buildings. He re- 
mained with them four or five years, and 
since then has been variously employed. 

Mr. Rolfe married Miss Angeline A. 
Reed, born in Orange township, Steuben 
Co.. N. Y. Both were prominent members 
of the M. E. Church, where Mrs. Rolfe was 
active in all the charitable work of the 
church, and was identified with the W. C. 
T. U. She was a woman of unusual ability 
and beauty of character, and her death, Jan. 
6, 1895, was not only a deep blow to the 
family, but a loss to the community. A 
memorial window in the Methodist Church 
of South Superior is but one testimonial to 
her worth. Mrs. Rolfe bore her husband 
two children, both of whom survive her ; 



i9i 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Maro Orlando, born in January, 1852, who 
resides in Chicago; Irene, born in 1854, who 
is the wife of R. H. Tucker, of Corning, 
New York. 

ALFRED S. ANDREWS. D. D. S., is 
a leading dentist of West Superior and one 
of its well known citizens. Dr. Andrews, 
who was born in Brattleboro, Vt., Sept. 8, 
1846, comes of good old New England 
stock — representing the eighth generation of 
his family in this country. 

The members of the Andrews family 
have Inng been noted for longevity and 
phvsicr>l vigor as well as for stability of 
character. A part of the familv have al- 
ways written the name "Andrus." The fol- 
lowing is the record of the ancestors of Dr. 
Andrews in direct line: John Andrews and 
his wife, Mary, came to America from Eng- 
land in 1640 and settled in Connecticut; 
thev had nine children. Their second son 
CTohn TI), born 1645. had five children ;_ his 
third son, Steven, born 1680, had four 
children; his second son. Charles, born 
1710. had ten children; his fourth son, 
Nemiah, born 17.^6, had eight children; his 
elde'-t son was Solomon, born 1779, who 
married Betsy Gaynes, of Scotch descent, 
and they were the parents of fifteen children. 

Solomon Andrews moved to Vermont 
when a boy, and settled in the town of Guil- 
ford where he improved a fine farm of 
1.500 acres, dealt in live stock for the Bos- 
ton market, and became one of the most 
prosperous residents of the locality. Sol- 
omon Andrews reached the age of eighty- 
seven, his death occurring in 1867. His 
mother lived to be loi years old, and when 
fully 100 years of age walked half a mile 
with ease. Solomon Andrews and his son 
Sanford, who also lived to be eighty-seven, 
attended regularly to business until a few 
days before death. Sanford Andrews, like 
his father, was a prosperous farmer. 
He was an adherent of the Democratic 
party in early life, but when the Civil 
war broke out, became a staunch Repub- 
lican. His death took place July 8, 1898. 
His wife, Mary (Haynes) Andrews, died 
Sept. 3, 1894, at the age of seventy-eight. 



Her father, the Rev. Asa Haynes. was a 
Methodist minister; he was a native of 
England and his wife, Polly (Atherton) 
Haynes, was of German descent. Sanford 
and Mary (Haynes) Andrews, the parents 
of Dr. Alfred S. Andrews, had a family of 
ten children, of whom four sons and two 
daughters survive. One son still lives on the 
homestead farm in Guilford. Prescott. son 
of Dr. Walter E. Andrews, of New York 
City, born 190 1, represents the ninth genera- 
tion in America. 

Alfred S. Andrews went through the 
grammar and high schools, and when 
twenty-two years old moved to Iowa where 
he began farming in Floyd county. He 
spent three years there, and three more in 
Pierce county. Wis., where he operated a 
saw mill. He then returned to the east and 
studied dentistry in New York City with his 
brother. Dr. Walter E. Andrews. After 
four years Dr. Andrews came back to Wis- 
consin and practiced dentistry in Rock Elm, 
Ellsworth and adjacent places, and since 
February, 1891, has been located at West 
Superior. From time to time Dr. Andrews 
has invested in city real estate ; he has built 
a number of houses and at present owns 
about ten Iniildiugs which he rents. Dr. An- 
drews was one of the promoters of the Su- 
perior & Boston Copper Mining Co., of 
which he is vice-president; he was also 
among the first stockholders in the St. 
Croix Consolidated Copper Mining Co., of 
which he also is vice-president. The latter 
company owns about 25,000 acres of min- 
eral lands, mainly in Douglas county, and 
has very promising prospects. 

Dr. Andrews married in 1876 a Miss 
Davis. Mrs. Andrews was a native of Wis- 
consin and died in Pierce county when only 
tw^enty-two years of age, a year or so after 
her marriage. Feb. 6, 1904, he was again 
married to Miss Anna Schuning. daughter 
of Ernest and Kate Schuning, of New York 
City. 

Fraternally Dr. Andrews is a member 
ouf the I. O. O. F. and of the A. F. & A. M. 
He belongs to the Eagles and the local 
lodge and chapter of the I. O. R. M., and in 
all these societies Dr. Andrews has filled 





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COMMEMORATIVE BlOGRAl'lliCAE RECORD 



^93 



offices, lie is a nieniber of the board of 
trustees of Superior Eoclge, 1. O. O. F., 
which has recently built a tine business 
block, and he also belongs to the Encamp- 
ment. Dr. Andrews has been prominently 
before the people of his ward as a candidate 
for alderman, but he was not enough of a 
partisan to win the election. He was also 
a prominent candidate for supervisor in 
lyoj. Dr. .Vndrews is widely known as a 
public-spirited citizen, an active Republican 
and an advocate of all important reforms. 

OLE SWENSON. Not often is the 
phrase "oldest inhabitant" to be taken liter- 
ally, but in the case of Ole Swenson, a wood 
and coal dealer in West Superior, it may 
perhaps stand as an exact description, for 
there is probably not one among those now 
living in that part of the city w'hose coming 
antedates that of Mr. Swenson. 

An American by adoption, Ole Swenson 
is a native of Sweden, born in Blaking, 
July 2, 1836. He was the son of Swen 
Carlson and Botila Swanneson, both natives 
of Sweden. There were four children in 
the family, Ole, Inga, Hannah and John, 
but Ole was the only one of them to come 
to America. His earlier life w-as passed in 
his native land. Brought up on a farm, he 
was reared to that employment and followed 
it until he was thirty-three years old, when 
he started on his long journey to Xew 
York. Eleven years before, he had married 
Sarra Hanson, July 14, 1858, but when he 
left Sweden in May, 1869. his wife remained 
behind with their children until a home 
should be made ready for them in the far 
West. Mr. Swenson went by boat from 
Copenhagen to Glasgow, Scotland, and then 
eml)arked for New York, going by the boat 
"Columbia." After a voyage of six weeks 
he landed in New York, and then made his 
way West as far as Su])erior, reaching there 
with five dollars in his pocket. 

Mr. Swenson secured work at once with 
the St. Paul & Duluth Railroad as a laborer 
on the construction of the road bed. For 
eleven months he worked there at two dol- 



lars a tlay, and then in 1870 went to Dou- 
glas county and did whatever came to him. 
By that tune he had saved up enough to 
bring his family over, and in September, 
1870, the mother and five children arrived. 
The family settled down in Superior 
and Mr. Swenson continued as a day 
laborer for a while, but eventually 
drifted into the wood, water and ice 
business, which he followed successfully 
for a number of years. For about one year 
after the first establishment of a postoffice at 
West Superior he carried the mail to and 
from the railroad station. During the same; 
time he did all the draying in that part of the- 
city. He also invested in real estate as the 
town grew, and did very well in that also. 
Of late years he has been engaged in farm- 
ing, and his usual prosperity has followed 
his labors in that as in other directions. In. 
1884, at a time when there were only seven 
other houses in West Superior, he built his- 
first house there, having previously lived in 
one which he had put up in 1876 in Old 
Superior. Later a third building was erect- 
ed in the new town, and in 1891 his present 
residence was built. This is a well appoint- 
ed home and the many comforts which sur- 
round Mr. Swenson now, are a striking con- 
trast to his condition on arriving in this 
country, and a vivid commentary on the 
value of industry and a determination to 
succeed in the world. 

Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Swenson after their arrival in Superior, 
making a family of ten, as follows : Swan, 
engaged in farming; Clara, who lives near 
Swan; Betty; Hanna, wife of Swan Hard; 
Celia, the w'idow of Charley Legrew ; 
Charley, deceased; Emma, a graduate of the 
W'est Superior high school, and now a suc- 
cessful teacher in the Brule school ; John, 
employed in the lime kiln; Henry, an em- 
ploye of the Superior Street Car Co.. and 
Ole, a graduate of the high school and a 
most promising young man, who has passed' 
the government examination and is now 
employed in the postal service. The entire- 
family belong to the Lutheran Church. 



194 



COMiMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Mr. Swensoii ever since coming to the 
■United States has been a Repubhcan in his 
■.pohtics, and while never seeking to hold 
otifice, takes an active interest in both local 
-and national political questions. 

HISTORY OF APOLLOXIA, WIS. 
The first settler of Apollonia, Wis., was 
John Goulet, in 1887, while F. Weyerhauser 
was the promoter. The latter held large 
tracts of land in what is now Rusk and Saw- 
yer counties, and he constructed a railroad 
from this point a distance of thirty miles 
into Sawyer county to facilitate his logging 
operations. The \\'eyerhauser Company 
operated a mill seven miles from the Soo 
road, cutting during that period. 30,000,000 
feet of timber, mostly hard wood. The com- 
pany then sold this mill to McDonough & 
Co., who removed it to Frederick, Wis., and 
the timber reserve was sold to the Belden- 
■\'-ille and Arpin companies, and the cut over 
land was sold to the firm of Chicester & 
Reed. The railroad is still operated by the 
Beldenville Lumber Company. 

The town site was laid out on the Wey- 
•erhauser land, one and a half miles west of 
Bruce, and was named in honor of a daugh- 
:ter of Mr. Weyerhauser. The F. J. Otis 
"■ Company established the first store in the 
town in 1894. In 1896 the Apollonia Store 
Company opened a store, and in 1900 Dr. 
Gobar opened a drug store. In 1903 B. 
Kepner opened a furniture store, and in the 
same year, John Weber opened in hardware. 
The postofiice was established in 1887, with 
Newton Mills, superintendent of the Chip- 
pewa River & ^Menomonie road, as first 
postmaster, and E. W. Hill as assistant post- 
master. The earliest church societies, the 
Catholic and Congregational, have substan- 
■.tial buildings and hold regular services. 

In 1892 the first school was opened, with 
Mrs. Emma Bolman in charge. The good 
people of Apollonia have always taken a 
deep interest in the school, and ha\e now 
one of the most comfortable and orderly 
equipped schools in the county. It contains 
four rooms and three teachers, and is State 
graded first class. 



The population of Apollonia is 400. Its 
one hotel is a well arranged hostelry which 
caters to the comfort of its guests. It was 
erected in 1896 by G. W. Heaverin, its pro- 
prietor. In 1903 the Apollonia Cause was 
established, with Dr. Gobar and E. W. Hill, 
but it is now under the management of Dr. 
Gobar and Mr. Kepner. It is a well equip- 
ped printing office, capable of turning out all 
kinds of artistic job work. 

The Odd Fellows have a commodious 
and tastefully arranged hall which was erect- 
ed in 1900 at a cost of $4,000. The lodge 
was instituted in 1884. The Rebekahs, Mac- 
cabees, Lady Maccabees and the \\'oodmen 
societies have organizations here, all flour- 
ishing. The place is settled chiefly by Amer- 
icans. Its business is established on a sound 
basis and the town presents an attractive ap- 
pearance and offers fine opportunities. 

OLE ANDERSON, treasurer of, and 
stockholder in, the Grantsburg Starch Com- 
pany, is one of the leading business men and 
influential citizens of Grantsburg, Wis., 
prominent alike in its business, political and 
social interests. He was bom in Norway, 
June 23, 1853, son of Arne and Line Ander- 
son, natives of that countn,-. 

Arne Anderson was a carpenter and 
house builder in his native country and 
started with his family for America in 1862. 
The trip of thirteen weeks was made on a 
sailing vessel, during which the father died 
in mid-ocean, being buried at sea in June of 
that year. The family, after landing in 
America, settled in St. Croix: Falls, Wis. 
Arne Anderson and wife had the following- 
children : Peter, who died in the Civil war 
at Lookout Mountain, Tenn. ; Annie, who 
married Sven Peterson, a farmer of Grants- 
burg, Wis. ; Isabella, deceased ; Mary, wife 
of Joel A. Hickerson, of Grantsburg, a 
sketch of whom will be found elsewhere; 
Ole : and Levi, a farmer, of Grantsburg. 

Ole Anderson received but a limited edu- 
cation, and started out at the age of nine 
years to make his own way in the world. He 
worked in the woods for ten years, and the 
next ten years were spent with Joel A. Hick- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



195 



terson in the general merchandise business. 
Selling out his interest, Mr. Anderson en- 
gaged in the manufacture of potato starch at 
Grantsburg. He was one of the organizers 
of the Grantsburg Starch Company, and has 
been the manager of that firm since its incep- 
tion. The company now consists of S. J. 
Alealey, of Monticello, Minn., president; J. 
A. Hickerson, vice-president; A. M. Ander- 
son, secretary; Ole Anderson, manager and 
treasurer ; and Simon Thoreson, stockholder. 
The j)roduct of this firm finds a ready mar- 
ket ni the East. Mr. Anderson also owns a 
one-fourth interest in the Hickerson Rolling 
Mills of Grantsburg; is one of the heavy 
stockholders of the First Bank of Grants- 
burg. of which he was vice-president three 
years ; and a stockholder of the Scandina- 
vian Bank of St. Paul. Minn. He now re- 
sides in his fine home in Grantsburg. which 
he himself erected. 

Mr. Anderson has been twice married, 
his first wife having been Augusta Hed- 
strom, who died in 1891, the mother of three 
children : Russell ; Mamie, who died aged 
five years; and Augusta. He married (sec- 
ond) Miss Emma Olson, by whom he has 
had three children : two children who died in 
infancy, and Mamie Elizabeth. ^Ir. Ander- 
son is a Mason, belonging to Blue Lodge of 
Grantsburg, No. 244. He is also connecteil 
with the ]\lodern Woodmen of Grantsburg, 
Xo. 3223. He is a member of the Lutheran 
Church, and is well known in church circles. 
Politically a Republican, he has been a mem- 
ber of the village council for twelve years, 
and attends State and county conventions. 

ISAAC ALLEN CLARK, who repre- 
sents the Second ward of Superior on the 
Douglas county toard of supervisors, is a 
descendant of Scotch ancestors, and it is only 
with his father that the family history in 
America begins. His grandparents died in 
Scotland, and of their three children, Agnes 
and David lived and died in their native 
land. One cousin, of the same family name, 
a citizen of Dumfries, liecame one of the" 
most famous engravers in Scotland in his 
(lav. 



William Clark, father of Isaac Allen, 
was born in Dumfries, Scotland, at the very 
dawn of the nineteenth century. He was 
married when very young to Mary Allen, a 
native of the same place, and the young cou- 
ple came to America in 1818. Mr. Clark 
had learned civil engineering and followed 
that profession for a while after settling in 
New Brunswick. He also engaged in agri- 
culture on an extensive scale, and in both 
callings was most prosperous. He died there 
in iS/O.- His wife had passed away there 
two years before at the age of sixty-four. 
She was the daughter of Jonas Allen, a 
farmer at Cape Tormentine, New liruns- 
wick. 

Isaac Allen Clark, son of William and 
Mary (Allen) Clark, was born in L<nver 
Xewcastle, N. B., Aug. 19, 1849. He was 
educated in Toronto, attending the public 
schools there, and learned the carpenter 
trade, which he has followed ever since. In 
1882 he went to Mandan, N. D., and later to 
Bismarck. In both places he was engaged 
in contracting and put up many buildings. 
At Mandan he also served as city marshal. 
Mr. Clark came to Superior in Feliruary, 
1887, and has done considerable building 
there on contract, as well as his own home, 
erected in 1888, and another residence which 
he built and sold. 

On Dec. 12. 1876, Mr. Clark and Emma 
Jane Cook were united in marriage. ]\Iiss 
Cook was born in Trafalgar township, Hal- 
ton Co., Ont., the daughter of Henry and 
Mary (Johnson) Cook. The former came 
from the county of Kent, England, in 1840, 
at the age of twelve years. He is still li\ing. 
on a farm in County Peel. Ont. His wife 
was born in Canada; her parents and grand- 
parents were Pennsylvania Dutch who 
joined the United Empire Loyalists and nn- 
grated to Canada at the time of the Revolu- 
tion. Her father, William Johnson, was a 
farmer and lived to a good old age, and her 
mother. An" Stewart, a relative of A. T. 
Stewart, of New York, lived until i\Iarch, 

To Isaac .\. and Emma J. Clark ha\e 
been liorn five children : one. William I lenrv. 



196 



COMiMK.MORATR'E BlQURAriJ ICAL RECORD 



died Jan. 29. 1896, aged eighteen years. The 
four who survive are Everett Allen; Grace, 
a kindergarten teacher in the public schools 
of Superior; Amy, a student in the high 
school, class of 1903; and Arthur Allen. 
All the family are connected with the Pres- 
byterian Church. 

Mr. Clark has always been a Republican 
in his political views and takes both an ar- 
dent and intelligent interest in local politics. 
In December, 1901, he was appointed to fill 
a vacancy on the county board, and in the 
spring of 190J was elected from the 2d 
ward to succeed himself. In fraternal cir- 
cles he is popular and takes a prominent 
part, being a member of the Jvlasons, of the 
K. O. T. AL, where he is Past Commander 
of the local lodge, and of various other or- 
ganizations. 

H. C. HALE, general manager and di- 
rector of the Bayfield Transfer Railroad 
Companv, has. in his career, demonstrated 
the value in the business world today of 
well directed industry and energy, for, al- 
though still a young man, Mr. Hale has rap- 
idly worked his way up to a position of re- 
sponsibility and trust. 

Mr. Hale's grandfather, Elijah Ensign 
Hale, belonged to a Massachusetts family. 
Left an orphan at the early age of twelve, he 
did not remain long in his native place, but 
as soon as he was able to start out for him- 
self, went to Chautauqua county, N. Y., at 
that time just beginning to be settled. He 
was a smith and farmer by trade, but took 
an active interest in public affairs, and served 
as trustee of public schools for some years. 
His wife, Eliza Ann Acocks, descended from 
a family whose founder came to America 
during the Revolution as a member of Bur- 
goyne's army; taken prisoner by the Conti- 
nentals, his eyes were opened to the justice 
of the American cause, and he afterward 
fought on their side. Elijah and Eliza A. 
Hale had two sons, Milton A. and ^\■illiam 
F., the father of our subject. 

William F. Hale was born in Alassachu- 
setts. He married Mary Ann Stilson, a na- 
tive of New York, and thev had three sons : 



Alfred 1'... who has charge of the armory at 
Jamestown, a government appointment; 
George F., an architect and manager of the 
manual training department of the public 
schools of Jamestown; and H. C. William 
F. Hale was an educated man, and hence 
took great care to give his sons good educa- 
tions. Both he and his wife are still living. 
11. C. Hale was born near Jamestown, 
Sept. 15, 1868. His early life was passed 
on the farm, and imtil he was seventeen he 
attended school regularly, receiving his edu- 
cation in the graded and high schools of 
Jamestown. On leaving school he secured 
a position with the American Express Com- 
panv, with which he remained three years, 
first as delivery man and then as messenger. 
In 1890 he went West, and at first accepted 
a position at Brainerd, Minn., but this did 
not suit his tastes and he soon secured work 
with the Northern Pacific Railroad on the 
train service in Montana. Idaho and Wash- 
ington. After about a year of this life Mr. 
Hale went to Bayfield, Wis., and accepted 
the position of private secretary to Mr. Dal- 
rymple. 

In this capacity Mr. Hale quickly be- 
came indispensable to his employer, and as 
the health of the latter gradually failed more 
and more of the responsibility of his busi- 
ness fell upon Mr. Hale's shoulders. W'hen 
the Bayfield Transfer Railroad was con- 
structed i\Ir. Hale was made general man- 
ager, and he has since retained that position. 
In addition to his duties in that connection 
since Mr. Dalrymple's death he has acted as 
executor of his estate. In every position he 
has shown himself fully equal to the de- 
mands made upon him, and he commands 
the highest confidence and respect of all his 
associates. 

In 1S92 Mr. Hale was married to Miss 
Nora Bucklev. of Jamestown, N. Y. Polit- 
icallv Mr. Hale supports the principles of 
the Republican party, and he has frequently 
been a delegate to the county conventions. 
In 1898 he represented Bayfield county at 
the State Republican convention. He 
served two vears as treasurer of the town of 
Ravficld. and he has been secretary of the 



COMMEMORATIX'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



197 



|ml)Iic liljrary board for a number of years 
past. 

JOHN M. DODD, M. D., a practicing 
physician of Ashland, has pursued liis pro- 
fession in that city since 1889, when he was 
graduated from the Starling Medical Col- 
lege at Columbus, Ohio, and in the interven- 
ing years has by his skill and prepossessing 
manner built up a flourishing practice. He 
was born in Waynesburg, Greene Co., Pa., 
Oct. 5, 1866, son of Samuel and Catherine 
Dodd. 

Samuel Dodd studied the profession of 
a veterinar)' surgeon in England, his native 
land, and thus equipped for his battle with 
the world, came when a young man to 
.America. He settled in Pennsylvania and 
when the Civil war came enlisted in the i8th 
Penn. Cav., as veterinary surgeon, serving 
from 1862 to 1865. After peace was de- 
clared he returned to Waynesburg. where 
he died only two years later, July 7, 1867, 
at the age of forty-five. 

Mrs. Catherine Dodd survived her hus- 
band only a year, passing away in 1868, at 
the age of twenty-seven years. She was the 
daughter of John Morris, a \\'aynesburg 
farmer, who lived to be ninety years old. 
He was a lineal descendant of Robert Mor- 
ris, the great financier of Revolutionary 
fame, while his wife, Jemima (Pipes) Mor- 
ris, sprang from one of the old Dutch famil- • 
ies of Xew York, and was also connected 
with the Slaters, a prominent pioneer fam- 
ily of Greene county. She lived to be sixty- 
three years old. 

John M. Dodd was left an orphan al- 
most in infancy and was reared by his ma- 
ternal grandfather and other relatives. He 
was given a fairlv good education and when 
lie was about sixteen he was apprenticed to 
learn the carpenter trade. Xot contented 
with this, however, he managed to attend 
school for the winter season for three years, 
and then at eighteen began teaching. He 
taught two seasons, meanwhile reading on 
medical subjects. He entered Starling Med- 
ical College at Columbus, Ohio, from which 
he was graduated in March, 1889, and im- 



medi.'itely began practicing at Ashland, 
where he was associated with Dr. Rinehart. 
Six months later he went to Rhinelander 
and opened the first hospital there. 

After two years in Rhinelander, Dr. 
Dodd sold out his hospital and practice 
there and returned to Ashland, where he 
was again associated with Dr. Rinehart for 
a couple of years. Since then he has prac- 
ticed independently. In 1894 he opened 
Dodd's Hospital, his specialty being sur- 
gery, in which he has met with quite phe- 
nomenal success. June i, 1904, he discon- 
tinued his private hospital to accept the ap- 
pointment of chief surgeon of the St. Jo- 
seph's Hospital in Ashland, intending to de- 
vote his entire time to surgical work. 

On Dec. 23, 1889, Dr. Dodd was united 
in marriage to Miss Missouri Stoops of 
Greene county, Pa. Four children have 
come to them, Florence, Edith, Helen and 
John M., Jr. Mrs. Dodd is a member of 
the Congregational Church. The doctor be- 
longs to the following fraternal organiza- 
tions : the Masons, I. O. O. F. and the Elks. 
Politically he is independent, rather than an 
adherent of either party. He is councilor 
for the Wisconsin State Medical Society in 
the tenth district and has taken an active 
part in the reorganization of the medical 
profession. 

E. H. LAMI5ERT, assessor of the town 
of Lawrence and president of the school 
board of Ingram, is one of the pioneer set- 
tlers of this locality, where he located in 
1886. Mr. Lambert was Ix)rn in Rice coun- 
ty, Minn., in 1857, a son of Thomas and 
Rosalie ( Ozier) Lambert, Canadians, who 
settled in Rice county in the early forties. 

Mr. Lambert was reared at Faribault, 
Minn., where he was educated in the pul)lic 
.schools, and there he married Zemere Pie- 
ton, of Rice county, who died there in 1884. 
In May. 1886, he married Miss Anna 
Mapes, of Ingram. For the seven years fol- 
lowing his settlement at Ingram he conduct- 
ed a hotel and also was postmaster. Fie has 
always been active in the public afYairs of 
this section and has served seven vears as 



1 98 



COM.MK.MORATIX'E BlOGRArillCAL RECORD 



town clerk: has been presideiU of the school 
boarci for seven years, and a justice of the 
peace for fourteen successive years. Before 
the division of the county he was a delegate 
to county ami congressional conventions, al- 
ways being identitied with the Republican 
party. 

Air. Lambert belongs to that class of 
men who are fitted in every way to be pio- 
neers. He believes enthusiastically in 
Northern \\ isconsin, anil particularly in 
Rusk county, and his zeal has resulted to the 
advantage of the whole section. He has 
been a hunter of local reputation, and he has 
well authenticated proof of former prowess, 
when he killed nine bears and innumerable 
deer in this vicinity. Few men are better 
known in the county. 

JAMES H. , JEXSKX. who "nas 
large land holdings in Burnett and surround- 
ing counties, is extensively engaged in the 
real estate business. Born a poor boy, he 
has, through his untiring energy, his busi- 
ness foresight and his ability to see oppor- 
tunities and accept them, worked his way to 
the top of the ladder of Success. Mr. Jen- 
sen was bom Aug. i(), 1864. three miles 
south of Grantsburg, Wis., son of Michael 
and Mary Jensen, natives of Norway. 

Michael Jensen came to America in 186 J 
and settled at St. Croix Falls. Wis., where 
he farmed and worked in the woods for 
about one year. Then he went to Burnett 
county and purchased 160 acres of land, 
which he operated until he died in 1876: his 
wife passed away in 1870. They were mem- 
bers of the Lutheran Church. Michael and 
]\Iary Jensen had eight children : Jens, de- 
ceased; Mary, deceased; Isabelle, of White 
Bear Lake, widow of N. Peterson ; Hans, on 
the old Homestead ; Iver. deceased ; James 
H., our subject; John RL, deceased, who 
married Hanna Thoreson; and Mary, de- 
ceased. 

James H. Jensen received but a limited 
education, and lived with his brother Plans, 
on the old place, until seventeen years of 
age. He then went into the store at .Ander- 
son postoffice. where he remained three 



years, spending the next three vcars in 
Cirantsburg with Canute Oleson. He then 
went to Duluth, Mmn.. where he engagetl in 
a llour. feed and farm produce business lor 
a year and a half, returning at the end of 
this time to Cirant-sburg, where he was em- 
ployed by Simon Thoreson for one year, in 
the latter s store. He was with J. A. Hick- 
er.son for tifteen months in the general 
store, and on Jan. i, 1891, having been 
elected county clerk, took that .position, 
which he held for six years. He then oper- 
ated a hnnber \-ard for some time, and in 
the tall of 1897 purchased one thousand 
acres of land in Barron county. Wis. He 
now owns the town site of Barronett, a 
hotel and a creamery, and much land. He 
also conducted a store in this thriving vil- 
lage of joo inhabitants, but this he sold. 
He now deals extensively in land in BaiTon, 
Polk. Washburn and Burnett counties, and' 
is one of the largest land-owners of Grants- 
burg. He has forty acres platted, known as 
the "Jen.sen Addition" to Grantsburg. 

Mr. Jensen was married Sept. 29. 1889. 
to Isabella Thoreson. daughter of Bersvend 
Thoreson, an old settler and prominent citi- 
zen of Burnett county, who helped organize 
one of the first churches of the county. Mr. 
antl Mrs. Jensen ha\e eight children : Ben 
M., Mamie Ruth, Jean J., Helen Isabella, 
Clara. Leslie James, Jessie and Ray Mal- 
colm. Mr. Jensen is a Alason, belonging to 
Blue Ltxlge No. J44. Grantsburg. and he 
also belongs to the Woodmen of the World, 
being a charter member of Camp No. 20. 
He was one of the organizers of the local 
K. of H. Religiously he is connected with 
the Lutheran Church. Mr. Jensen erected 
his beautiful home in Grantsburg in 1895. 

Like his father, who was the first mem- 
ber of the county board of Burnett county. 
Mr. Jensen is a Republican, has served on 
the village board of his adopted place, and 
is now the president of the village of Grants- 
burg. He is also president of the Burnett 
County Fair Association. 

FREEMAN W. .\nd GEORGE E. 
SACKETT, under the firm name of Sack- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



199 



ett Brotliers, are the proprietors and editors 
of the i'hilhps Times, the leachng journal of 
Price county. The former has been asso- 
ciated with the town from its very begin- 
ning, and was the founder of the paper. 

rhe brothers are the sons of Alzera and 
Sarah A. (Harbaugh) Sackett, who were 
natives of Vermont and Pennsylvania, re- 
spectively. On the father's side they are of 
English descent. Alzera Sackett left Ver- 
mont in early life, and went first to Ohicj ; 
as the frontier line was gradually pushed 
farther West, he went on, in 1847, to Wis- 
consin, and took up wild land in Eond du 
Lac county. The balance of his life was 
spent there, and he died in 1868, at the 
comparatively early age of fifty-seven. His 
widow lived to be eighty-one years old, sur- 
viving until 1901. Her father, William 
Harbaugh. came from Ohio and took up 
land in Fond du Lac county, where he lived 
to be ninety-three years old. In early life 
he had lived in Pennsylvania, and had been 
a tanner by trade, following the oak l)ark 
process. 

Freeman W. Sackett, the eldest son of 
the family, was born at Warren, Trumbull 
Co., Ohio, Nov. 5, 1847, j'^'st about the time 
that his father went to Wisconsin. The 
family followed before long, and I''reeman 
grew up and was educated there, attending 
the schools of Fond du Lac county. Later 
he supplemented this by work in a night 
school. He began working in the printing 
line while quite young, and for some time 
was in the oftice of the Fond du Lac Journal. 
In 1867, before reaching his majority, Mr. 
Sackett started out for himself and estai)- 
lished the Weyauwega Times, which he con- 
ducted successfully for nine years, and 
then sold. The Wisconsin Central Railroad 
reached the present town of Phillips in 1876. 
and Mr. Sackett immediately put uj) a frame 
building, the first one erected theie. ami be- 
gan the publication of the Phillii)s Times, 
wmch has ever since been under his manage- 
ment. 

Mr. Sackett was always eager to ad- 
vance the growth of the country, and was 
active in all public affairs. In 1879 when 



the organization of I'rice county was effect- 
ed, he was a leading spirit in the work, and 
was chosen the first county clerk, a position 
to which he was afterward re-elected several 
times. Two years previously he had organ- 
ized the first school and for a long time was, 
a member of the school board. He was also, 
the first postmaster at Phillips, and, being 
a Democrat, was appointed to the office, 
again, during Cleveland's second term. 

Although hardly more than a boy at the. 
time of the Civil war, Mr. Sackett succeeded, 
in being accepted as a volunteer in Company 
A, 38th Wis. V. I., enlisting Sept. 5, 1863. 
He was in a number of the hardest fought 
battles of the war ; served till the close of the 
conflict, and in spite of his youth received 
several promotions. He was discharged. 
July iJ, 1865. In later years he has served, 
as colonel on the staffs of Govs. Rusk, Peck 
and Upham, and he is commander of the- 
local G. A. R. Fraternally Mr. Sackett be- 
longs to the Odd F'ellows and the Masons, 
and is identified with the Ashland Comman- 
dery of K. T. 

In 1873 Mr. Sackett was married to Ann 
E. Meiklejohn, of Weyauwega, Wis., by 
whom he had one son, William H. After the 
death of his wife he was married, in 1878, 
to Emma J. Hunt, of the same place, by 
whom he had two sons, Frank A. and 
Homer P. 

George E. Sackett, the junior member of 
the firm of Sackett Brothers, was born in 
Fond du Lac county. Wis., June 12, 1861. 
He received a good public school education, 
and later spent two years at Lawrence Uni- 
versity, in Appleton, Wis. In 1878 he went 
to Phillips and learned the printer's trade in 
his brother's office there. Five years later 
he located at Fifield and established the bi- 
field Advocate, which he published for ten 
years. He was very successful in his. 
venture and had a good ])aper. Init after Fi- 
field was ravaged by fire in 1893, he decided 
not to rebuild. Instead he returned to Phil- 
lips and went into partnership witli his 
brother, ■ Freeman W'. Misfortune seemed 
to folliiw Mr. Sackett at first, for within a 
year after the partnership was formed, the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



office of the Times was also destroyed l)y a 
fire, which swept tlie whole town. But with 
the energy and enterprise which character- 
ize the true western business man, the 
brothers started in on their work anew, 
without missing a single issue of the paper, 
although the first number after the fire was 
printed in Prentice. The policy of the 
paper has always been Democratic, and its 
clear and forcible editorials have made it a 
power in the county. 

Mr. Sackett was married in 1886, to 
Kate Devens, of Weyauwega. They have a 
son, Freeman D., born in 1887. The family 
is connected with the Presbyterian Church. 
Mr. Sackett is also actively concerned 'with 
public life and is now serving as city clerk, 
while for several years he was a member of 
the board of education. In secret organiza- 
tions he is also prominent, and belongs to 
a number of orders, including the F. and A. 
11., I. O. O. F., M. W. A., and others. 

EDWARD McCUE died at his home in 
Duluth, Feb. 21, 1903, after over thirty 
years' residence there. In those years his 
name was well known in business circles, 
and he was also widely known for his phil- 
anthropy. 

Mr. McCue was born in Windsor, Vt., 
July 18, 1835, son of Felix McCue, a scion 
of one of the old New England families of 
Irish lineage. He received a fair education, 
attending school until he was fourteen, 
when, his father dying, he was thi-own upon 
his own resources. He went South, and in 
time became an engineer on a plantation in 
Louisiana. His position was a good one, 
and with his inherited New England thrift, 
which the easy business methods of the 
South could not wholly eradicate, he saved 
his money and in time accumulated consid- 
erable property. The outbreak of hostilities 
between the North and South in the dark 
davs of the Rebellion cut short his career in 
the South, and he was obliged to sacrifice 
all his property, and be thankful to escape 
with his life, it becoming known that six 
or seven of his brothers (he was one of a 
family of twelve children) had entered the 



I'cdcral army. Upon reaching the North 
he received tlie appointment of government 
inspector of arms, and in that capacity spent 
the days of the war traveling about. In 
]8()9 he located in Duluth, where he began 
taking government contracts. He con- 
structed many of the piers about the Duluth 
and Superior harbor, and for some years 
was very prosperous. He invested most of 
his profits in real estate, but his speculations 
in that line proved disastrous during a time 
of panic, and he lost much of what he had 
gained. Later he made judicious invest- 
ments in iron lands. During the days of his 
]jrosperity he was liberal in his donations to 
all public enterprises, notably the Hardy 
school and the Bethel Masonic Temple. 

Mr. McCue was a Mason, having be- 
longed to the fraternity for over forty years, 
and at the time of his death he had been a 
member of the Duluth lodge over thirty 
years. He was a Republican in political 
principle, and for many years served as street 
commissioner. A man of excellent princi- 
ples, he was universally respected. 

On April 25, 1871, Mr. McCue was 
united in marriage with Anne Webber, who 
was born at Ontonagon, Mich., daughter of 
Charles and Minnie Webber, who came 
from Germany, and who died in Ontona- 
gon, where Mr. Webber was a mine carpen- 
ter. Mrs. McCue still lives in Duluth. 
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
McCue, namely : Edward Charles, of Du- 
luth ; Felix H., a successful bridge builder, 
who enlisted in Troop F, 3d United States 
Cavalry, and. after serving two years in the 
Philippines, died in the hospital at Manila, 
March 6, 1901, aged twenty-five years; and 
Minnie, John, Frank, Helen, William and 
Guy, all in Duluth. 

STEPHEN A. LEINFELDER, D. D.. 
Ph. D., although not yet in middle life, is 
recognized as one of the leading prelates of 
the Catholic Church in the State of \Mscon- 
sin. Of scholarlv attainments, winning per- 
sonalitv, business ability and eminent piety, 
he is a noble representative of his great re- 
ligious organization, and commands the es- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



leem ami respect of multitudes who are not 
of his spiritual faith. 

Dr. Leinfelder was born March 21, 
1872, at La Crosse, Wis., and was primarily 
educated there, in both public and parochial 
schools. Subsequently he entered the Sa- 
cred Heart College at Prairie Du Chien, and 
upon that institution being changed into a 
novitiate, he completed his classical training 
in St. Francis College, Milwaukee, in 1891, 
at the age of nineteen years. He then went 
to Montreal, Canada, and entered upon the 
pliilosophical and theological course in Laval 
L'ni\ersity. where he was ordained sub-dea- 
con, and later deacon, and was one of six 
in a class of thirty to receive the degree of 
S. T. B. Upon his return to La Crosse, he 
was ordained priest by the Rt. Rev. J. 
Schwebach, June 16, 1895. The bishop as- 
signed him temporarily to Bloomer, until 
the fall of the year, when he took himself 
to Rome, where he entered the Minerva Un- 
iversity, and after two years spent at that 
school, was decorated with the titles of D. 
D. and Ph. D. He is the youngest Ameri- 
can to receive both degrees. His vacations 
were spent in visiting the universities and 
various educational institutions of Europe, 
continually adding to his vast fund of knowl- 
edge. Besides mastering theology and phil- 
osophy, he became proficient as a linguist, 
and in addition to acquiring a fair knowl- 
edge of Hebrew, he became conversant with 
the English, French, German, Italian, Latin 
and Greek languages. Hence his assign- 
ment to Cumberland, where the mi.xture of 
races composing the Catholic congregations 
required a pastor versed in various lan- 
guages, and since assuming his ministerial 
duties he has led a very busy and useful life. 

Besides ministering to the spiritual wants 
of the two parishes here, he also had charge 
of ihe parishes of Almena, Shell Lake, 
Spooner. Clear Lake, Clayton and Oak 
Grove. A short time since he was relieved of 
a ])art of his work and was placed in charge 
of St. ^Mary's and St. Anthony's, of Cum- 
herland : the Sacred Heart parish, of Alme- 
na. and the mission at Bear Lake. The ded- 
k-ati'm of the fine church edifice at Almena 



on Oct. 29, 1903, was a testimonial to the ef- 
fective work accomplished by Rev. Leinfeld- 
er. It deserves more extended mention than 
the limits of the present article can give. 
This dedication marked an important epoch 
in the history of Almena. In the days when 
Almena was but a logging camp for K. S. 
& Co., little attention was given to the 
spiritual welfare of the community until, on 
Xov. 2, 1892, Father Simoneck, a mission- 
ary priest, walked into the settlement. Here 
he said mass for the first time, in an old log 
barn, finding no better accommodation. On 
his occasional visits to the settlement, he 
faithfully ministered to a small flock and 
continued to hold mass in the barn and slept 
in the hayloft overhead. Thus nurtured the 
little flock grew into a prospering congrega- 
tion. In 1893 a frame church was erected 
in which services were conducted by Father 
Becker, of Rice Lake, until the parish was 
transferred to Rev. Dr. Leinfelder, of Cum- 
berland, in 1897. 

The rapid settlement of the country con- 
tributary to Almena, soon brought the 
church membership up to 1,000, and a new 
edifice became a matter of necessity. In 
1900 Dr. Leinfelder formulated the first 
plans of the beautiful structure which was 
dedicated with such imposing services on 
Oct. 29, 1903. That such success should 
have crowned the hopes of the congregation 
in so short a period is but a testimonial to 
the zeal and energy of Dr. Leinfelder. He 
])ersonally superintended the construction 
and did not hesitate to assist in the work of 
what is the most magnificent church build- 
ing in Barron county. It is a structure of 
solid brick with brown stone trimmings, 
pure Gothic in style. 50x100 feet, and ele- 
gantly finished. The dedicatory services 
were attended by the largest assemblage 
which had ever congregated in Almena, 
nearly every village and city in the county 
being represented, while the array of church 
dignitaries was imposing. Rt. Rev. Schwe- 
bach, bishop of La Crosse, conducted the 
dedication. After the celebration of mass, 
the bishop administered the rite of confirma- 
tion to a class of seventv-seven, the largest 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



in the histon- of the church. This was most 
gratifying to Dr. Leinfelder. In 1904 Dr. 
Leinfelder caused to he erected a parochial 
house of sohd brick, which is considered in 
all respects the finest residence in the city. 

As noted above Dr. Leinfelder is held in 
the highest regard by all who know him, ir- 
respective of religious creeds. While his 
personality is most engaging, it is the piety 
of his life and the sincerity of his aims that 
win him tliis high regard. 

W. X. :MACKIX, the scholarly and effi- 
cient superintendent of schools of Rusk 
county, Wis., a man of wide reading and pe- 
culiarly fitted for his responsible position, 
was boni in St. Croix county. Wis., in 1874. 
son of L. yi. and B. A. (Fuller) Mackin. 

L. M. ilackin was a pioneer of St. 
Croix county, where he settled in 1854. 
Both he and his wife were bom in Ohio, 
coming of Xew York and Vermont ances- 
tors, respectively. There is a tradition in 
tlie family that the Mackin family -traces 
back directly to a Mayflower ancestor. 

Prof. W". X. Mackin was reared on his 
father's farm and received an excellent com- 
mon school education. Being of a studious 
nature, he early decided upon his future 
career and worked very diligently to become 
thoroughly grounded in the elementary 
branches. After teaching a few terms, he 
attended the River Falls State Xormal 
School, from which he graduated in 1895. 
In 1896 he took a post-graduate course at 
the State University, and in the fall of the 
same vear, he was called to the position of 
principal of the W'eyerhauser school and 
held the office for a year, when he was made 
principal of the high school at Chetek. but 
after two rears he was further honored by 
the principalship of the Glen Flora school 
and held the position two years. While 
there he received at the hands of Gov. La 
FoUette the appointment of count\- superin- 
tendent of schools for Rusk count}", in looi. 
In 1902 he became the candidate of the Re- 
publican party for the same office and was 
duly elected. 

Prof. :\Tackin is thoroughly modem in 



his methods, and his efficiency as an instruc- 
tor is the result of careful thought and prep- 
aration, while the experience he has gained 
during the years he has been engaged in 
teaching is almost invaluable. Under his 
intelligent management, the schools of Rusk 
countv have attained to a standard of excel- 
lency never before reached, and equaling 
that of adjoining counties, as well as those 
throughout the State. 

In religious convictions, ilr. Mackin is- 
a Baptist, and proves a very acceptable mem- 
ber of that denomination, as well as superin- 
tendent of the Sabbath school. 

^Ir. Mackin was united in marriage with 
Miss Bernice Roberts, of Menomonie, Wis., 
in 1897, and they have three children. Em- 
ily, Beda and Alice. 

HOX. IRVIXE LUTHER LEX- 
ROOT, a native of Superior. Douglas 
county, and one of the leading young attor- 
neys of that progressive city, whose success 
is creditable alike to himself and to the city 
and county which he represents, is a scion 
of one of the pioneer families of northern 
Wisconsin, and one which has been instru- 
mental in promoting many of the vital in- 
terests of that region. He was bom Jan. 
31, 1869, to Lars and Fredericka R. (Lar- 
son) Lenroot. natives of Skone, Sweden, 
whose progenitors were agricultural people 
in that locality-. 

In his native land Lars Lenroot learned 
the blacksmith trade, and in 1854 he mi- 
grated to the Xew World, which was then 
just beginning to attract the attention of his 
country-men on account of the opportunities 
offered for material and intellectual advance- 
ment. After spending about two years in 
Boston, he came to Wisconsin and in 1857 
located at Superior, an embn,o cit\" whose 
natural advantages and future possibilities 
he readily foresaw. He opened the first 
blacksmith shop in the place and began in- 
vesting such means as he could com- 
mand in Douglas county real estate, and 
from time to time improved his city proper- 
tv as his means and occasion seemed to jus- 
tify. In 1862 he became a member of the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



203, 



original board of trustees of Superior City, 
now comprised in tiie second ward of Su- 
perior, and lie was the latest survivor among 
the members of that body. When the new 
town of West Superior came into existence, 
he built a number of tenement houses there- 
in. For some years he did considerable log- 
ging and was interested in various other 
enterprises. He was also interested in the 
development of the mineral resources about 
the Head of the Lakes, and made more or 
less imestments from time to time upon the 
iron and copper ranges contiguous thereto. 
In political principle he was a Republican. 
He was one of the early sheriffs of Douglas 
county and tilled some other official posi- 
tions. He always sought to promote the 
social and educational development of the 
place and to aft'ord his family the best ad- 
vantages available. He died in 1898, aged 
sixty-six years. His widow still survives 
and is the mother of four sons and two 
daughters: Louis, Irvine L., Nellie (now 
Mrs. L. A. Nichols) and Arthur are well 
known in Superior ; Albert and Eda are now 
tleceased. 

-After making the most of the excellent 
public schools of Superior, Irvine L. Len- 
root took a course at Parson's Business Col- 
lege at Duluth. His business career began 
at the age of eighteen years, when, in com- 
pany with his brother Louis, he began cut- 
ting and dealing in logs. After continuing 
this enterprise for three years, he became a 
stenographer in the office of Ross & Dwyer, 
one of the foremost law firms of Superior. 
The next year he went to Minneapolis and 
taught in a shorthand school at that place. 
Returning to Superior, he took charge of 
the collection department for his former em- 
ployers, and also served for a time as city 
stenographer. In 1893 he was appointed 
official reporter for the Su])erior Court of 
Douglas county, which position he has since 
filled. While engaged in these various oc- 
cupations he had been devoting most of his 
leisure hours to the study of law, anrl in 
1897 he was admitted to the Bar. Since 
that time he has given his chief attention to 
that branch of the profession pertaining to 



real estate and ta.xatioii. For three years he 
was secretary of the Douglas County Bar 
Association. His active interest in public 
affairs caused him to be made a member of 
the Republican city committee soon after at- 
taining his majority, and he is now the 
chairman thereof, and has served four years 
as chairman of the county committee. 

In the fall of 1900 Mr. Lenroot was 
elected a member of the Assembly, and dur- 
ing the legislative session of the following 
winter devoted careful attention to ques- 
tions and measures pertaining to municipal 
government. Among the measures which 
he introduced and took an acti\-e part in sup- 
porting, was a bill providing that no fran- 
chise to water, gas or lighting companies, or 
other public service corporations, should be 
operative until sixty days after its passage, 
and if within such time ten per cent of the 
voters so demanded, it should not go into 
effect until approved by the people at an 
election. This measure attracted a great 
deal of attention and discussion and was car- 
ried in the Assembly, but lost by a small 
majority in the Senate. He was also an act- 
ive supporter of the Railway Taxation -Bill 
and the famous Primary Election Bill. In 
1902 he was re-elected to the Assembly, and 
at the opening of the session he was elected 
speaker, which office he filled with marked 
ability. At that session all of the measures 
above referred to were enacted into law 
largely through his efforts. His straight- 
f(n-wa"rd course and decided view's on public 
questions have won the commendation of 
many political opponents, as well as his sup- 
porters, and he is one of the most popular 
citizens of Douglas county. 

In 1890 IMr. Lenroot was married to 
Clara Clough McCoy, a daughter of Hon. 
Solon H. Clough. an early resident of Su- 
perior, who was for many years judge of the 
circuit court in that circuit. 

CHARLES F. BONE, senior editor of 
the Rice Lake Times, was born at Erie. Pa., 
Feb. 20. 1844, a son of Francis and Johanna 
(Donevan) Bone, natives of Erie county. 
Grandfather John Bone came from Scotland' 



204 



COMMi:.MORATl\E r.lOr.RArillCAL RIXORO 



aiul was nuule lighthouse ketpcr at Erie, re- 
taining- that position tor fourteen years. Be- 
ing a Whig, he was removed by President 
Jackson, in common with others, who were 
made victims of the "Spoils" system. The 
maternal grandfather, James Donevan, 
fought in Najx^leon's famous Irish Legion, 
and later came to the I'nited States, settling 
on a farm in Erie county. Pa. His wife, 
who K^re the maiden name of Stanley, was 
of IVnnsylvania Dutch stock. 

Francis Rone was a carjienter by trade, 
and about 1849 he movcvl to Illinois, living 
at W'aukcg-an. Later he went back to Erie. 
Pa,, wheiT he died in 185^. His widow 
nianied Saitutel F. Ferguson, and they 
moved in 1S54 to Xeillsville. Wis., whicli 
w as then twenty-five miles from a ixistot"hce. 
At that place Iwth died. 

In October. iSoi. Charles F. Bone en- 
listevl in Comjxmy L 14th Wis. \'. L. and 
was mustered out Oct. g. 1865. as a cor^x-ir- 
al. He jxirticiixited in twenty-four engage- 
ments, and was shot through the right ear 
at \icksburg. but otherwise escaped with- 
oiu injury. At the close of the war he 
leameil the printer's trade, and in 1874 lo- 
cated at Rice Lake, where he was employed 
on the Clironot\f<c. of which he became edi- 
tor, and so cxMitinvied for nine years. Then, 
in the fall of 1887. he bought the Rice Lake 
Times, and is still conducting same. This 
well-known newsiniper was fovuideil in 1883 
by C. W . Ang-el, but w as later owned by the 
Times Publishing Company. It is a Demo- 
cratic org-an. and is conducted along lines 
which make it an excellent local paper. Mr. 
Bone has always taket\ a prominent part in 
kKal affairs, and before the city of 
Rice I^ike was incorix~irated was chairman 
of the town for four years. In i8ix) he was 
elected its mayor and gave his people a clean 
business administration. 

On April 26. 1877. Mr. Bone marrie^l 
Atmie M. Pettit. daughter of Lenuiel Pettit. 
of Liarron township. Barron cvunty. Two 
children have l>een Ix^ru of this uiarriage: 
Harry L.. connecteil with the Times and 
alsi^ treasurer of the city: and Florence, a 
most chanuino- vonng ladv. 



MATTHEW C. BURKE, senior part- 
ner of the tirm of Burke Bros., railroad and 
^Kiving contractors of West Superior, was 
Ixirn in Grant county. Wis.. Oct. 10, 1801, 
a son of James and Anna t^ Mullen) Burke. 
The parents, natives of Limerick and Gal- 
way, Ireland, respectively, came to this 
country about 1847. and after living for a 
few years in New York decided to to*- the 
W est. They migrated to W isconsin and set- 
tled at Cassville, where !Mr. Burke at tirst 
cng-.igeil in mining, and later was in the 
employ of ex-Governor Dewey. He died at 
the age of tifty-eight, in 1805. while his 
wife lived to the age of seventy-four, pass- 
ing away in 1901. Each had several broth- 
ers and sisters who also came to the United 
States. Their six children all survived 
them. 

Matthew G. P>urke acquired his educa- 
tion in the public sdux^ls of Cassville. and 
when eighteen years old begtui the business 
which he has followed ever since, that of 
contracting for public works. In coiupany 
with his brother James he has filled many 
contracts for street paving in different cit- 
ies, including Chicago and St. Paul, and 
since tlie tirm located in West Superior, in 
1888. they have taken many of the contracts 
for the original street improvements of that 
city. They have also done much railroad 
construction on some of the principal lines 
of the northwest and southwest, such as the 
Canadian Pacific, the Missouri Pacific and 
the Southern Pacific. They employ a larg-e 
number of men. For three years after com- 
ing to West Superior Mr. Burke conducted 
the "Commercial Hotel." one of the leading 
hotels of the city. He has also luade a 
mimlier of investments in real estate, some 
of which he has improved. He enjoys the 
reputation of being one of the most reliable 
business men of the city. 

On Sept. 2C). 1 80 1. ^Ir. Burke was mar- 
rietl. by Bishop Cotter, to Alice May. 
ilaughter of Thomas aud Bridg-et May. of 
Winona. Minn. Thomas May settled on a 
fanu in Winona in i86j. and sixMit the rest 
of his life there. He dieil Dec. 8. 1803. 
aged seventv-four vears. while his wife snr- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAI'IJICAL RELOKU 



205, 



vived until Nov. id, iS<j7> i^^^cliiiig llic age 
of seveiUy-bcnen years. JJolh were bum in 
County Sligu, Ireland, and came to Ameri- 
ca in 1847, the voyage taking six weeks. 
Mrs. Alice ( May) Burke has borne her 
husband tiiree children : Ruth, llelene and 
Matthew. The members of this family are 
connected with the Catholic Church, and 
they mo\e in the best circles. 

DAVID WJLLIAM MALONEY, edi- 
tor of the Glen Elora Slar, was born near 
Whitehall, Wis., July 12, 1868, son of 
David and Margaret (Warner) Maloney, 
natives of County Cork, Ireland. They 
came to America about 1849, settling in 
South Hadley, Mass., where they subse- 
quently were married, and they resided 
there for a few years. In 1855 they re- 
moved to Wisconsin, settling in Adams 
county, and engaged in farming. This re- 
mained the family home for twelve years, 
when in 1867 the father settled near \Vhite- 
hall and continued farming. He was a man 
of public spirit, enterprising and progressive, 
and for fourteen years was township treas- 
urer and held other offices. Success came 
to him, both as a farmer and stock raiser, 
he being the most extensive sheep raiser in 
the county. In politics he was somewhat 
hberal, being controlled more by principles 
than party lines. His death occurred in 
1898. when he was sixty-eight years of age, 
but his widow survives. 

Editor Maloney was one of seven chil- 
dren born to his ])arents, and sixth in the 
orfler of birth. Growing up upon the farm 
his educational advantages were poor, but 
at the age of twenty years he entered the 
River Falls State Normal School, where, in 
1 89 1, he completed an elementary course of 
two years. During 1891 and 1892 he was 
principal of the Whitehall graded schools, 
but not being satisfied with his educational 
attainments, in the fall of 1892, he entered 
the State University at Madison, Wis., tak- 
ing the regular course, and was graduatefl 
therefropi in 1896. receiving special honors 
in economics. For the following tw'o years 
he was principal of the graded schools of 



Juirick, Wis., and during the same time 
read law-, and by examination, was admitted 
to the liar in December, 1900. 

In 1901 he came to Chippewa county, 
now Rusk, and located at Glen Elora. Real- 
izing that excellent opportunity existed for 
a newspaper in this locality, he established 
The Star, a month after settling here, which 
is in a flourishing condition and is the organ 
of the people for this portion of Rusk coun- 
ty. Mr. Maloney is a Huent, easy writer, 
and furnishes a highly appreciated local 
paper. In addition to editing and publish- 
ing his paper, he has dealt largely and suc- 
cessfully in real estate, having purchased 
and still owning a half section of excellent 
land. 

Mr. Maloney practices in the county and 
circuit court, and has proved himself a 
forceful and eloquent attorney. One branch 
of his business is the making of loans on 
real estate, and in every respect he is a man 
of affairs. Politically he is a Republican, 
and he takes an active interest in public 
affairs. In 1902 he was elected chairman 
of the town lj<jard, and after one term was 
re-elected in the spring of 1904. He is sec- 
retary of the Glen Elora Creamery Com- 
pany, a co-operative institution. Needless 
to say he is called upon to represent his 
party at county and assembly conventions. 
Fraternally he is a member of the Modern 
Woodmen of America. 

In 1895 Mr. Maloney w-as married to 
Ethilda E. Brice, Ridgefield, Wash., and 
they have two children, Gerald and Eunice. 
Mr. Maloney is a studious, scholarly gentle- 
man, conservative in his views, and practi- 
cal, methodical and deliberate in his actions. 
In his paper he wields a trenchant, forceful 
pen, and is always logical in his deductions. 
He has faith in the future of Rusk county, 
and is earnestly working for its further de- 
velopment. 

SANDS VAN WAGNER, engineer on 
the Northern Pacific Railroad, residing at 
Duluth, Minn., and one of the highly re- 
spectefl men of that city, was born in No- 
vember, 1862, in Lapeer county, Michigan. 



2o6 



CO.MMEMORATRE BlOGRArHlCAL RECORD 



His lather, Sands \'an W'aguei", of New 
York State, a lumberman, resided in his na- 
.ti\e State a good many years. He marrietl 
I'hi^ebe Woodman, of New York State, and 
they had five children ; George, of Iron 
River, Mich., manufacturer of carriages 
antl wagons; John, a farmer of Iron River, 
]\lich. ; Addie, living at Bay City, Mich. ; 
Sands; and Andrew \V., who is on the 
Northern Pacilic Railroad, and is located at 
Duluth. 

Sands \'an Wagner, the subject pniper 
of this sketch, was educated in the common 
schools, attending until 18S5, when he be- 
gan working for the ^Michigan Central Rail- 
road at Bay City, Mich., as tireman, and con- 
tinued with that road until Aug. 31, i88(), 
when he accepted a position as fireman for 
the Northern Pacific, at Brainerd, Minn. 
Thus he continued two and one-half years, 
when he was promoted to the position of en- 
gineer. For a few months he did yard 
work and was on the list of extra engineers 
until 1897, when he obtained his regular 
run, and now runs from Duluth to St. i'aul. 
from Duluth to Staples, and from Duluth to 
Ashland, on freights, also doing extra pas- 
senger work, in e\ery case proving his fidel- 
ity and thorough trustworthiness. 

In 1888 Mr. \'an Wagner was united in 
marriage with Aliss Maggie Lillian JMcDer- 
mott, of Kingston. New Bniuswick; they 
have no children. 

Mr. Van Wagner is a member of the 
B. of L. E., No. 395, Dulutji ; he is a Mason, 
belonging to the Blue Lodge. Chapter, Com- 
mandery and Mystic Shrine. Osman Tem- 
ple, St. Paul; to the K. T.. of Duluth. and 
the A. O. U. W.. Rice"s Point Lodge, No. 
80. He and his wife are connected with the 
Congregational Church and are highly es- 
teemed in that body. 

Coming to Duhith in 1893 Mr. Van 
Wagner has made himself very popular. He 
has a beautiful home at No. 18 19 Piedmont 
avenue, Dulutb, where he and Mrs. Van 
Wagner dispense a most gracious hospital- 
itv. In addition to this home Mr. Van Wag- 
ner owns other valuable real estate through- 
out the city, and Mrs. Van W'agner has 
liroperty interests in the East. 



JOHN E. BYRNS. Among the many 
concerns operating successfully and exten- 
si\ely in northern Wisconsin none, perhaps, 
has wider interests than the Rittenhouse (^ 
Embree Company, of Chicago. This com- 
pany owns a large sawmill in Washljurn, 
and others in Polk county, \\ is. ; owns large 
timber tracts and has camps at Sioux River, 
Baytiekl Co., Wis. ; Ironwood, i\Iich. ; and 
Two Harbors. Minn. ; and has mills and a 
camp at Warner, Ark. To be put in sole 
charge of large and scattered properties is 
a llaltering resiwnsibility. given only to a 
specially able man, one with marked power 
in tinancial matters, and still more in execu- 
tive lines. This trust has been committed to 
John E. Byrns. 

Mr. Byrns was born in Buttalo. N. Y., 
Nov. 22, 1866. He attendeil the public 
schools of BuiYalo, and then entered St. 
Joseph's College there, from which he was 
graduated in the commercial course in 1883. 
He at once entered the employ of a lumber 
lirm in Buffalo, and though he began in a 
minor position he immediately won pro- 
motion. In 1889 he went to Bay City, 
Mich., and was engaged for seven or eight 
years in a commission business, shipping 
lumber, etc. In i8g6 he was sent to Ash- 
land to take charge of the affairs of the Rit- 
tenhouse & Eiubree Company, in which po- 
sition he has about a diousand men under 
his direction in all the various camps and 
mills owned by the company. 

Mr. Byrns was married Dec. i". 1902, 
to Miss Frances Bailey, daughter of Samuel 
W. Bailey, a prominent pioneer of Ashland. 
Politically Mr. Byrns supports the Republi- 
can party, but the extensive interests in his 
charge, scattered over so large an area, pre- 
vent his taking a special activity in politics. 

WARNER S. CARR. The power of 
the press is very great in America, and the 
influence wielded by one who occupies an 
editorial chair is not to he lightly regarded. 
One of the men who help to form public 
opinion in Douglas county is Warner S. 
Carr, the publisher of the Neliagamon En- 
ter prise, established in 1S98, the fir.st news- 
paper in that place. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAI'IJICAL RECORD 



207 



The forefathers of the Carr family set- 
tled in Rhode Island before the Revolution, 
and various members took part in that 
struggle. Some of them later moved to 
Vermont, and it was in that State that the 
grandfather of Warner S. Carr died, lack- 
ing only ti\e years of being a centenarian. 

Warner C. Carr, father of Warner S., 
was born before his father left Rhode Is- 
land, but passed his early manhood in Ver- 
mont, where he was in business in Brandon 
as a clothier. In 1837 he went to Ohio, lo- 
cating first in the Western Reserve, later in 
Licking county. For thirteen years he lived 
in that State, and then, as the farther west 
w.as gradually opened up, he followed in the 
paths of the pioneers, and about 1850 set- 
tled in Iowa county, Wis., among the early. 
resiilents. Thence he went to Winnebago 
county, and later to Waupaca, in which lat- 
ter county he died in 1883, aged eighty-six 
years. In politics he was a Democrat, but 
he was nevertheless elected to the Wisconsin 
As.sembiy in 1858-59 as an independent can- 
didate. 

Mrs. Polly C. Carr, the wife of Warner 
C, was a native of Vermont, born in 
Woodstock in 1801, and she died in Wau- 
paca county two years after her husband's 
death. She was of Scotch descent, and her 
father, Capt. Spencer, was an officer of the 
Continental army. 

Warner S. Carr was Ixirn in Brandon, 
Vt., Sept. I, 1833. ^y '^'le time he was old 
enough to go to school the family had 
moved to Ohio, and he secured his educa- 
tion in the public schools of that State and 
W'isconsin. From student life he passed 
naturally into that of a teacher, although as 
he was brought up on a farm and stayed 
tliere till he was grown he was also fully 
conversant with the practical side of farm- 
ing. He taught in Waupaca county, re- 
maining seven years in one school. In the 
fall of 1871. just after the great fire. Mr. 
Carr went to Chicago, and at first was bus- 
ied as a carpenter. Later he became inter- 
ested in real estate in that city, and was a 
meml)er of a firm which also handled ])rop- 
crty in northern Wisconsin, along the line 



of the Wisconsin Central railroad. .\1- 
though he was in Chicago a number of years 
his home was still in Waupaca county, and 
he finally returned there for a time before 
moving to Antigo, in 1888. After a year 
there, in a harness store, he moved again, 
and spent several years in West Superior as 
a real estate dealer. In 1892 he went to Iron 
River, where he followed the same line and 
also assisted in platting the north side of the 
village. He served also as justice of the 
peace. 

Mr. Carr"s connection with Lake Xe- 
bagamon began in 1898, when he began the 
publication there of the Enterprise, with 
which he is still identified. Only a year aftet^ 
his establishment in the work his office was 
burned down, being almost a total loss, but 
he immediately resumed publication, and a 
couple of years afterward put up a substan- 
tial building, the first story affording quar- 
ters for the postoffice and the printing con- 
cern, while the second floor is occupied by 
the Odd Fellows hall. 

Mr. Carr was married in 1857 to Miss 
Eunice M. Randall, who was born in Schen- 
ectady, N. Y., Feb. 7, 1837, daughter of 
Samuel and Gertrude (Pruyn) Randall, of 
Waupaca county. She was brought by her 
parents to Racine, Wis., and was there edu- 
cated. Her mother belonged to the famous 
Pruyn family of Albany, N. Y. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Warner S. Carr w^ere born two chil- 
dren, viz. : Douglas, a painter, a resident 
of Waupaca county; and Addie M., now 
Mrs. E. Raymond, of Antigo, Wis. Mrs. 
Carr died in \Vaupaca. Feb. 22, 1887. 

Mr. Carr joined the Masonic fraternity 
in 1864, at Waupaca, and now is a member 
of Diamond City Chapter, No. 65, West 
Superior ; he also belongs to Superior Com- 
mandery. No. 25, K. T. During the Civil 
war he followed his country's flag as a 
member of Company G, 21st Wis. V. I., and 
after lieing discharged, in November, 1864, 
was em])loyed in the quartermaster's office 
at Madison until the close of the conflict. 
Like so many old soldiers Mr. Carr is a Re- 
publican in his views. In 1900 he received 
the appointment of postmaster at Lake Xe- 



208 



COiMMEMORATR'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



baganion, Wis., and under his efficient man- 
agement, by April i, igo2, the office became 
a thh-d-class office, while in July of the same 
year it was given an international money 
order department. Mr. Carr has also served 
as justice of the peace since living in Lake 
Nebagamon and in all his various capacities 
has proved himself both capable and popular. 

ENOCH W. B. HARVEY, who fills a 
responsible position at Le Clair, Douglas 
Co., Wis., springs from an old New Eng- 
land family famous for patriotism, physic- 
al vigor and longevity. He was born in the 
town of Atkinson, Piscataquis county, 
Maine, June i. 1831, and is the only surviv- 
ing son of Rev. Nathaniel and Sarah 
(Burnham) Harvey, natives of Notting- 
ham, New Hampshire. 

An ancestor of the Harvey family came 
from England in the colonial days, settling 
at Nottingham, where members of that 
family still live, and all of that name in 
the United States who spell it "Harvey," 
are supposed to belong to the posterity of 
this one immigrant. Several members of 
the family served in the Revolutionary War, 
as well as in every war since in which the 
nation has been engaged. 

Nathaniel Harvey, Sr., grandfather of 
E. W. B. Harvey, reached the age of 105 
years, sprightly and vigorous to the last. He 
lived and died in Nottingham, N. H. He 
had eighteen children, one of whom was 
Levi Harvey, grandfather of Prof. L. D. 
Harvey, at one time superintendent of pub- 
lic instruction in Wisconsin. His son, Na- 
thaniel Harvey, went to Maine when a young 
man and settled on a farm. Educated 
chiefly by home study, he yet accomplished 
so much that about 18 10 he was ordained a 
Baptist minister and preached many years 
in Piscataquis and other counties through- 
out the State of Maine. In 1845 he went to 
Wisconsin, settling at Fulton, Rock county, 
where he lived on a farm and preached in 
adjacent places until his death, which occur- 
red in 1870, in the eighty-fourth year of his 
age. 

His wife, Sarah B. Harvey, died in 
1854, aged sixty-four years. Her father 



died in Burnham, N. H. ; his brothers, Asa 
and Jesse, were Baptist ministers, and the 
latter died in Rock county, Wis. Both were 
able men, though their early advantages 
were quite limited. 

Nathaniel and Sarah Harvey had seven 
sons and three daughters, viz. : Jonathan, a 
tanner, who died in Sebec, Maine; Eben- 
ezer B., who died at Brodhead, Wis., a tan- 
ner and teacher as well as a farmer; John, 
a farmer by occupation, who with two sons 
served throughout the Civil war, was a 
member of a Wisconsin Cavalry regiment, 
served under Gen. Curtis, and died in Ne- 
braska; Israel, whose death occurred at Ful- 
ton, Wis. ; Betsy, who is ]\Irs. J. F. Bean, of 
Princeton, Elaine; William A., deceased, a 
physician in Chicago ; Nathaniel, who died 
at Fulton, Wis. ; Sarah, the wife of P. F. 
Cutts, of St. Paul, Alinn. ; Enoch \\'. B. ; 
Melissa J., Mrs. Horatio Houlton, who died 
at Elk River, Minnesota. 

E. W. B. Han-ey after leaving the dis- 
trict school went to Milton College at Mil- 
ton, Wis., where he finished the scientific 
course at the age of twenty- four years ; he 
had previously taught, and after graduation 
he continued in that profession about twenty 
years. In 1862 he went to Minneapolis, 
where he was made principal of the East 
Side schools, a position in which he was 
maintained ten years. In 1873 he gave up 
the profession of teaching and took a posi- 
tion as bookkeeper and cashier at his broth- 
er-in-law's mill in Elk River, Minn. After 
some ten years there he went to Glendive, 
Mont., where he dealt in general merchan- 
dise about ten years more. Since then Mr. 
Harvey has been employed by the Lake Su- 
perior Piling Company at Le Clair and has 
charge of the camp and general store of the 
company at that place. 

From the foundation of the Repulilican 
party Mr. Harvey has been an enthusiastic 
supporter of its principles, though he takes 
an independent stand in local affairs. For 
six vears he served as a member of the 
board of education in Minneapolis, and has 
alwavs been interested in educational af- 
fairs. 

In i860 Mr. Harvev was married to 



CO.M.ME-MORAT1VE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



209 



Caroline Hilton, of Minneapolis, a daughter 
of William and Mary Hilton. Mr. Hilton 
came to Minneapolis in 1855 with his fam- 
ily, and only lived seven years after the 
change. Mr>. Caroline Harvey died in 
Montana in 1889. aged tifty-eight years, 
leaving no children. 

Mr. Har\ey is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, which he joined in 1863. Since 
1870 he has also belonged to the Knights of 
Pythias. In 1881 he was grand chancellor 
of Wisconsin ; the ne.xt year he was made 
delegate to the Supreme Lodge, K. P., of 
the \\'orld, which was held at Detroit. He 
is a man popular not only in these societies, 
but among his acquaintances, who respect 
and admire him greatly. 

^LVRSHAL SERGEANT, sheriff of 
Rusk county. Wis., residing at Ladysmith, 
is one of the pioneers of the county, having 
settled, in 1883, in what is now known as 
the town of ^Marshal, named in his honor. 
He took up his homestead at the same time 
that W'. Sergeant, George Sergeant, C. E. 
Carman ami Mr. Mann took up theirs. Dur- 
ing the Civil war he was a gallant soldier, 
fighting in defense of his flag and country, 
and since then has served equally well as a 
private citizen and public official. As sheriff 
he has demonstrated how such a position can 
be filled conservatively, honestly and with 
fidelity toward the State, and his many ex- 
cellent qualities have made him widely 
known and popular. 

Mr. Sergeant was born in Chemung, 
McHenry Co., 111., Feb. 2, 1846, and is a 
son of David R. and Mary Ann Sergeant, 
natives of Pennsylvania, who settled for a 
time in McHenry county. 111., and in 1853 
removed to Walworth county. Wis., where 
they settled upon a farm. There they died 
in 1886 and 1892, respectively. Our sub- 
ject is one of eight children, and sixth in the 
order of birth. His boyhood was spent upon 
the farm, and he received a good common 
school education. On Nov. 28, 1861. al- 
though then less than sixteen years of age, 
he enlisted in Company I, nth W^is. V. I., 
and was mustered in as a private. Later he 



was transferreil to the Western army, then 
operating in Wisconsin, and he was in active 
service from the beginning. Still later he 
was transferred to Grant's army, then t)per- 
ating before Vicksburg. He engaged in the 
lighting at Port Gibson, Jackson, Champion 
Hills and Big Black River, and was in the 
siege of Vicksburg which followed. During 
that campaign his regiment engaged in in- 
cessant fighting for fifty-six days. After 
the fall of Vicksburg Mr. Sergeant was 
transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps 
because of an injury he had received, and in 
this capacity he did patrol duty, guarding 
prisoners at various places, and was in the 
city of Washington for five months. Al- 
though he had been injured he served until 
the expiration of his term, in November, 
1864, when he was honorably discharged at 
Washington and returned home. 

Locating once more in Walworth county, 
Wis., he engaged in farming until 1875. 1" 
the meanwhile, in 1866, he was married in 
Green Lake, Wis., to Miss Sophia A. Chap- 
pell. In 1875, when he made a change, he 
moved to Eau Claire, Wis., and embarked 
in the manufacture of pumps, but after two 
years he resumed fanning in Dunn county. 
Wis. Upon this farm he remained until 
1885, when he was attracted to what was 
then Chippewa county, now Rusk, and took 
u]) a homestead of 160 acres, settling there 
with his family. He improved this home- 
stead and resided upon it until 1902, when 
he was called upon to leave his plow for the 
cares of a high office by the Republicans of 
his county. However, this was not the first 
public position he had filled, for he had been 
first chairman of the town of Marshal, and 
when the town was organized he was elected 
to the office he had hitherto held by appoint- 
ment. From the time of his settlement in 
this vicinity 'le has taken a deep interest in 
the growth and prosperity of the county, 
and IS a patriotic citizen and stanch Republi- 
can. His party has recognized his ability 
and specia? fitness for convention work, and 
he has been sent upon numerous occasions 
to represent its principles and candidates, in 
both countv and State conventions. Na 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



inenil)cr of the Ci. A. R. is more entlnisiaslic 
than he, ami his connection with Janies 
Conierfortl J'ost, of Chippewa Falls, is a 
very pleasant one. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Sergeant se\en chil- 
dren have been born, all living: (irace, 
Fred, Ray, Flarry, Chester, Agnes and 
Clayton. 

Mr. Seregant was not the only nicniber 
of his family to serve during the Civil war, 
for two brothers, Samuel S. antl David P. 
also enlisted, David P. in the same company 
as Sheriff Sergeant : he served a year and a 
half, participating in all the battles of his 
regiment. He is now deceased. The other 
brother, Samuel S., enlisted in the 9th Illi- 
nois Cavalry, and served nine nu)nths, when 
he was disabled and honoralily discharged. 
At present he is residing in California. 

ALEXANDER A. CAMPBELL, an 
influential citizen of West Superior, Dou- 
glas counlN'. was horn in L'ounly Clcngarry, 
Ont., .March _'5, 185S. 

Mr. Campbell is a son of .Me.xaiuler and 
Margaret (Sinclair) Campbell. His father. 
a native of Perth, Scotland, came to Amer- 
ica in 1817, at the age of six years, his par- 
ents, Malcolm .and Mary Campljcll. being 
pioneer settlers of County Cdengarry. Mal- 
colm Cami)l)cll was a st<inemason and a 
farmer, and lived to the ripe age of ninety- 
two. Alexander Campbell sjient his life on 
a farm in County (ilengarrx . where he died 
in 1893, aged eighty-two years. He was a 
leading member of the Baptist Church and 
a Liberal in politics. He served several 
years as justice of the peace. Mrs. Marga- 
ret (Sinclair) Campbell was born in County 
Cdengarry and died in i80j. at the age of 
thirty-nine. Her father, Findlay Sinclair. 
was a farmer of Inverness-.shire. Scotland, 
and died, agetl eighty-seven years, .\lexan- 
der and Margaret (Sinclair) Campbell 
reared a family of eight sons to useful citi- 
zen.ship. Malcolm, Findlay and Duncan 
still live in Ctnuity Cdengarry, John, who 
spent four years in the gold fields of Bur- 
larrava. South Africa, is now a successful 
minor at Dawson City, Canada ; Peter S. is 



professor of cla.ssics at McMaster Universi- 
ty, Toronto ; Donald S. was a leading physi- 
cian in Detroit, who died Dec. 18, 1901 ; Ar- 
chibald is ;i contr.-ictor in \'ancou\er, lirit- 
ish Columbia. 

Alexander .\. L'anipbell spent his boy- 
lioiul in his native county and received 
a high school education in the town of Corn- 
wall. Wdien he was iifteen he became a 
clerk in a dry goods store. In 1877 he went 
to Point Etlward, Ontario, where he began 
to learn the drug business. He spent some 
time in Hamilton, and then attended the 
Ontario College of Pharmacy in Toronto, 
from which he was graduated in 18S2 with 
honors, taking the degree of Ph. C. Mr. 
Campbell was employed in a drug store at 
Wiarton about three years, after which, in 
the autumn of 1886. he opened a drug store, 
which he carried on for several years. Dur- 
ing this time he .served as alderman; had 
the government appointment to issue mar- 
riage licenses; was sessional writer of the 
Ontario Parliament for the County of Glen- 
garry, and s'ervetl as secretary of the Wiar- 
ton Liberal .Association. 

.\fter selling out his business in 1888 
Mr. Campbell spent a year in Winnipeg as 
m.inager of a drug store. He was then eiTi- 
plo\ed as relief clerk in a drug store in St. 
r.iul and in January, 1891, came to Super- 
ior. He was employed by various drug 
linns until February, 1898, since which time 
be has carried on a business of his own, 
dealing in drugs, i)aints and sundries on 
Iowa avenue. In 1898 Mr. Campbell was 
appointed by Mayor Deitrich a member of 
the iniblic library board, of which he was 
elected secretary the following year. Early 
in iQco he opened a per.sonal correspond- 
ence with Andrew Carnegie concerning the 
U>cation of one of his libraries at Superior. 
Mr. Carnegie's first letter in regard to this 
matter is dated .August, 1900, and his prop- 
osition was formally accepted by the library 
board Feb. 2. 1901. Mr. Campbell was a 
prime mover in seeming from the citizens 
of Superior the donations of a building site. 
He has also been active in the Ninth Ward 
Improvement League and other public un~ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



dertakings and is treasurer of tlie One Hun- 
dred Thousand Club. 

Since becoming a citizen of the Uniteil 
States Mr. Campbell has been a Republican. 
He has been a delegate to numerous conven- 
tions in Douglas county; he was a delegate 
to the Congressional district convention in 
1900 which elected delegates to the national 
conventit)ii, and was a prominent candidate 
for alderman of the Ninth ward before the 
convention in September, 1901. In 1902 lie 
was a candidate before the 2d Assembly dis- 
trict convention for member of the Assem- 
bly. Fraternally Mr. Campbell is a mem- 
ber of the A. F. and A. M., the I. O. O. P., 
and of the local camps of M. W. A., R. N. 
imd the 1. O. R. M. Mr. Campbell is a 
member of the Presbyterian Church. 

In 1888 ]Mr. Campbell was married to 
Elizabeth Dale, a daughter of John and Bar- 
bara (Campbell) Dale, born in Brampton, 
Ont. Mr. Dale, a miller by trade, was born 
in Canada, of English parents. Mrs. Dale 
was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. She is 
now living in Mitchell, Ont., where her hus- 
band died Nov. 22, 1879, at the age of fifty. 
Mrs. Dale's mother was a member of the 
Bruce family and lived and died in Scotland. 
Mr. and Mrs. Campbell have one son, Wil- 
fred Gladstone Campbell. Upon the estab- 
lishment of postal station No. i, in August, 
1902, Wilfred Campbell was appointed 
])ostmaster in charge of the same, and in 
June, 1904, he was appointed by Mayor 
O'Hare, a member (jf the city board of edu- 
cation for the Xinlh ward for the term of 
three years. 

L. A. POTTER. M. D., a i)f)pular phy- 
sician of Superior, has been located in that 
section of the town formerly known as 
South Superior, almost from its inception, 
and his practice has kept pace with its 
growtli. 

Dr. Potter was born in 1857 in the town- 
ship of Grant, St. Clair Co., Mich., where 
his father, Cyrus Potter, settled in 184S. 
The father is a native of Bangor. I'ranklin 
Co., X. \ ., but now', at an advanced age, is 
living with his son in South Superior. In 



the family were ten children, nine sons and 
one daughter, of whom one son died in in- 
lancy. The daughter, Agnes, is the wife of 
\\ illiam Dudley, assistant librarian at the 
State University. The doctor receiveil his 
early education in the public schools, and in 
1877 began the study of medicine. He was 
graduated in 1881 from the Detroit Medi- 
cal College and for a short time practiced in 
his native State, but in the following year 
he went to South Dakota and located at 
Hitchcock. He remained there nine years 
and had an extensive practice, but as it was 
largely rural and covered a wide territory, 
necessitating long and tedious rides, he was 
anxious for a change and as South Superior 
promised well for the future, he decided in 
the spring of 1891 to locate there. 

The doctor is the only physician in the 
eighth ward of the city, and, owing partly 
to that fact and partly to his own skill and 
popularity, he has built up with unusual 
rapidity a most satisfactory and constantly 
increasing practice. He is a member of the 
Douglas County Medical Society, the Inter- 
urban Academy of Medicine, the Wisc(5nsin 
State Medical Society and the American 
Medical Association. He is in every respect 
a highly competent and progressive phvsi- 
cian, and as a citizen takes an intelligent in- 
terest in public affairs and is deservedly ])op- 
ular. In the spring of 1903 he was appoint- 
ed a member of the city board of education 
by Mayor O'Hare. 

Dr. Potter was married in 1885, at 
Hillsdale, Mich., to Miss Lucy I. John.son, 
like her husband a native of Michigan. 
They have had two children : Lester .\., 
born Oct. i, 1893; and Erwin, born Jan. 
28, T899. The doctor belongs to the I. O. 
O. F., and the Masonic Order. 

ROBERT L. TYLER, who settled at 
Glen Flora Feb. 18, 1900, buyin,g consider- 
able town property at that time, has later 
made .such other investments in land as to 
make him a very extensive land-holder, and 
he has occupied himself with inducing iieo- 
l)le to locate in Gates (now Rusk) and Polk 
counties, wliich he considers two of the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



most desirable and productive portions of 
the State. In this work of settlement ]\Ir. 
Tyler has met with a very gratifying suc- 
cess, and can point with pride to the many 
now permanent settlers of the above coun- 
ties, whom he induced to come to this local- 
ity. In addition to his fann property Mr. 
Tyler is deeply interested in village prop- 
erty, and he was one of the organizers of 
the' Creamery Company, and active in the 
erection of the building to be used for 
creamery purposes. In every way he has 
proved himself a public-spirited and enter- 
prising man, capable of dealing with large 
affairs. 

Mr. Tyler was born in 1843 i" Cayuga 
county, N. Y., and until he was seven was 
a resident of that locality. At that time, 
however, his parents, S. W. and P. M. 
(Brundage) Tyler, the former a farmer in 
both Connecticut and Vermont, settled in 
Milwaukee county. Wis., in 1850. This 
was a new country and offered many oppor- 
tunities to the new settlers, but not many 
educational advantages. Here the father 
died. Our subiect was educated at the pub- 
lic schools and at the Bryant and Stratton 
Business College of Milwaukee. 

At the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. 
Tyler enlisted in November, 1861, ui Com- 
pany B, 7th Wisconsin Battalion, Light Ar- 
tillery. He saw active service in this com- 
pany in the Army of the Cumberland, oper- 
ating in Tennessee and Kentucky, and he 
participated, among other engagements, in 
the battle of Island No. 10 and the battle 
of the Cross Roads, during which latter he 
was injured. He was honorably discharged, 
and returning home regained his health in a 
few months, so he re-enlisted, this time in 
Battery B, ist Wisconsin Heavy Artillery, 
Capt. W. S. Babcock, of Milwaukee, coni- 
manding. His time was principally spent in 
guarding the Louisville & Nashville railroad, 
keeping it open, and in this work he had 
many daring contentions with bushwhack- 
ers. ' Mr. Tyler then successfully passed the 
special department established by President 
Lincoln, to inquire into the fitness of men to 
command colored troops, and was given a 



commission as first lieutenant and assigned 
to duty under Capt. H. F. Potter of "B" 
Battery, 12th United States Regiment, who 
was later detached to become chief ordnance 
officer. This gave Mr. Tyler his promotion 
to captain, which rank he retained until the 
close of the war, being chiefly detailed in 
Kentucky, keeping open the lines of com- 
munication. He was continued in this work 
until Jan. 21, 1866, when he was honorably 
discharged with the rank of first lieutenant. 

Returning to Milwaukee, Mr. Tyler 
went soon after to the vicinity of Des 
^loines. Iowa, where he bought land, but 
he finally sold his property, and returning 
to Wisconsin was married to Miss Etta M. 
Durgin. On Jan. i, 1867, he went to the 
neighborhood of Hampton, Franklin Co., 
Iowa, buying land, and there began farming. 
In addition he did carpenter work, and thus^ 
continued for almost thirty years. For the 
subsequent five years he lived in Washing- 
ton, and at Vancouver, Seattle and Dayton. 
Returning to Franklin county, he resided 
there until he located at Glen Flora in 1900. 

Ten children have been born to Mr. and 
]Mrs. Tyler: Robert, Mabel, Clyde, Lula. 
George, Ollie. Chester and Glenn, as well 
as two deceased, L. D. and Myrtle. Those 
living are all residents of Glen Flora, and 
are very prosperous and responsible citi- 
zens, taking an active part in the develop- 
ment of their locality. 

In every walk of life Mr. Tyler has dem- 
onstrated his sterling worth of character, his 
trustworthiness in every respect, and is very 
justlv esteemed. He is a member of the G. 
A. R. post at Hampton, Iowa, and is a 
Blue Lodge Mason. 

WILLIAAI F. BOLAND. a widely 
known and prominent lawyer and capitalist, 
of Superior, and withal a successful man of 
the world, was born at Hoosick Falls, N. 
Y., in 1850. In 1852 his parents moved to 
Wisconsin, where his father took a sub-con- 
tract on what was known as the Sheboygan 
and Fond du Lac plank road. After he had 
completed his portion of the construction 
according to the specifications of his con- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



2t3 



tract it was found tliere was no cash on 
hand to Hcjuidate his claim. Accordingly 
the State of Wisconsin turned over to him 
a tract of land on the borders of the Winne- 
bago reservation, in Calumet county, in set- 
tlement thereof, and on this land Mr. Bol- 
and settled with his family in the spring of 
1853, having been preceded thither by but 
two other white families. Other settlers 
came in slowly and began laying the foun- 
dation for the future development of the 
country. Forests were leveled, roads were 
built, school houses erected, and ere long the 
forest was transformed into cultivated 
fields, and comfortable houses marked the 
site of the wigwams that for centuries had 
been the habitation of poor "Lo." 

In such an environment William F. Rol- 
and passed his boyhooil, and in the primi- 
tive schools of that early day in Wisconsin 
by dint of effort he obtained the rudiments 
of an English education. Meager as were 
the opportunities afforded for obtaining an 
education, he succeeded in acquiring suffi- 
cient knowledge to qualify him for teaching, 
and when he was sixteen years of age he 
was master of the school in which he had 
acquired his education. He had a higher 
ambition than to spend his life in the slow 
work of the fann, and craving more learn- 
ing he attended the Fond du Lac high 
school, where, after four years of hard 
work, interspersed with a few short terms 
of teaching, he succeeded in rounding out 
his education. Teaching, however, Mr. 
Boland regarded as only a stepping stone to 
the profession of the law, for which he had 
a great admiration. Accordingly he entered 
the law office of Hon. James Coleman and 
Thomas W. Spence, who were his precep- 
tors for two years, and so diligently did he 
apply himself to the intricacies of Black- 
stone that at the end of that time lie passed 
an examination and was admitted to prac- 
tice in the courts of Fond du Lac county. 
The following year, when only twenty-five 
years old, lie was elected comptroller of the 
city of Fond du Lac. being the youngest 
man ever called to fill that position, but he 
most acceptably discharged its responsible 



duties, and was reelected over one of the 
most popular ytjung men of that city. Dur- 
ing this second term he entered into a co- 
partnership with John J. Jenkins, of Chip- 
pewa Falls, the present Congressman from 
that district, and in the spring of 1877 moved 
to tliat city. In 1S85 he formed a new law 
partnership with Hon. L. J. Rusk, son of 
one of the most popular governors Wiscon- 
sin ever had, which partnership continued 
for several years. 

Upon his entrance into the legal profes- 
sion Mr. Boland became more or less iden- 
tified with the political questions of the day, 
and was for a number of years one of the 
local leaders of his party. He served as 
district attorney of Chippewa county, and 
was for several terms chairman of the Dem- 
ocratic county committee. He was a mem- 
ber of the board of education for many 
years. 

In the legal profession Mr. Boland met 
with no little measure of success, and his 
accumulations he invested in newspaper 
properties, in partnership with Hon. T. J. 
Cunningham and the late Gen. H. H. Early. 
Prominent among these publications was 
the Daily Independent, of Chippewa Falls, 
a paper that exercised wide influence in the 
State. In 1880. when Mr. Cunningham was 
elected secretary of State, it became neces- 
sary for Mr. Boland to take charge of their 
various publications, in which work he was 
eminentlv successful, his versatility and tact 
being displayed to good advantage. Two 
years later, seeing, as he thought, a wider 
field, he moved to Superior and purchased 
the Superior Daily Call, which he successful- 
ly conducted till 1893, when he sold it and 
retired from the newspaper field. Since 
then he has been principally engaged in real 
estate and law, and the large success which 
has attended his enterprises has added ma- 
terially to his fortunes. At present Mr. 
Boland is one of the vice-presidents of the 
Hundred Thousand Club, an organization 
effected for the purpose of building up the 
city in which he has such great faith. 

Mr, Poland was united in marriage with 
Mav K. Fldred. of Clarence, N. Y., only 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



214 

child of H. B. Eklred, a wealthy farmer and 
merchant of that place and a warm personal 
friend of ex-President Cleveland. Mr. and 
Mrs. Boland have one son, a promising 
young man of twenty years, who is now be- 
ing educated at the University of Wisconsin. 

CHARLES KAUPPI, a prominent 
merchant of Duluth, and county commis- 
sioner for the Fifth district, St. Louis coun- 
ty, is a native of Finland, born in Uleaborg, 
in 1869, son of Matthew and Elizabeth 
Kauppi, natives of that place. 

Matthew Kauppi left his family in Fin- 
land in 1 87 1, coming to America to prepare 
a new home for them. He was at first em- 
ployed by a Mr. Haward, a prominent citi- 
zen of Duluth, and as soon as he had saved 
enough from his earnings he bought a place 
on Lake avenue, where he kept a boarding 
house, and also carried on fishing. After- 
ward he filed a claim for a homestead in the 
town of Midway, St. Louis county, made it 
into a good home, and, proving up on it, 
lived there until his death, in 1895, at the 
age of sixty-nine years. On the night of his 
death his wife was stricken with paralysis, 
and after living for nearly a year passed 
away, aged se\enty-one. Both were mem- 
bers of the Lutheran Churcli. Matthew and 
Elizabeth Kauppi were the parents of five 
cnildren, two of whom came to Duluth : 
Charles, and Matthew, who is a sailor by 
profession, but now lives on the family 
homestead. The sons came to Minnesota in 
1S79, eight years after their father arrived. 

Charles Kauppi was brought up on the 
farm in Finland and was given a good prac- 
tical education in the schools there. Upon 
reaching Duluth he entered the public 
schools of that city, but after some weeks" 
attendance he had an accident, falling 
through the ice one day, and the consequent 
wetting and exposure resulted in an illness 
that ended his school days. On recovering 
he worked with his father for a few years, 
later assisting in developing the family 
homestead at Midway. Mr. Kau])pi"s busi- 
ness career began in 1882, when he entered 
the employ of ex-]\Iayor Henry Trulsen, a 



general merchant doing the largest business 
m Duluth. During his two years there Mr. 
Kauppi lived in his employers family. His 
next enterprise was a general contracting 
business, in which he was engaged for a 
_\ear and a half, doing a great deal of work 
on the First National Bank building, the 
Ingalls block, and others. The next six 
years were mainly spent on the homestead, 
four of them continuously. For tw^o years 
during this period he acted as town clerk of 
]\Iiihvay, and as assessor of the town. 

In 1888 Mr. Kauppi settled in West Du- 
luth. w'hich was then just in its infancy, 
and invested in real estate. He also en- 
tered into a partnership with John Isaacson, 
under the firm name of Isaacson & Kauppi. 
They put up a building and began a mercan- 
tile business which was carried on until 
1896, when the firm was dissolved, and Mr. 
Kauppi was out of business for four years. 
It was a year of great financial depression, 
and as the firm had large credits outstand- 
ing, but could make few collections, the con- 
cern was turned over to the trustees, who 
conducted it in the interests of the creditors 
until all claims were paid. For the past year 
]\Ir. Kauppi has been associated with O. S. 
Olson, under the firm name of Olson & 
Kauppi, largely engaged in the groceiy, 
light hardware and meat business. 

Mr. Kauppi is a Republican and has 
done his share in the work of the party, 
holding various offices and acting as dele- 
gate to city and county conventions. In 
1 89 1 he was elected an alderman of the vil- 
lage of West Duluth, the only Republican 
elected in the village council that year. The 
next year West Duluth was annexed to the 
citv of Duluth. In 1896 he was Republican 
nominee fur county commissioner in the 
5th district, and triumphantly elected, as he 
was again at the expiration of his four 
years' term. The first two years he was 
chairman of the Claims and Accounts com- 
mittee, and the succeeding two of the com- 
mittees on Purchases and Supplies. He 
was also a member of various other com- 
mittees, including that on Roads, in which 
he was verv active, believing it to be advan- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



tagcoiis to tlie county to develop the fann- 
ing country adjacent to the city. 

Fraternally Mr. Kauppi belongs t(; the 
ilodern Samaritans and the M. \V. A. He 
and his wife are members of the Finnish 
National Lutheran Church. He has been 
an eminently successful man. and has won 
the confidence and respect of the public. Mr. 
Kauppi has been married for the last twenty 
years and has three living children: Charles, 
George W'illiam Rutolf and Selena. 

In 1903 Mr. Kaui)pi was one of the lead- 
ing promoters in establishing a Finnish Xa- 
tional College at Duluth. The institution 
is located at Spirit Lake, one of the suburbs 
of the city, and began with thirty-two stu- 
dents. In addition to theolog)- and other 
advanced studies, special attention is given 
to teaching the English language. It is the 
Only institution of its kind in the United 
States. 

ADOLPHUS P. XELSOX. cashier 
and director of the First Bank of Grants- 
burg, Grantsburg. Wis., and secretary and 
treasurer of the Grantsburg Loan. Title & 
Realty Co. (Incorporated), and general 
manager of both companies, was born in 
1872 in Alexandria, Douglas Co., Minn., 
son of Xels A. and Stena Xelson, natives of 
Sweden. 

Nels A. X'elson came to America in boy- 
hood with his parents and located in Good- 
hue county, Minn. Mrs. Xelson came to 
America at the age of twenty-five years, lo- 
cating in Douelas county, Minn., where she 
met Mr. X'elson. who was sherifif of Dou- 
glas county at that time, and also followed 
farming and hotel keeping. Mr. and ]\Irs. 
Xelson now reside at Cyrus, Minn. They 
are members of the Augustana Lutheran 
Church. He has held the office of super- 
visor and has been school director, and has 
filled a numljer of minor offices. Politically 
he is a Repul)lican. Mr. and Mrs. Xelson 
have children as follows : IMary. who mar- 
ried August Max, and died in igoi ; .\df)l- 
phus P. : Oscar S.. a merchant at Alexan- 
dria. Minn: and Emil V.. at home. 

-Adolphus P. Xelson was educated in the 



Imnie schools and took his course at the 
high school at Alexantlria, Minn., in seven- 
teen months, working his way through by 
cutting wood. After his graduation, in 
1892, he engaged in bookkeeping at the 
Douglas County Bank for two years. He 
took charge of the bank at Hamline, of which 
he was cashier for four years, at the same 
time taking his full college course, graduat- 
ing in 1897 with the degree of B. A. from 
Hamline University. In 1897 Mr. Xelson 
located- in Grantsburg to accept the positi'on 
of cashier and manager of the First Bank 
of Grantsburg, \vith which he is still con- 
nected. He is secretary and treasurer of the 
Hickerson Rolling Mills; treasurer of the 
Farmers' Starch Co., of Grantsburg; presi- 
dent of the Business Men's Association of 
Grantsburg: treasurer of the village school 
board : secretary and treasurer of the Grants- 
burg Loan, Title & Realty Co. ; cashier of 
and director in the Midway State Bank of 
St. Paid, organized April i, 1903; secre- 
tary-treasurer of the Journal Publishing 
Company, and a director in the Xorth 
American Casualty Co., of Minneapolis. 

Politically Mr. Xelson is a staunch Re- 
]nil)lican. He is a member of the M. E. 
Church, and since locating in Grantsburg 
has helped build the Central M. E. Church, 
and is superintendent of its Sunday school : 
president of the Epworth League; president 
of West Wisconsin Lav Association : secre- 
tary and treasurer of the board of trustees 
and board of stewards. .-Xs a recognition of 
his services for the church, Mr. Nelson was 
sent to the general conference at Los An- 
geles, in 1904, as a delegate. 

Mr. Xelson was married Aug. 4, 1897, 
to Lulu E. Strang, of Alexandria, Minn., 
daughter of Hon. G. J. Strang, member of 
the State Legislature of Minnesota. Mr. 
and Mrs. Xel.son had one daughter. Con- 
stance Elva. who was killed in an elevtor 
accident at Duluth. Minn., in 1902. Fra- 
ternnllv Mr. Xelson is a Mason, belonging 
to the Blue Lodge of Grantsburg. and is also 
connected with the Woodmen of the W^orld, 
M. W^ A. He is a man of recognized abil- 
itv. and has achieved his phenomenal busi- 



2l6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ness success tlirough his individual etTiirts. 
He is a man of excellent character, and has 
many staunch friends throughout the county 
and State. He is a recognized leader antl 
an orator of marked ahihty, and is always 
in demand for addresses imd speeches for 
public occasions. 

MAJOR HUBERT \'1CT0R EVA is 
prv>bably best known in Duluth as the sec- 
retary of the Duluth Commercial Club, one 
of. the foremost social organizations of the 
city, which gives much attention to local 
business and civic atl'airs. He is a native of 
Cc^rnwall, England, born Aug. 8, 1869, son 
of James Richard and Addison E. (La- 
Xyon) Eva, and comes of a family promi- 
nent in Cornwall for many generations. El is 
mother was bom in London, and her ances- 
tors were prominent as ship owners, inter- 
ested in the Australian trade. The family 
came to the United States in 1883, settling 
in Duluth, and there Mr. James R. Eva still 
resides. His wife died in the city March 
15, 1898. at the age of fifty-eight years. 

Hubert Victor Eva received the greater 
part of his education in his native land. 
Shortly after coming to the United States 
he became engaged as a bookkeeper, for 
about sixteen years acting as secretary for 
the Silberstein & Bondy Co.. one of the 
leading mercantile establishments of Du- 
luth. On May i, 1903. he resigmed this po- 
sition to enter upon his duties as secretary 
of the Duluth Commercial Club, w'hich re- 
quire the greater part of his time. He has, 
at different times, been interested in var- 
ious business enterprises in the city, and is 
well and favorably known in commercial 
circles. 

Since 1889 Hubert \'. Eva has been con- 
nected with the Minnesota National Guartl, 
in which he has become quite prominent. 
He acquired a captain's commission in Com- 
pany .\. 3d Regiment, and with his company 
entered the United States service at the 
breaking out of the Spanish-American war, 
the Minnesota troops being the first volun- 
teers sworn into the Federal ser\ice. He 
coniniandfil lii'^ conip-mv during the war at 



Chickamauga and Knoxville. They luue 
se\eral times been called out to quell Indian 
disturbances and riots. On July 2, 1900, 
the compjmy left Duluth under his com- 
mand for Koochiching, which they reached 
July 5th. having been delayed twenty-four 
lunirs at Rainy Lake, waiting for a steamer. 
Their route overland was over almost im- 
passable roads. They remained three weeks, 
returning to Duluth after the Indians be- 
came quiet. In 1898 they saw service at 
Cass Lake. On June 12, 1901, Capt. Eva 
was promoted to the rank of major and is 
still serving as such. In 1903 he was hon- 
ored with election to the presidency of the 
Minnesota National Guard Association and 
discharged his duties with efficiency and fi- 
delity. 

\lajor Eva has become well known as a 
heartv advocate of all measures tending- to 
]Momote the welfare of his city or State, 
working for all such energetically, and with 
due appreciation of the needs of his com- 
nmnity. He has always been a stanch Re- 
puiilican in political coiuiection. 

On Aug. 4. 1896, Major Eva was mar- 
ried to Miss Laura Forbes, daughter of 
Daniel Forbes, of Montreal, Canada, and 
they have had one child, Victor Forbes. The 
major and his wife are members of the 
Episcopal Church. Fraternally he is a 
thirty-second degree Mason. 

R. E. KENYON is the editor and pro- 
prietor of the Superior Sun. a weekly paper 
established July 21, 1891. 

The Sun is published by Mr. Kenyon 
and his son, and has a circulation of over 
600 copies. The publishing plant was at 
first located in a one-story building on 
Tower avenue, after the first year was re- 
moved to the bank building on Tower and 
Central avenues and finally, in 1898. 
changed into its present commodious quar- 
ters, a building erected by Mr. Kenyon at 
John and Central avenues. A new engine 
lias been added, operated liv gasoline power, 
and there are all the facilities of a first-class 
office: job printing is made a specialty and 
a large amount of such work is done. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



217 



.Mr. Kcnyon was Ixjrn in Allegany coun- 
ty, N. Y., in 1857. His father, J. E. Ken- 
yon, with his family, went \\ est the next 
year to Randolph, Columbia Co., Wis., and 
they were among the early settlers of that 
place. In 1882 they moved again, this time 
to South Dakota, where tlie father died in 
1890. Mrs. Kenyon is still living and re- 
sides with her son in Superior. 'Hiey were 
the parents of si.x children, of whom the fol- 
lowing four are still living: Frank J., the 
deputy city treasurer of Superior; Grant B., 
a resident of Southwestern Missouri ; R. E. : 
and a sister, now Mrs. S. W. Johnson, of 
Juneau county, Wisconsin. 

R. E. Kenyon was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of Portage. Columbia Co., Wis,, 
and in that same town learned the printer's 
trade, l.»eginning it at an early age. He went 
with his parents to South Dakota and there 
worked at printing for Frederick Brown for 
ten years, publishing for nearly all that time 
the Frederick Free Press. From that posi- 
tion he came to Superior. 

Mr. Kenyon married for his first wife in 
1884 Hattie M. Wilde, of Randolph. She 
■died in South Dakota in April, 1891, leav- 
inging one son, Warren J., lx)rn in 1885. 
For his second wife, Mr. Kenyon married 
Miss Jennie Coats, of Xeenah, Wis., but in 
1897 he was again left a widower. The only 
•child of this marriage, a son. lived only five 
months. Mr. Kenyon is a memtx;r of many 
fraternal orders. He is a strong advocate 
of temperance, and is noted for his earnest 
work along that line. He and his son, 
Warren J., are both memljers of the Metho- 
dist Church. The son has Ijeen an officer of 
the State Grand Lodge of Good Templars, 
and has taken the International Supreme 
Degree of G*xjd Templary. l>eing, with one 
exception, the youngest Ixjy who has ever 
taken that degree. 

PETER LIBERTY, a farmer residing 
near Stetsonville. Taylor county, is one of 
the original settlers of the county, and to 
him more than to any other one man is due 
the influx of French Canadians and .Ameri- 
cans, which has transformcfl the wilderness 



into a region of well-cultivated and flourish- 
ing farms. 

Mr. Liberty was born in Canada, in 
1842, and was educated in the public 
schools. He came to the United States in 
1857, and consequently was not yet a citi- 
zen when the w ar broke out. He had l.»een 
in New England long enough, however, to 
become imbued with the patriotic feeling of 
that section, and alien though he was, he 
enlisted in April, 1861, in Company E, ist 
Mass. Heavy Artillery, under Col. Green. 
By June he was in active service, beginning 
at Ball's Bluff. He was a brave and in- 
trepid s':>ldier, and fought in many of the 
bkxjdiest battles of the war, including the 
second Battle of Bull Run, Gettysburg, 
Fredericksburg, South Mountain, and the 
campaign alxjut Petersburg and Richmond. 
On June 22, 1864, Mr. Liberty was taken 
])risoner at Petersburg, and was imprisoned 
at .Andersonville for five months, and in 
Libby prison one week before he was ex- 
changed. In December, 1864, he returned 
to his regiment, and in the following April 
received his first serious wound before Pe- 
tersburg. That seemed a fatal spot to all 
of the family, as, in the preceding year, a 
brother, Joseph, had been killed there and a 
nephew and cousin were both wounded near 
tliat city. Mr. Liberty was discharged from 
liie United States service July 15, 1865. 

Mr. Liberty's connection with Taylor 
county began in the early part of 1873, 
when he to^jk up a homestead of 160 acres, 
put up a cabin 12x12 feet, and in the fall of 
that year settled there with hii family. He 
was prominent in local matters from the 
very beginning, for in that first year he took 
an active part in the movement which re- 
sulted in having Taylor county set of? from 
Clark. The county constituted one town- 
ship. Medford by name, and Mr. Liberty 
was elected the first assessor, a position 
which he filled, in all, ten years. In 1880 
he was elected chairman and served four 
years. .Under President Garfield he was 
appointed postmaster of Stetsonville and 
discharged the duties of that office two 
years. 



2l8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Mr. Liberty was always a Republican, 
and still enjoys telling how his first vote was 
cast for Abraham Lincoln. At the time of 
the election he was imprisoned at Anderson- 
ville and the prisoners held an election 
among themselves, casting 15.000 votes for 
Lincoln and 3,000 for McClellan. Mr. Lib- 
erty has been no less devctted to his party 
ever since, and has regularly been a dele- 
gate to county and congressional conven- 
tions. He took the government census of 
the township in 1900. With all his public 
duties Mr. Liberty has done well in his own 
business. He has developed the greater 
part of his farm and now has 100 acres 
under cultivation; the little cabin has been 
replaced by a good house; barns have been 
built, and various improvements added, 
until his is now one of the best farms in the 
county. Of late years he has paid some at- 
tention to breeding fine cattle. 

In August, 1865, Mr. Liberty was mar- 
ried to his first wife. Miss Cleophe Roy, a 
native of Canada, who died in 1880, leaving 
seven children: Henry E., Joseph, Peter, 
Mary, Ulysses, Louis and Charles O. D., 
who died in 1882, aged four years. His 
present wife, to whom he was married in 
1 88 1, was a Miss Elodia Matt, who was 
bom in Montreal, Quebec. 

Mr. Liberty is a member of Bryan post. 
No. 290, G. A. R., and is prominent in its 
councils. His life has been an admirable 
object lesson to all around him, for he is up- 
right and honorable in every relation of 
life, and has won the unstinted respect of 
all. With keen preceptions and g-ood judg- 
ment his material success in life also has 
been an assured fact. 

GEORGE W. KANE is a popular busi- 
ness man and public official of Superior, at 
present serving as a member of the city 
council. His birth occurred near Lake City. 
Wabasha Co.. Minn., July 9, 1865, his par- 
ents being James and Sarah (Eggleson) 
Kane. James Kane, a native of County 
Antrim, Ireland, came to Canada as a young 
man, lived later in New York State and 
about 1855 settled on a farm near Lake 



City, Minn., where he died about 1870. He 
was one of the pioneers in Wabasha county. 
Mrs. Sarah (Eggleson) Kane died at Sault 
Ste. Marie, Mich., in March, 1900, at the 
age of seventy-seven. She was born in Ot- 
tawa, Canada, daughter of P. Eggleson, a 
native Irishman, and one of the pioneer 
merchants of Ottawa. Her brother, P. A. 
Eggleson, was one of the original founders 
of the city of Ottawa (then called Bytown). 
He acquired several farms there, which he 
afterward platted into city lots. 

When George W. Kane was about sev- 
en years old, the accidental death of his 
father caused the removal of the family 
from the farm to Lake City, and later to 
Stillwater, Minn., in both of which places 
the lad attended school. At the age of six- 
teen he went to Minneapolis and learned the 
trade of harness maker. In 1885 he came 
to Superior and opened the first harness 
shop at West Superior, on Banks a\enue 
and Si.xth street, and later was at the corner 
of Ogden avenue and Seventh street. Two 
years after coming to Superior Mr. Kane 
sold out his business, and- for three years 
served as deputy sheriff of Douglas county. 
After this he was for several years in the 
police department and was city detective for 
a year. In 1900 he opened a harness shop 
at Superior, or Oldtown, which he still car- 
ries on. 

On iViarch 27, igoo, Mr. Kane was mar- 
ried to Inez V. Rose, a native of Barron 
county. Wis., daughter of Henry Rose, 
now a resident of Butte, Mont. Mr. and 
Mrs. Kane are communicants of the Cath- 
olic Church. Fraternally Mr. Kane is a 
member of the Eagles, is Great Prophet of 
the Wisconsin I. O. R. M., and belongs to 
the M. W. A., Knights of the Maccabees, 
and the Catholic Order of Foresters. In 
politics he has always been a Democrat, and 
in the spring of 1902 he was elected a mem- 
ber of the city council from the First ward, 
although that ward is strongly Repulilican- 
In the spring of 1904 he was re-elected. 

AXEL BERGER, farmer and justice 
of the peace of Big Bend township. Rusk 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



2:9 



Co., Wis., is a native of Sweden, and was 
born Oct. 24, i860. He is a son of Svan 
Ciabrielson and Kattrina Eril<sson, natives, 
of Sweden. 

The early life of Mr. Berger was spent 
in his native land, where he attended the 
public schools, acquiring his elementary 
education. Later he received an apjjoint- 
nient to the National Military School at 
Ciothenburg, where he remained seven 
years, and was graduated in 1886, being im- 
mediately stationed at Fort Carlsburg. 
There he remained in active service about 
two years, when, desiring to enter upon a 
different life, he resigned. From 1888 to 
1892 Mr. Berger acted as engineer on a 
steamboat. 

In 1893, Mr. Berger decided to immi- 
grate to America, believing this country of- 
fered better opportunities. Accordingly, 
leaving his family, he came to the L^nited 
States with a view of looking for a suitable 
location. In September of the same year, 
he came to Apollonia, Wis., which then was 
little more than a logging camp, and ob- 
tained employment with the Weyerhauser 
Co. in the capacity of lumber grader, and 
he was put in charge of their retail lumber 
yard. He was also as.sociated with County 
Sur\eyor Kirk, of Chippewa Falls, and as- 
sisted in laying out the streets of the town 
of Apollonia. Since engaging with the Wey- 
erhauser Co., Mr. Berger has retained his 
responsible position and has always evinced 
business capacity, being regarded as one of 
their trusted men. 

In 1899 Mr. Berger bought eighty acres 
half a mile from the village. Upon this he 
has erected a comfortable home and has a 
number of acres under cultivation. His 
worth as a citizen and neighbor has been 
fully recognized, and he has been placed in 
the position of justice of the peace, while 
for one year he has been a member of the 
side board of Big Bend township; he is a 
stanch Republican. .\t all times he has been 
active in furthering the interests of his com- 
munity, and is one of its intelligent repre- 
sentative men. 

In 1888 Mr. Berger married Miss Chris- 



tina Swenson and they became the parents 
of Gunnar. .\lma. Helen, Arthur, Mabel 
and Hilma Lilly. Mr. Berger is a man of 
highest educational attainments, having 
been scientifically and thoroughly educated, 
and has not allowed himself to grow rusty, 
but is a great reader, and thoroughly con- 
versant with current topics. He is a lover 
of his adopted country, and realizes the 
grantleur of Republican institutions. 

ROBERT LANE HURD, the register 
of deeds for Price county, and for many 
years an important factor in the politics of 
the county, was born June 19, 1858, during 
the brief residence of his parents in Sutton, 
Out., Canada. He was the son of Lane and 
Harriet (Nichols) Hurd. 

Lane Hurd came from an old New Eng- 
land family, and was born in New Hamp- 
shire, but lived for the greater part of his 
life in New' York. He learned the trade of 
a blacksmith in Essex county, that State, 
and made that his principal occupation. 
Later in life he read law at intervals and 
practiced in a small way. His trial of life in 
Canada lasted only a few years and he re- 
turned to New York, wdience in 1863 he 
went west to Wisconsin. He worked at his 
trade there in Ripon, in Waushara county, 
and in Eureka, Winnebago county, and was 
living in the latter place at the time of his 
death in 1876. Politically he w-as a Republi- 
can. His wife, who was a native of New 
York, died in 1872. She w-as a sister ot 
Nathan Nichols, a sheriff of St. Lawrence 
county. N. Y., for over four years, and also 
United States Revenue Collector. 

Robert L. Hurd attended the public 
schools of Eureka until he was twelve years 
old, and then Ijegan working in a stave mill. 
A few years later he became clerk in a store 
at Manawa, and remained there three years. 
In 1883 he went to Fifield and entered the 
employ of Roberts, Dirimple & Co., for 
whom he worked until 1895. and then be- 
cnme sealer and overseer for F. D. Lindsay. 
He is also interested in logging to some ex- 
tent. 

Mr. Hurd has always found politics an 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



absorbing subject, and has been influential 
in the local Republican ranks for a long 
time. He has been a delegate to every 
■county convention for years, and in^ 1896 
was sent to the State Republican convention. 
In 1898 the party put him upon its ticket for 
register of deeds for Price county and in 
that and the two following campaigns he 
was the successful contestant. 

In 1895 occurred the marriage of Mr. 
Kurd to Minnie Brosnan, daughter of Tim- 
othy and Hannah Brosnan. Mrs. Hurd was 
born in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., and 
there her father's death took place. He was 
a native of Ireland, and by profession a 
bookkeeper and farmer. Mrs. Brosnan, 
after her husband's death, removed to Fi- 
field, and is now living there at the age of 
sixty. Three children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Hurd, namely : DeWitt, 
and Phyllis and Phillipa, twins. The fam- 
ily is connected with the Catholic Church. 

PETER CRASSER, one of the well- 
known miners of Minnesota, who dates his 
-connection with Duluth from 1880, is a na- 
tive of the Grand Duchy of Luxemljurg, 
born in 1846. 

John and Susan Crasser, his parents, 
brought their family to America in 1847, 
and settled in Ozaukee county. Wis., on a 
farm which they bought soon after their ar- 
rival. The father was a carpenter and ar- 
chitect. Peter Crasser was brought up on 
the farm and was sent to the public schools, 
where he received a good practical educa- 
tion. As a young man he worked first on 
the farm, but later began working in the 
mines, and spent fifteen years in the copper 
mines at Keweenaw county, Mich. ^Vllile 
thus engaged he learned engineering. The 
life in the mining and lumbering regions 
was full of hardship and danger, but the ex- 
perience was of great value to him. A short 
time after Mr. Crasser first left home the 
Civil war broke out, and his employer of- 
fered ten dollars to every one of his men 
who would enlist. Mr. Crasser was one of 
the volunteers, but was rejected because of 
his age. The ten-dollar bill which was given 



him was the first greenback he had ever 
seen. In 1862 he became ill and had to re- 
.turn home. He remained in Wisconsin two 
years and then went to Minnesota, where 
he worked during the summer at harvesting, 
near Hastings. Reports from the copper re- 
gions attracted him, and he spent the next 
year there, afterward returning to Hastings. 
It was on this trip that Mr. Crasser met two 
sharpers in the St. Paul depot, who endeav- 
ored to rob him of three hundred dollars. 
He was quick enough with his revolver to 
prevent them from doing so. 

After going to Duluth, in 1880, Mr. 
Crasser first secured emplo)-ment at the 
blast furnace, where he worked until 1881, 
after which he was engaged in locating 
camps, etc., and then for two j'cars was a 
packer for Capt. John Malmen, of the Min- 
nesota Iron Company. This was a life- of 
constant exposure, there being no protection 
in winter except the tents. Finally he aban- 
doned that and adopted the Indian fashion 
of taking the windward side of a windfall, 
and sleeping by the fire. He continued this 
work until 1885, and spent the next fall in 
a lumber camp, where he worked for Mr. 
Sargeant. That year, 1886, he went to 
British Columbia, on the Canadian Pacific, 
at the time of the gold excitement. He 
stayed there several months, but found no 
gold, and so returned. Of late years he has 
been employed at various lines, in ditYerent 
places. 

In 1887 Mr. Crasser was married to 
]\Iiss Kate Pickart, of Duluth. After his 
marriage he bought two acres of land at 
Bay View Heights, which he still owns. 
Later he bought in West Duluth, and built 
on the land, but finally made his permanent 
residence on another piece of property, on 
which there were two houses. 

yir. Crasser served at one time as gov- 
ernment guard and pilot for a government 
detective. He fell in with the man while 
nut on the Range, and was employed by him 
in helping trace a man accused of selling 
whisky to the Indians. They traced the 
man to Duluth, took him prisoner and car- 
ried him to St. Paul. Mr. Crasser was de- 



COMMKMORATiXE BlOGRAriilCAL RECORD 



taineJ Uiere by the affair for more tlian a 
month, and was given great praise by the 
newspapers for his important share in the 
capture. The man, however, was finally 
cleared of the charge. In 1892 Mr. Grasser 
was put in charge of the West Duluth jail, 
a trust which he faithfully discharged. 

i\lr. Grasser is a man of powerful phy- 
sique, and on one occasion carried a man on 
his back twenty-seven miles in three days. 
The man weighed 190 pounds and was too 
crippled with rheumatism to walk, and so 
Mr. Grasser came to his relief — a feat few 
men would have been equal to. He has 
had a most varied experience and has made 
many friends during his wanderings. He is 
a member of the Catholic Church, and in 
politics is a good Republican, of the Abra- 
ham Lincoln persuasion. His knowledge of 
mining enabled him to foresee many years 
ago the development of the iron region, and 
he predicts from it millions in the future. 

LEWIS P. CHARLES, editor and bus- 
iness manager of the Chetek Alert, made his 
advent into the journalistic held less than a 
year ago, when he assumed the position on 
the Alert, which he has since ably filled. Mr. 
Charles was born in Watsontown, North- 
umberland Co., Pa., July 9, 1876, son of 
Henry C. and Permelia (Potter) Charles, 
both of whom were born in the "Keystone"' 
State. His father was a gallant soldier in 
the Civil war, in which arduous service he 
contracted disabilities which eventuated in 
his death, in 1881. The mother, a woman 
of heroic courage and true motherly devo- 
tion to her fatherless children, of whom 
there were four, resolutely undertook to 
provide for their maintenance and elemen- 
tary education. \\'ith devoted zeal to laud- 
able purpose, she, unaided, acliieved all that 
she set out to gain. Lewis P. is the only son 
of the family, and with the natural interest 
in an only lx)y, she carefully and wisely 
planned for his future usefulness. 

P<y the time Lewis P. Charles was 
twelve years old he had acquired a fair 
knowledge of the rudimentary English 
branches. At this period of his career he 



became an inmate in the home of an uncle, 
a farmer living near Harrisburg, where the 
succeeding two years of his life were spent, 
having the advantage of attending the high 
school during this tune. Subsequently he be- 
came apprenticed to J. G. Orth, of Steelton, 
a manulacluring baker, where he learned 
every detail of the business. In all he was 
engaged in the baker business five years, his. 
last position being that of foreman in one of 
the large establishments in Harrisburg. He 
liked his. work and had succeeded so well 
that before he was twenty years of age he 
was filling a responsible position. It was at 
this period he got the "Western fever," as 
he expresses it, the contagion having been 
communicated to him by relatives in north- 
ern Wisconsin. In September, 1896, he 
reached Superior. Times were dull there 
then, and positions were wholly wanting. 
In consequence thereof the young man wor- 
ried through several idle months. His moth- 
er, always watchful and solicitous for his. 
w elfare, and with an ambition to see her boy 
filling a higher place in the world than his 
trade promised, urged him to take a colle- 
giate course, preparatory to a professional 
career. This he was reluctant to do. It sa- 
vored too much of surrender, of bowing 
down to defeat, and was galling to his pride. 
In the end he assented to his mother's w-ish, 
and in February, 1897, he entered the State 
Normal School at Superior, booking for the 
four-year German course, and for fourteen 
weeks diligently pursued his studies without 
intermission. The question of revenue pre- 
sented itself then, and to raise same neces- 
sitated a temporary abandonment of study. 
Securing a certificate to teach he engaged a 
district school at Pratt, Wis., which he suc- 
cessfully taught during two school years. 
The succeeding year he had charge of the 
graded school at Mason, W'is. Having by 
this time replenished his exchequer, he re- 
turned to the State Normal and resumed his 
studies at the breaking off place, three years 
before. .\p])lying himself to his studies with 
renewed energv he completed the studies of 
the four years' course at the end of this 
school year, in a length of time unexcelled 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



by any other student of the college — two 
years and fourteen weeks — and was grad- 
uated in June, 1902. For the following aut- 
umn he was called to accept the principal- 
ship of the Chetek high school, in which po- 
sition he so creditably acquitted himself that 
he was chosen to succeed himself, but he 
declined the honor of the appointment to ac- 
cept a position with the Home Life Insur- 
ance Company, of New York, with which 
he remained six months and was eminently 
successful. His resignation therefrom was 
induced by an advantageous opportunity 
presenting itself for a journalistic career, for 
which w-ork he long had a predilection, and 
in March, 1904, in co-partnership with J. 
W. Bell, bought the Chetek Alert, Mr. 
Charles assuming the duties of editor and 
business manager. He has the qualification, 
both natural and acquired, that makes the 
successful newspaper man. To be great in 
any calling one must instinctively know 
something of that calling, and editor Charles 
has the genuine newspaper instinct. He has 
made the Alert one of the best newspapers 
in Barron county, each issue being replete 
with an abundance of local news, and its 
editorial page has the merit of a striking in- 
dividualism which is the impress of his own 
commanding personality. He had made the 
Alert the exponent of every social, commer- 
cial and industrial interest that in any w-ay 
affects its many readers, and is of almost in- 
calculable benefit to the community. 

Mr. Charles is a member of the Repub- 
lican county central committee and is also 
secretary of the Press Association of Barron 
county. Fraternally he affiliates with the 
Masons, the Maccabees and the Woodmen. 

JAMES S. HUMMER, a popular drug- 
gist at South Superior, was born at High 
Bridge, Hunterdon Co., N. J., July 16, 
1847. His parents were Johnson and Sophie 
Hummer and he was one of ten children, 
four sons and six daughters. Johnson Hum- 
mer died at Highbridge, N. J., Feb. 14, 
1872, at the age of fifty-nine years, while 
the wife and mother survived until May, 
1901. 



Although a mere youth when the Civil 
war broke out and below the required age, 
James Hummer was mustered Sept. 17, 
1862, in Company K, 31st N. J. V. I., and 
served through some of the most stirring 
events of the war. He was under General 
Burnside at Fredericksburg, and was also at 
Chancellorsville and in Gen. Hooker's sub- 
sequent campaign, and then after seeing 
much active service, was discharged June 
24, 1863. 

After leaving the army, Mr. Hummer 
returned to New Jersey, but after five years 
went West and settled at Shell Rock, Butler 
Co., Iowa; for a number of years he re- 
mamed in that State, residing at various 
points, Waverly in Bremer county, Marion, 
in i^mn county, Vinton in Benton county, 
and in Fort Dodge, and then in February, 
1892, he brought his family to South Supe- 
rior, where they have since lived. He es- 
tablished himself there as a druggist and has 
gained a constantly increasing patronage. 

On Oct. 4, 1 87 1, Mr. Hummer was mar- 
ried to Clara La Bonta Fulton, of Shell 
Rock, Iowa, and their union has been blessed 
with three children, Levi, Ora and Ruby. 

Mr. Hummer is a member of Alonzo 
Palmer Post, G. A. R., and both fraternally 
and in business circles has won the esteem 
of his associates. 

ANTON M. ANDERSON, junior 
member of the firm of Nelson & Anderson, 
dealers in groceries and general merchandise, 
secretary of the Grantsburg Starch Co., and 
one of the organizers of the First Bank of 
Grantsburg, was born in Christiania, Nor- 
way, March 23, 1866, son of John C. and 
Matilda (Michaelsen) Anderson. 

John C. Anderson was a blacksmith in 
his native country. He came to America in 
1869, locating at Racine, Wis., where he 
worked at his trade for three years, and 
then went to Chicago, III. working at his 
trade there for four years. Then he was at 
Manitowoc and Two Rivers, where he had 
charge of the shipyards for about two years. 
^\v. Anderson next went to Beloit. \\'is., 
in 1878, whence he came on to Biu-nett conn- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



223 



ty, openings a blacksmith shop there which 
he conducted until the fall of 1902, when he 
sold and boiig-ht a home at Falun, Burnett 
county. He had six cliildren. five of whom 
are still living: Josie, wife of E. C. Bangle, 
of Deer River, Minn.; Annie, married to 
H. M. Hilgerson, of Chicago, 111. ; Anton 
M., our subject; Oscar W., a merchant on 
Milwaukee avenue, Chicago; Lillie, who 
married .\ndrew Nissen, cashier of the Pull- 
man Co.. at St. Louis; and Olga, unmarried, 
at home. 

Anton M. Anderson's educational ad- 
vantages were somewhat limited, as he at- 
tended school but a short time. He remained 
;it home until nineteen years of age, when he 
took up railroad work as agent for the Du- 
luth Short Line, with which he remained 
nine years, at Rush City, Pine City, ^^^•om- 
ing, Taylors Falls and Grantsburg. In i8gi 
he operated a real estate office at East Port- 
land, Ore., in 1892 returning to Grantsburg, 
and then going to Minneapolis, where he was 
in business six months. He then purchased 
the Burnett County Sentinel, of which he 
was editor and proprietor for seven years, 
at the end of which time he sold out and 
went into the mercantile business with a Mr. 
Hickcrson, under the finn name of Hicker- 
son & Anderson, this partnership continuing 
for one year. This he sold to go to Chicago, 
111., to take charge of the document room at 
the Republican National Convention held in 
that city during the T900 campaign. He re- 
mained there during the entire campaign, 
aiifl was then elected sergeant at arms of the 
Wisconsin Legislature, for 1901 and 1902. 
and was re-elected to tliat office in 1903, be- 
ing the youngest man ever to hold that office, 
and the first man to be re-elected to the 
honor. Just previous to his re-election Mr. 
.Anderson had gone into partnership with 
Ciance Nelson, under the firm name of Nel- 
son & Anderson, and as such they have con- 
tinued since, dealing in a general line of gro- 
ceries and merchandise. Mr. Anderson is 
secretapt' of the Grantsburg Starch Co., and 
was one of the organizers of the First Bank 
of that city, being a stockholder and director 
in the same. For the past two years he has 



been president of the Burnett County -Agri- 
cultural Society. 

Mr. Anderson was married June 27, 
1894, to Miss Alice Hickerson, of Grants- 
burg, and to this union came one daughter, 
Arlene May, born May i, 1895. Mr. An- 
derson is ])rominent in Masonic circles, be- 
ing a member of Blue Lodge, No. 244, of 
Grantsburg; of Consistory No. 2, at Min- 
neapolis, and of the order of the Eastern 
Star, being Grand Marshal of the O. E. S. 
for the State of Wisconsin. He also be- 
longs to the I. O. O. F. Lodge, No. 255, 
Grantsburg, and the Modern Woodmen. 
Mr. .^nderson has always been identified 
with the workings of the Republican party 
in his section, and has been a member of the 
Republican State Central Committee for 
three years. 

TRUMAN VAN ORNUM. The life 
of this prominent citizen of Medford, Tay- 
lor county, who passed from this world Feb. 
23, 1900, was one whose value to others was 
not limited to his days of activity, but was 
an object lesson of even greater worth after 
he was compelled to drop out from the ranks 
of the workers. Often in pain, and dis- 
abled from an active life for a number of 
years before his final release, the wonder- 
ful patience and fortitude which Mr. Van 
Ornum displayed under suffering, was only 
equalled by the faithfulness and untiring 
devotion \\ith which his wife ministered to 
his needs. 

Truman \'an Ornum was born in La- 
colle, Canada. July 11, 1825, son of Jacob 
and .Sarah (Lewis) Van Ornum, natives of 
that same place. The father was a carpenter 
by trade, and passed most of his life in 
Canada, but spent his later years on a farm 
near Detroit, Mich. The son w'as educated 
in the ]niblic schools, and after completing 
the course of study learned his father's 
trade, which he followed at intervals the 
greater j)art of his life. For many years he 
operated a sawmill at Lacolle. He left 
Canada in 1880, and settled in Medford, 
where he gave up his former occupation, 
and began to deal in general merchandise. 



224 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD 



He continued in this several years, but grad- 
ually srave more and more of his attention 
to contracting and dealinsf in railroail tics, 
while he also returned to his earlier employ- 
ment, and erected a iiumber of huildinos. 
To a considerable extent he speculated in real 
estate and other property, meeting with al- 
most uniform success. 

In 1892 Mt. Ynn Ornum fell from a 
building which he was putting up, and he 
was so injured that he was never after alile 
to do any active business, but for tlie remain- 
ing eight years of his life was a great suf- 
ferer. Then, even more than in the nrecpd- 
ing vears of their long married life, his wife. 
Cvnthia C. Rartlctt, whom he had married 
Dec. 17. iS-lO, showed herself a helpmeet in- 
deed, and did everything possible to make 
his last davs comfortable. IVTrs. Van Or- 
num was a dauehter of Dr. George C. ind 
Martha (Lewis') Bartlett. natives of Ver- 
mont and Odelltown, Ouebec. respectivelv. 
Dr. Bartlett was educated at Fairfield. Vt.. 
and practiced for many years at Lacolle. 
Mrs. Vnn Ornum continued to reside in 
ATedford. where a widowed daughter lives, 
and there she died in July. 1905. Of the 
six children born to her and her husband, 
five are living, but the family is scattered. 
Emma Amelia, the oldest, is now Mrs. Jo- 
seph Lanphear, and lives in Tower, "Minn.; 
Willard Oscar is in Chicago; Ida I.. Airs. T. 
B. Cowles, lives in "Madison, Wis. ; Florence 
Evaline is the widow of S. C. Smith, of Med- 
ford; and Cora A\'inifred married J. S. Mc- 
GeorsfC. and resides in Hayward, \\''is. Mrs. 
Van Ornum had six living grandchildren. 

Mr. Ynn Omum during his active life 
was a regular attendant of the Methodist 
Church, of which his wife was a member. 
For manv vears he had been a member of 
the Masonic fraternity. Politically he was 
always a Republican, and was elected to sev- 
eral local offices, which he filled with tlic 
same careful attention and ability, which he 
manifested in all his own private operations, 
thereby winning the confidence and respect 
of his associates. 

WILLIAM PENN, senior partner of 
the firm of William Penn & Co., manufac- 



turers of cut stone, at West Superior, Doug- 
las county, is a native of England, born at 
Luding^on, near Stratford-on-Avon, War- 
wickshire. Jime 24. 1861. His parents were 
Charles and Sophia (Dyke) Pcnn, bot1i 
natives of Warwickshire. 

Grandfather William Penn had exten- 
si\-e interests in the blue stone quarries at 
Shotoff. Warwickshire, and his son Charles 
became a cut stone contractor, and is now 
liAing in retirement at \\'indsor. Fiigkuid. 
Frederick Dyke, father of Airs. Sophia 
(Dyke") Penn. was a prosperous farmer of 
Ludington. where he met his death bv sun- 
stroke, at the age of .seventy-four. Of his 
family of thirteen children several are still 
living. To Charles and .Sophia fDvkcl 
Peini were born nine children, of whom 
seven are living. Several of the sons are 
in the employ of the Britisli government ; 
the onlv ones in the United .'^tntos are 
George Frederick and ^\'i1Iia1n. Itoth i^if Wo<t 
Superior. 

Wilhani Pcnn learned his trade in 
^^'in(lsor. Fneland. under the celebrated 
architect. Sir Gilbert Scott, becoming famil- 
iar with the artistic features of stone archi- 
tectin-e. He was employed on work on 
Chester Cathedral. St. George's Cathedral. 
AA'indsor Ca'^tle. and .Mbert Alemorird 
Cliapcl. which last, originally built by Cardi- 
nal AX'olsey. was rebuilt and given its present 
name by Oueen Victoria in memory of her 
husband. Air. Penn while at work on the 
chapel had the pleasure of frequently seeing 
the queen during her daily walks. In 1887 
lie came to the United States, spending a 
year in New York City, going from there 
to St. Paul, and a few months later, in the 
fall of 1888. taking contracts for cut stone 
at Duluth. In 1888 and 18S9 he furnished 
cut stone, brought from Lake Superior, for 
the court house at Winona, Alinn.; in the 
latter year he located at \\'est Su]ierior, 
where he has ever since been engaged in 
the furnishing of cut stone. The firm, 
since 1897 known as the William Penn & 
Company, has shipped stone as far east as 
New York City and as far west as Montana, 
and to many intermediate points, the busi- 
ness having become one of the most im- 




^ ^ 



o^^-^^x. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



porlant industries at tlic Head uf tlie Lakes. 
In 1889 Mr. i'enn married Ellen Bryan 
Siddon, uf London, England, and they have 
a family of three suns and three daughters, 
Charles 'J Immas, William Alfred, Alice Em- 
ily, Florence, Sidnej- and Dorothy. The 
family are members of the Jipiscopal 
Church. Ei:r fourteen years past Mr. I'enn 
lias Ijcen a member of the Masons, and ot 
the B. P. O. Elks. He is a Republican in 
politics, although not an active party man. 
He has accumulated quite a liljrary, which 
includes some standard reference works 
that belonged to his grandfather, William 
Penn. Mr. Penn is a gentleman of culti- 
vated tastes and pleasing manners, and has 
many friends throughout the Xorthwe.st. 

CHARLES D R E L I X C O U R T 
HAVEX, a well known citizen of Superior, 
comes of a Xew England family noted for 
its longevity and patriotism. He was born 
in Moriah, Esse.x Co., X. Y., Oct. 17, 1824, 
a son of Allen and Mary ( Hanford j Haven. 

The Havens in the United States are de- 
scended from an English family which set- 
tled in Connecticut in early Colonial days. 
Xathaniel Haven, grandfather of Charles 
Drelincourt, moved to Brattleboro, Vt., 
where he lived to be over eighty years of 
age. His wife, whose maiden name was 
Schneider, was bom while her parents were 
on the voyage from Holland to America. 
Samuel Haven, a son of Xathaniel, was in 
the battle of Lake Champlain, during the 
war of 1812. 

.Mien Haven, son of Xathaniel, was born 
in Brattleboro. and went to Essex county, 
X. v.. when a toy. There he learned the 
blacksmith's trade, and followed that call- 
ing in various places in Xew York State un- 
til he was seventy-five years old. He died on 
a farm in Omro. Wis., when he was eighty- 
five, having enjoyed gmid health almost to 
the day of his death. Mrs. Mary ( Hanford) 
Haven live<l to be ninety-one years old, and 
also died in Omro. She was a native of 
Massachusetts, flaughter of Shubael Han- 
ford. an English mechanic, who built the 
first fulling mill at Pittsfield. Mass. Samuel 



Hanfiird, a relative of Shubael, was a soldier 
in the French and Jndian war, and was for 
some time a prisoner at Fort Ticonderoga. 
When Charles Drelincourt Haven visited 
Ticonderoga, in 1844, he found the name of 
Samuel Hanford carved in the ruins of the 
old fort. Shubael Hanford's wife, Polly 
Leonard, was a very zealous churchwoman ; 
her mother, Polly Sillick, who lived to be 
neai ly one hundred years old, came of a pious 
old Dutch family, and her prayer-book is 
still ]jreserved as one of the family treasures. 
Charles Drelinc<jurt Haven was named by 
his grandmother, Polly ( Leonard) Han- 
ford, in honor of the famous French author. 
Jesse Hanford, father oi Shubael, was one 
of the Connecticut minutemen. and was 
killed while in actifin during .Arnold's raid 
along the shore of Long Island. 

When Charles Drelincourt Haven was a 
small boy the family moved to the vicinity 
of Rochester. X. Y.. where the lad made the 
most of the o])])ortunities aft'orded by the 
frontier district school. Later he attended 
IJrockport Collegiate Institute, where he 
afterward taught mathematics for two years. 
-Mr. Haven then .studied law at Moriah, N. 
Y., and was admitted to the Bar in 1849, ^^^^ 
owing to ill health gave up his jjractice and 
went W^est. .\t the time he reached Milwau- 
kee there was nf)t a mile <jf railroad in Wis- 
consin, and he soon entered the engineering 
department of the Milwaukee & Waukesha 
Railroad Cf)m])any ( which later became the 
Milwaukee & Mississijjpi, and is now the 
Prairie (\u Chien di\ision of the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Comjjany), 
remaining with this road twenty-four years. 
Mr. Haven then resigned his position and 
moved to Minneaprilis, where he was a man- 
ufacturer and dealer in lumber for seven- 
teen years. In 1S91 he came to West Su- 
perior, where he bought the business of a 
wholesale commission house dealing in hay. 
grain anrl feed: since 1900 the firm has been 
known as Haven, Larkin & Co. 

Mr. Haven married (first), in 1850. 
Catherine Van \'alkenburg. a native of 
Prattsburg. Steuben Co., X. V.. daughter of 
Jacob and Mary (Iliggins) \'an Valken- 



_'J0 



COMilEMORATR^E B10GRAPI1IC-\L RECORD 



burg, and a descendant of a prominent 
Knickerbocker family. j\irs. Catherine lla- 
\ en died in 1S70, at the age of forty-seven, 
die mother of four children: Allen, who 
died in infancy ; George, a wholesale lumber- 
man of Waterloo, Iowa; Frank, who is a 
grain dealer in Minneapolis; and Catherine, 
w ho died in 1882, at Thomasville, Ga., when 
twenty years old. In 1872, Mr. Haven 
married (second) Sarah lliggins, who was 
born in Bath, Steuben Co., N. Y., daughter 
of the late Dr. John D. lliggins, of Bath, 
anil was a cousin of the first Mrs. Haven. 

Since the Republican party came into 
existence Mr. Haven has been one of its ad- 
herents, but he has neither sought nor ac- 
cepted oflice. 

DAVID A. STOUFFER, a farmer and 
stock raiser of Washburn county, now serv- 
ing as county treasurer, located on his pres- 
ent place in 1887. When he ran the line of 
road north from Shell Lake to his present 
location, with the aid of a pocket com})ass, 
the only other settler in the valley was Ed- 
wanl Hart, a pioneer who kept a tavern for 
teamsters, on the Yellow river. Mr. Stouf- 
fer's tirst purchase was eightv acres of land, 
on which he put up a small frame house and 
moved his family there in the fall of 1887. 
He began dexeloping his farm, working for 
several winter seasons in the logging camps 
in order to earn a little money with which to 
meet current expenses. He was ver}- suc- 
cessful, his work bringing in good results, 
and enabling him to make further purchases, 
so that he now owns 200 acres, of which 120 
are under cultivation, and his improvements 
are equal to tho,<e of any farms in the county. 
Mr. Stouffer was born in Franklin coun- 
ty. Pa,, June 21, 1854, his parents being 
John Elias ami Barbara Lesher Stouft'er, the 
former born in Pennsylvania, and both of 
' ierman descent. His maternal grandpar- 
.nts, were John and Eliza Lesher. His pa- 
ernal grandfather was John Stouffer. Mr. 
Siouffer has three brothers : Abraham Lin- 
i-oln, a blacksmith in the railroad shops at 
Hudson Wis.; Charles, also a blacksmith, 
living in St. Croix county, Wisconsin; and 
Isaiah L, in the general merchandise busi- 



ness at Mowersville, Pa. I'wo sisters live 
near Chambersburg, Pemisylvania. 

Mr. Stouffer was brought up on a farm 
and educated in the public schools, remain- 
ing in I'ennsylvania until he came of age. 
He then went to Pierce county, Wis., at 
that date just emerging from tlie wilderness, 
where for a year he worked as a farm la- 
borer. He saved money, was married to 
Eliza Brannen, and rented a farm in Pierce 
county until 1887, when he moved to Shell 
Lake. He is the father of the following 
children ; Mary, Mrs. Charles Todd, for 
three years a successful teacher in the pub- 
lic schools of the county; Edward Albert, 
a graduate of the Shell Lake high school, 
class of 1902; and David Russell. Dora 
Irene died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Stouf- 
fer are members of the Episcopal Church, 
with which they have been connected for 
many years. 

Mr. Stouft'er has always been a Rci)ub- 
lican, and is a representative man in local 
politics, having held the office of chairman 
of supervisors five terms, and being at pres- 
ent in his third term of office as town clerk. 
He was nominated for county treasurer by 
the Republican county convention held in 
Shell Lake in 1902, was elected at the ensu- 
ing election, and was re-elected in 1904, hav- 
ing proved himself most competent. He has 
been mitch interested in educational matters, 
has worked wisely and efticiently for the es- 
tablishment of schools, and has been a close 
student of current topics of interest and of 
various lines of modem thought. Frater- 
nally he is a member of the L O. O. F., uni- 
ting with Spooner Lodge. 

ALBERT KNOOP, of the firm of Bauer 
& Knoop, proprietors of a sawmill, is one of 
the pioneers of .\sliland county, and was the 
first settler in the present town of Butter- 
nut. He was born in Germany, Dec. 17, 
1847, was rearetl in the Fatherland, and re- 
ceived a good education in the public schools. 
When the Franco-Prtissian war broke out 
Mr. Knoop entered the German army and 
was in the service four years, until after the 
close of hostilities. He was in many of the 
more serious engagements, took part in the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD- 



227 



siegu ut i'aris, was twice wounded, botli at 
Aletz and Gravelolte, and was injured some- 
wliat on other fields. 

After being discharged from tlie army, 
Mr. Knoop, in Marcii, 1872, came to Amer- 
ica, landing in Uaitimore, Md. He went at 
once to Neillsville, Wis., where he lived with 
relatives for two years, working meantime. 
In 1874 he accepted a position as foreman 
with the Wisconsin Central Railroad Com- 
I)any, which was then building its lines, and 
Mr. Knoop remained with the company in 
that capacity for twenty-five years, on the 
Butternut section. At the end of that pe- 
riod he went into the sawmill business with 
Mr. Bauer at Butternut, and they have been 
very successful. The output of the mills is 
about 25,000 feet a day. 

Mr. Knoop was united in marriage with 
Miss Alvina Kruner, of Butternut, a native 
of Germany. In their family are seven chil- 
dren, Ida, Martha, Albert, Rudolph, Ernest, 
William and Amanda. The whole family 
are Lutherans in their religious belief. 

In his political principles Mr. Knoop is a 
Republican and is a good citizen, conserva- 
tive in his views and working for the good of 
the community wherever he may, but not 
taking an active part in general politics. He 
is one of the substantial men of Ashland 
county, and has established himself by his 
own untiring efforts and wisely directed la- 
bor. In his domestic circle he is a good hus- 
band and indulgent father, and in the com- 
munity at large commands genuine respect. 

JOHN THOMAS McDOUGAL, city 
electrician of Superior, Douglas county, is 
a native of County Glengarry, Ont., where 
he was born March 3, 1861. His parents 
were John A. and Clara (Gravely) McDou- 
gal, the former also a native of Glengarry. 

Great-grandfather .Alexander McDougal 
came from Scotland and engaged in the 
lumber business in County Glengarry, where 
he lived to a great age. He had been a 
Loyalist in Scotland. His son Alexander 
continued his business, and his grandson, 
John A., was born in the original home- 
stead, which he still owns. John A. Mc- 



Dougal is still actively engaged in farming, 
although more than sixty-rive years of age. 
He has filled several local positions of re- 
sponsibility, is an influ'intial citizen and a 
Liberal in political belief. His wife, a year 
of two his junior, was born in Martint(jwn, 
Ont., of Scotch and English descent. Her 
father, Aaron Gravely, was a shoemaker, a 
native of Liverpool, England. 

John Thomas McDougal attended the 
grammar and high schools, completing the 
course when he was eighteen years old. In 
1880 he came to the United States, but soon 
returned to Canada and took a course at 
Belleville Commercial College. In 1882 he 
went to the Northwest Territory and carried 
mail for a year or two on the Canadian Pa- 
cific Railway line, then in course of con- 
struction, being obliged to drive long dis- 
tances. He then spent a year with the engi- 
neer corps, engaged in extending the rail- 
way line through British Columbia. After 
spending a winter at home, he went to Port 
Arthur, Ont., and for a year was engaged 
in freighting on the Canadian Pacific. He 
then returned once more to his native place 
and began fitting himself to become an elec- 
trician, a profession which he has since fol- 
lowed. He was employed at Cornwall, 
Brockville and Ottawa, Canada, before com- 
ing to West Superior in September. 1890. 
He was employed for eighteen months by 
the City Water. Light & Power Co.. then 
for a year by the Great Western Electric 
Co.. of Chicago, in the northwest, putting 
in lighting plants in various places. Since 
1894 he has been electrician of the city fire 
department and police telegraph system, 
with Iieadquarters at the Eighteenth street 
Fire Hall, and he also has charge of the fire 
alarm system throughout the city. Since 
1899 Mr. McDougal has been electrical in- 
spector for Superior, having supervision of 
all electrical appliances in the city, this work 
occupying much of his time. 

In April, 1896. Mr. McDougal married 
.Mice Spink, daughter of William and .Ag- 
nes Spink, of Summerstown. Ont. To this 
union have been born four children : Law- 
rence Royden, Clara .\gnes, Kenzie Clar- 



228 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ence and John Alexander. The fannly is 
connected with the Presbyterian Church. 
Mr. McDougal is a member of Superior 

lodge, No. 2>3^' -l- O- <J- ^'■' ='"^^ ^^ ^''^ 
Knights of i\ialta. In publics lie is a Re- 
publican. 

L. j. BISCHEL, the tirst practicing 
lawyer to locate permanently at Ladysinitli, 
Rusk Co., Wis., was born at Chippewa 
P^alls. Wis., in 1876, son of Lawrence and 
Kate (Weiner) Bischel, pioneers of Chippe- 
wa P'alls. They settled there in 1858, w Here 
the father has spent a busy life, ami where 
he still lives. 

Mr. L. J. Bischel was one of ten chil- 
dren born to his parents and the eighth m 
order of birth. His boyhood days were 
spent at Chippewa Falls, where he reccixetl 
his education in the parochial and public 
schools, graduating from the Chippewa 
Falls high school in 1894. By this time 
young Bischel had decided upon his career, 
and m 1895 entered the State University at 
Madison, Wis , there taking a year's literary 
course; in 1896 he entered the law depart- 
ment, from which he was graduated in 
1897. Having been, by virtue of his grad- 
uation from the Law Department of the 
university, admitted to the Bar of the State, 
in September, 1897, Mr. Bischel opened an 
office at Chippewa Prills and remained there, 
successfully engaged, until 1901, when he 
removed to Ladysmitb, which was then just 
coming into prominence. When he opened 
his law office he had the distinction of being 
the first and onlv lawyer in the place. Since 
then he has built up a large and lucrati\e 
practice, which extends tu the adjoining- 
counties. 

Since locating at Ladysmitb, Mr. Bis- 
chel has taken a deep interest in the public 
school and has served earnestly as secretary 
of the school board since the incorporation 
of the village. He is also one of the board 
of visitors of the State Normal School, hav- 
ing been appointed by State Superintendent 
C. P. Carey, and he is well qualified to fill 
the position. Not only is Mr. Bischel a suc- 
cessful man of af^'airs. but he possesses the 



qualities which make him a popular and suc- 
cessful lawyer. In the practice of his pro- 
fession he is enthusiastic and careftilly pre- 
pares his cases, being painstaking, persistent 
and aggressive in defending the interests of 
his clients. He is a student, not only along 
professional lines, but in tlie standard litera- 
ture of the day as well. Socially, he is 
agreeable and courteous, and he enjoys the 
confidence of friends and accjuaintances. 
who thoroughly appreciate the sterling qual- 
ities of the man, his ability as a lawyer, and 
his worth as an honorable and progressive 
citizen. 

T. A. CHARRON, M. D. Rice Lake.. 
Barron Co., Wis., is particularly blessed in 
the matter of physicians, there being within 
its confines a number of distinguished rep- 
resentatives of the medical calling, among 
w hom Dr. T. A. Charron is one of the most 
popular, although he is still a young man. 

Dr. Charron w-as born at St. Hubert. 
Chambly Co., Quebec, Sept. 29, i860, of 
French origin, son of John B. and Delphine 
(Daigneault) Charron. both natives of 
Chambly count)-. John B. Charron was a 
farmer who lived to be seventy-three years 
of age. His father attained the advanced age 
of eighty-nine years, and was killed by a 
fall. Twelve children were born to John B. 
Charron and his wife, eight sons and four 
daughters. 

Dr. Charron had excellent advantages 
for securing an education, having been sent 
to the Montreal College, from the Medical 
Department of which college he was grad- 
uated in 1887. Immediately thereafter he 
came to Rice Lake and commenced what has 
grown into a very large and luy-ative prac- 
tice. In addition to his labors as a physi- 
cian. Dr. Charron owns 312 acres of land 
in the vicinity of Rice Lake, on which he 
has a fine dairy, and makes a specialty of 
breeding Poland China swine and Short 
Horn cattle. He is also the proprietor ot 
two creameries, one being located at Rice 
Lake and the other at Dobie. Dr. Charron 
has been active in politics, and for four 
vears has served as mavor of Rice Lake,. 



COMMEMORA'llXR BIOGRAl'lllCAL Kl-XORD 



coiulucting- the affairs of the town with tlie 
-ame keen foresight he has used in his pri- 
vate affairs, and becoming tliereby still more 
popular. 

Dr. Charron is Cdunecleil with the M. 
W. A., the A. O. U. W. and the Catholic 
Knights, for all of which he is medical ex- 
aminer. He is also a member of the Amer- 
ican Medical Association and the Inter- 
County Aletlical Association, and is much 
\alued in these professional organizations. 

In 1886 Dr. Charron married Cecilia 
Dorris, daughter of N. Dorris, of Montreal, 
and granddaughter on the maternal side of 
Painsonncault Louis, one of the patriots in 
the Rebellion of 1837 in Canada. This re- 
markable old gentleman reached the ad- 
\anced age of ninety-three years. ( )ne 
tlaughter has been born to Dr. and }*lrs. 
Charron, Marie Irene, now a student at the 
Convent of the Holy Name of Montreal. 

SIDXEY EUGENE TUBES is one of 
the liesi knmvn citizens of Superior, Dou- 
glas county, where he has been a resident 
since 1881. He comes of a family famous 
from the early days of our country for its 
patriotic services. The Tubbs family is of 
English origin, and many generations have 
been identified with the life of New Eng- 
land. Grandfather Hazel Tubbs enli.sted at 
Boston in the Continental army, and later 
lived at Saratoga. N. Y. Maternal grand- 
father Jonathan Paul was a cabinet maker, 
who came from Vermont to Canton. St. 
Lawrence Co., N. Y., and died Aug. 19, 
1837. His widow, Betsey (Sanford) Paul, 
afterward lived near Elgin, 111., where she 
married Dr. John Hubbard ; her death oc- 
curred at Decorah. Iowa. Feb. 13, 1880. 
She was a great-niece of Gen. Jeremi.'ili 
(jreene. of Revolutionary fame. Her ])ar- 
ents. Zacariah and Lvdia Sanford. lived ti:) a 
\ery old age, and died near lilgin, Illinois. 

Sidney Eugene Tubbs was born Jan. to, 
i84ri. in Chemung. McMenry Co.. III., son 
of Sidney B. and Lydia ( Paul) Tubbs, the 
latter a native of Vermont, and the former 
one of the pioneer farmers of Chemung, 
where he locateil about 1842. dying there a 



few years later. .\s his parents died during 
his boyhood, a few years were spent with 
his maternal grandfather, and July 5, 1862, 
-Mr. Tubbs enlisted at Decorah, Iowa, being 
enrolled Aug. 5, i86j, in Company E, 38th 
I. V. I., afterward consolidated with Com- 
pany K, 34th Iowa. Most of his service 
was with the Department of the Gulf, and 
he received his discharge Sept. 16, 1865. 
He was in the siege of Vicksburg, of Fort 
Morgan and of Fort Gaines, and with Gen. 
Banks in two campaigns up the Red river 
and in Te.xas. Although escaping wounds 
and ca])ture, Mr. Tubl)s was tlie victim of 
sunstroke at Vicksburg. where his regiment 
lay under fire in the trenches for thirty-two 
(lavs. While in that vicinity thirty-two per 
cent of his regiment was unfitted for duty, 
and at one time only eleven men of his com- 
pany were able to be in the field. After the 
fall of Vicksburg, Mr. Tubbs was much of 
llie time on detached duty. At the close of 
the war he returned to Decorah, where he 
lived for some years, during which time he 
served as clerk and deputy clerk of court. 
In 1 88 1 he came to Su])erior to take charge 
of the office and supjiljes of the construction 
company of the Chicago, St. Paul. Minne- 
apolis & Omaha Railroad, then in course of 
construction to Superior, remaining in that 
position two years. In 1883 he \vas ap- 
pointed by President Arthur postmaster at 
Superior, serving as such about three years. 
He served two terms as clerk of court for 
Douglas county, and was the first secretary 
of the board of education of the city of Su- 
])crior. From 1899 to 1902 he was secre- 
tary of the board of health and manager of 
the Daily Marnincr Leader of Superior. Mr. 
Tubbs has always been an active Republi- 
can and has been a delegate to many local 
and State conventions. For some vears he 
dealt in l)of)ks and stationery at Superior, 
and for a number of years past he has l)een 
engaged in comj)iling a history of his regi- 
ment, which is now readv for nublication. 

On Dec. 2d, 1867. Mr. Tubbs nnrried 
Mnerie T. McKay. dauHiter of .\nios T. and 
Fliznlipth fTodon"^ McKay, early settlers in 
Decorah. Iowa. The ancestors of the Jodon 



CO-\LMEAiORATi\E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



family were French Huguenots, who came 
to this counti")- with La Eayelte and settletl 
in Maryhuid, after serving tlirough the Re\- 
ohitionary war. Mrs. JiHzabeth (Jodon) 
JMcKa)' was also a descendant of Commo- 
dore Ferry. Col. McKay, father of .\mos 
J., was a Scotch-irishman who came to the 
United States and gained his title in the Li- 
dian wars and in the Mexican war. He was 
a tailor by trade and a prominent pioneer 
citizen of Water ford, La., where many of his 
posterity still live. Amos J. McKay and his' 
only son, Alfred J\L, served in the Civil 
war in Company D, 6th Iowa Cav., being en- 
gaged in the Sioux campaign under Gen. 
Sully in Minnesota and Dakota. Mr. and 
]\Irs. Tubbs are the parents of two daught- 
ers: Lydia I., clerk in the postoffice depart- 
ment of the city; and Elizabeth E., a teach- 
er in the public kindergarten of Superior. 
The family are members of the Methodist 
Chtuxh. as their ancestors have been for 
generations. Mr. Tubbs is a charter mem- 
ber of Alonzo Palmer Post, G. A. R., at 
Superior, in which he has filled many offi- 
cial positions, among which was that of 
commander for several terms, and of junior 
vice of the Department of Wisconsin ; a 
number of times he was honored with posi- 
tions on the staff, and was department and 
national commander of that organizati(~in. 

JAMES A. iLVTCHETTE (deceased) 
was a very highly esteemed citizen of Rusk 
county. A\'is. Mr. Matchette was born in 
1852 in Canada, and was reared there until 
the age of ten years, when his parents moved 
to New York, and later to Wisconsin. They 
settled in Jackson county, where the late 
James A. INIatchette grew to manhood and 
obtained his education in the public schools. 

Mr. TMatchette made his home principal- 
ly in Jackson and Monroe counties until 
some thirty-two vears ago, when he lived 
several years in Chippewa coimtv. In 1806 
he came to Rusk township. Rusk county, 
then Chippewa, and settled on a farm where 
he made his home during the balance of his 
life. Here he developed a farm of 140 
acres. Tn tqot 'Sir. 'Matchette was elected 



ciiairman of the town of Rusk on the lirst 
board of the county, and so well did he dis- 
charge his duties that he was reelected twice 
subsequently, serving continuously. Pie was 
a Republican in politics, was a delegate to 
C(,)nventions and took an active interest in 
local matters. He was an honored member 
of the Masonic and Odd Fellow fraternities, 
holding a membership by demit in the Alys- 
tic Tie lodge at Ladysmith, and also, by 
card, in the Ladysmith Odd Fellows lodge. 

The death of Mr. Matchette occurred 
Jan. 1, 1904, and he was survived by his 
six children: A. L., register of deeds of 
Rusk county; Paulina, Grace, Mina, Ruth 
and Clarence. 

A. L. ]\L-\TCHETTE, eldest son ol the late 
James A., was born in 1872 in Chippewa 
county. Wis., and was educated for a teacher 
in his native county. For several years he 
followed the profession very successfully in 
Chippewa and Rusk counties, but settled in 
Ladysmith in 1901, after being appointed 
deputy register of deeds, under Dr. W. F. 
O'Connor, who was register. Li 1902 Mr. 
Matchette received at the hands of the Re- 
])ublican party the nomination for register 
which resulted in his election. 

Mr. Matchette was married to Aliss 
Mary Clark, of Jackson county, ^^"is., and' 
they have five living children: Lyman. 
Lois, Gladys, Fa}^ and Doris. Mr. ]\ lat- 
ch ette is a member of Mvstic Tie Lodge at 
Ladysmith. A. F. & A. M. ; the I. O. O. F., 
at Ladysmith. and the Roval Purple En- 
cam])ment at Ladysmith. Pie is a zealous 
member of the Republican party, and on 
many occasions has been selected as delegate 
to im]iortant conventions. 

SILAS POTTER OAKES, one of Su- 
perior's highly esteemed citizens, is a native 
of the State of ^^'isconsin, torn in New 
Richmond, Oct. 8. 1838. 

The Oakes family is of combined 
French and English lineage. Levi Jefferson 
Oakes. father of Silas P., was a native of 
'Maine, but located in Wisconsin about T850. 
PTe was emploved in logging around Green 
Pay for several years and then took up gov- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



23' 



eminent land near New Richmond, wlieie 
he has a hnely improved farm. He is now 
about eighty-live years old, a man of quiet, 
unostentatious nature, who has never wished 
to stand prominently before the eyes of the 
public. Mr. Oakes was twice married, lirst 
to Mary Potter, by whom he had four chil- 
dren: Silas P.; Charles, of Superior; Wil- 
liam and Frederick, both of New Richmond. 
Mary ( Potter) Oakes died in 1872, at the 
age of thirty-seven, and Mr. Oakes took for 
his second wife Mrs. Mary Morgan. I^>y 
her previous marriage she was the mother 
of four children : Mrs. D. D. Sally, of St. 
Croix Falls, Wis.; Mrs. M. Rockestad. of 
Rockestad, Minn. ; Mary Amelia, the de- 
ceased wife of Silas P. Oakes; and Hall 
Morgan. 

Silas P. Oakes attended the public 
schools during his boyhood, and also took 
the elementary course at River Falls Nor- 
mal School. He taught for two terms, and 
in 1882 settled in Superior. He had i)rc- 
viously learned the carpenter's trade and 
followed that for some years, but since 1890 
he has given most of his time to contracting, 
pile-driving and house moving, and has a 
number of men in his employ. Four years 
after locating in Superior he built his home 
on W^est Seventh street, where he has since 
resided. He also owns more or less other 
real estate. 

In 1882 Mr. Oakes married IMary 
Amelia Morsran, the daughter of his step- 
mother. Mrs. Oakes was born in Hudson, 
Wis., in 1862, but died while yet a young 
woman in 1894, leaving three children : Mil- 
dred, Jennie and Frank. By her first mar- 
riage she had one son. George Grimes, who 
has iust completed a three-year term of ser- 
vice in the United States armv. Two years 
later Mr. Oakes married again, choosincr as 
his bride Christine. dTuehtcr of Michael and 
Carrie Johnson, of Deer Park. Wis. Mrs. 
Christine T. Oakes was liorn in Norway but 
came to this country with her parents when 
only five years old. 

Mr. Oakes is a member of two fraternal 
orders, thr- A O. U. W. and the I. O. O. F., 
and has p'i«'^ed all the chairs in both socie- 



ties. In his politics he has always been a 
Republican, although taking no active part 
in campaign work. With his family he at- 
tends the Presbyterian Church, and all are 
most highly esteemed in the community. 

W O. STKANDHh:RG, an enterpris- 
ing Scandinavian-American citizen of Hur- 
ley, Wis., and for several years editor of 
the Iron County Republican, is now a mem- 
ber of the printing firm of Strandberg & 
Lennon.' His father, E. G. Strandberg, was 
a native of Sweden, where he was educated 
in a military school, and also learned the 
trade of carpenter. He entered the Swedish 
army in which he served for many years as 
an ofliccr. He finally left the army, and in 
1870 came with his family to the United 
States, settling in New York City. He was- 
connected with various business enterprises, 
liut was chiefly engaged in railroad contract 
work, .'\mong the contracts which he filled 
was that for the work on the New York 
Central railroad between Spuyten DuyviT 
and New York City. In 1888 he tought 
and settled on a farm near Antigo, Wis., 
where his death occurred the same vear. His 
wife, who was formerly Anna L. Erickson, 
is still living, making her home with her 
.son, W. O. Strandbere. They had a family 
of four children as follows : Mary, wife of 
bihn Mitchell, of Jersey City, N. J.; Anna, 
deceased; W. O., mentioned below; and 
Charles, deceased. 

W. O. Strandberg was born in Carlstad, 
Sweden, Sent. 28, 1862. and came to the 
United States with his parents in 1870. He 
was educated mainly in the Drew Seminary 
of New York City, and after completing his 
studies there learned the trade of printer. 
He worked at his trade in New York City 
for a time and then found employment as a 
printer in various parts of the country, going 
in 1885 to Bessemer, Mich., where he and 
his brother Charles worked in the mines. 
After a short time thcv both came to Hurley 
and became connected with the Iron Coy.nty 
KcpuJilican. This paper had been started 
under the management of W. H. Bridge- 
man, the nrcsent owner of the SUivJcv Re- 



2T,2 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



porter, of Stanley, Wis. Cliarles Slrand- 
berg" was associated with Mr. tJridgemaa in 
the new enterprise, and after a few years 
bought out the latter's interest. F. B. Hand 
then came in as a partner and tliey jointly 
conducted the Iron County Republican and 
the Montreal Miner until the death of 
Charles, April 21, 1901. After Dec. 11, 
1901, W. O. Strandberg was sole owner of 
the Iron County Republican as long as it was 
printed. He then became senior member of 
the firm of Strandberg & Lennon. 

Mr. Strandberg has never married. He 
is a member of the F. & A. M., Blue Lodge, 
No. 24, of Euclid, North Dakota. 

CHARLES GUTEKUNST, senior 
member of the firm of Gutekunst & Hein, 
furniture dealers and undertakers in Hurley, 
was born in the Black Forest, in Germany, 
Sept. 17. 1848, son of John G. and Marga- 
retta (Kinzlin) Gutekunst. John G. Gute- 
kunst was a blacksmith by trade and- fol- 
lowed that occupation for some years. Later 
he was employed for a few years as a watch- 
man in the Black Forest, and then for twen- 
ty years was an alderman. His wife died 
in 1853, but he lived in his native country 
until January, 1903, dying at the age_ of 
•>eighty-five. They were the parents of sev- 
en children, of whom Charles was the 
fourth. 

Charles Gutekunst attended the com- 
mon schools in his native place until he was 
fourteen years old. He then learned the 
trade of cabinetmaker and worked at that 
occupation in Germany until 1868, when he 
came to the United States. He settled in 
Coldwater, Mich., where he worked at cab- 
inetmaking for five years, and then moved 
to Sebewaing, Mich., where he remained 
until June, 18S9. At that time he came to 
Hurley, and was in the employ of different 
furniture dealers until 1895, when he and 
John Hein went into partnership, opening 
a furniture store and undertaking establish- 
ment. The business is still conducted by 
this firm. They carry a large and varied 
stock of furniture, and do the only undertak- 
ing business in Hurlev. 



yiv. (hitekunst married, Oct. 24, 1871, 
^lary ]s[. Denner, of Coldwater, Mich., 
daughter of Leonard and ^Marguerite (.My- 
ers) Denner, both natives of Germany. .\lr. 
Denner was for many years a railroad man 
in Coldwater, where he died in 1902, aged 
eighty-seven years. Mrs. Denner died at 
the home of a daughter in Toledo, Ohio, in 
1903, aged eighty-three. They had a fam- 
ily of four children, Mrs. Gutekunst being 
the third. To Mr. and Mrs. Gutekunst the 
following children have been born : Eliza- 
beth, wife of Michael Krusbach, of Bessem- 
er, Mich. ; Carl J., a Lutheran minister, of 
Washburn, Wis. ; Anna, deceased ; and 
Mary M., wife of George Proscheck, of 
Hurley. The family belongs to the German 
Lutheran Church. Mr. Gutekunst is a Re- 
publican in ijolitics and filled the office of 
town treasurer for a year. 

JOHN HEIN, of the furniture house of 
Gutekunst & Hein, has been a resident of 
Hurley since 1888. He was born on a farm 
near Hartford, Wis., Sept. 18, 1862, son of 
Matthew and Mary (Snyder) Hein, both 
natives of Alsace Lorraine, France. When 
a boy of twelve Matthew Hein came 
with his parents from France to the United 
States, where they settled on a farm at 
Hartford. He lived the life of a farmer, 
and he died in 1880 in Hartford. His wife 
died at the home of her son John, in Hurley, 
June 21, 1904, aged eighty-six years. Mat- 
thew Hein and his wife had a family of 
seven children, John being next to the 
youngest. 

John Hein was brought up on the home 
farm, where he remained imtil he was four- 
teen years old. He then went to work in 
the lumber repions. being employed there 
for seven vears, after which he secured a po- 
sition as street car conductor in Milwaukee, 
continuing thus for two years. Returning 
to Hartford he bought a farm, which he 
carried on until 1888. In that year he came 
to Hurley and was einploved for seven years 
as a car repairer bv the Northwestern Rnil- 
wav Compnny. at that time known as the 
Lake Shore. In 1895 he went into partner- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



233 



ship -.vith Charles Gutekunst in the furniture 
and undertaking- business. Their store is 
the largest furniture house in Hurley, and 
they have the only undertaking establish- 
ment in the city. 

Mr. Hein married, July 28, 1880, Mag- 
gie Thill, of Port Washington, Wis., 
daughter of Jacob Thill, who was for many 
years a contractor in Port Washington, and 
now lives retired on one of his farms near 
that town. His wife died in 1899. Si.x 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Hein : Nicholas, a brakeman on the Xorth- 
western railroad : Julia, Josephine, Adolph 
and Freda, all at school ; and Lawrence. 
The family are members of the Catholic 
Church. ^Ir. Hein is a member of the Cath- 
olic Order of Foresters, Court Xo. 274. at 
Hurley, and of the Catholic Knights of Wis- 
consin, Council Xo. 91, of Hurley. In poli- 
tics he is a Republican. 

iNiAT. ADELBERT KEXT, one of the 
oldest settlers in the vicinity of Shell Lake. 
Washburn county, is well known as an in- 
telligent and public-spirited citizen. He was 
born in Onondaga county, X. Y., Nov. 13, 
1837, son of Ira and Lucrelia (Chittenden) 
Kent, the former a native of Massachusetts. 

The ancestors of Ira Kent came from 
England in early Colonial days, one of them 
being a captain in the Continental army, 
from Massachusetts. Ira Kent became a 
forwarding commission merchant, with 
headquarters in Rochester, N. Y., his goods 
Ijeing transported by the Erie Canal. He 
was a prosperous and highly esteemed citi- 
zen ; his death occurred during the early 
boyhood of his son Nat. Adelbert. Mrs. Lu- 
cretia (Chittenden) Kent, a native of Ver- 
mont, was an active, well-preserved woman 
until her eighty-ninth vear, when she died 
at Jordan, Onondaga Co., X'. Y., in 1879. 
Of her eleven children the only living ones 
are .\sher. a farmer in Jordan ; and Nat. 
Adelbert, mentioned below. One of her an- 
cestors was the first from that State to fall 
in the Revolutionars'- war. and a monument 
lias been erected to his memnrv. 

The bovhoo<l of Nat. Aflelbert Kent was 



passed in his native place, where he received 
<i good commcjn school education. On Sept. 
30, 18O2, he enlisted in Company G, 154th 
X. Y. V. 1., serving until discharged June: 
26, 1865. Until 1864 he was in the Army 
of the Potomac, when the nth Army Corps, 
to which his regiment belonged, was trans- 
ferred to the West, becoming part of the 20th 
Army Corps, and taking part in Sherman's 
Atlanta campaign, in the famous march to 
the sea, and subsequently across the Caro- 
linas to Washington. A.mong the principal 
engagements in which Mr. Kent partici- 
pated were Chancellorsville, the chief en- 
gagements of Sherman's army from Chat- 
tanooga to Atlanta, Bentonville and Golds- 
boro, X. C. He was present at the surrender 
of Gen. Johnston, and at tlie Grand Review 
in Washington, being mustered out at Blad- 
ensburg, Md., and discharged at Elmira, 
N. 1., escaping without capture or serious 
wounds. After the war Mr. Kent went to 
Red Wing, Minn., and from there to Still- 
water, where for three years he was clerk for 
Walker, Judd & Veazie. lumbermen, who 
were operating a huge logging camp on the 
Totogatic river, in Washburn county, at a 
place since known at Veazie. In 1876 he 
took up a homestead claim in the Bashaw 
valley, in Burnett county. Section 24, Town 
38, Range 14. six miles west of the present 
village of Shell Lake. In 1881 he was ap- 
pointed a railway mail clerk 1)v Hon. Thad- 
deus C. Pound, of Chippewa Falls, and held 
this position until May i, 1901, when he 
resigned. His route was first between St. 
Paul and Elroy. then between St. Paul and 
.Xshland, and then for ten years between 
Eau Claire and Ashland. Mr. Kent is with 
one exception, the oldest resident in the vi- 
cinity of Shell Lake, and continues to live 
on liis farm of 200 acres, which is improved 
with first-class buildines. etc. He served 
a number of years as chairman of the town 
of Bashaw, Burnett county, which at that 
time comprised all the present county of 
Washburn. Later he was chairman of the 
town of Rusk. Burnett county. He has 
nlwavs been a stalwart Reniiblinn. and has 
taken part in ninny conventions. 



-o4 



COMMKMORAriN 1-: BlOC.RArilkAI. KlaOKD 



Oil Ji\ly _% 1879. .Mr. Kom luaniovl 
(^fm^it) Kibhi.* Shinawa. a native oi lUunoit 
cxnimy. who liiovl Maa-ft ^5. i8o8, as^xxl t'oi- 
ty years. He nwrrievl (^secv^inH (.tci. 10. 
1898. Mary Thayer, also a native ot lUtr- 
nett cvninty. Mr. Kent has been iilentitunl 
since iv^85 witli the ^hlsonio order. an>.l is 
at pres^nt a member of Shell Lake Loilijv. 
Ko. 3(^. l\au Claire Chapter. R. A. ^1.. anil 
Kau Claire Conuwatulerv-, Xo. 8. K. T. He 
is also a luemlxM- ot Crescent Chapter, Xo. 
17. O. K. S.. at Shell Lake. 

LOKi:X W. lU:i:iU:. M. p. First a 
phannacist. and later a physician. Dr. 
Beebe, of Snptrior, Potisilas Co.. Wis., has, 
by the adoption of the latter pnifessioti, fol- 
lowevl the fix^steps i>f his father, who was 
a sviccessful practitiojier of the Xorthwest. 

Constatitine Reebe, the jjrattd father of 
our subject, a native of the State of Xew 
York, nianieti Miss White, and in his early 
life was a farmer in Genesee county. M"ich. 
For thirty years he was a drussfist in Oviil, 
ClintoT) Co.. Mich., whea^ he dievl in i8o(\ 
ajitHl seventy-nitie years. Casper \'. Reel>e. 
the father of T.oren \\'.. was Kirn in Gen- 
esee county, Mich., in 1844. He there tuar- 
ricvl Maria C, Dickinson, a native of the 
same amtity. In his youth he had nttendcvl 
Flint (Michistin'* high school, and the Uni- 
versity of Michisi-an. Tie stvulied me^Iicine 
with a physician at Grand Blanc. Mich., and 
in 1870 was graduated froiu the meilical 
dep:\rtment of the l^niversitv of Michisran. 
For ten years he was a omctitioner at Ovid. 
Mich., and for the ensninc tne veTrs he 
practiceil at Howell, in the same State, He 
was then at Manistee until 188-. when he 
removeil to Superior. Wis., and there con- 
tinued in practice utitil his death in Fehrn- 
ar\*. t8o6. His widow is still a resident of 
Superior. Their children were T.oren W. ; 
Tessie B., wife of T, P. Lord; Pauline, wife 
of Theodore T. Worthman: and Frankie C, 
v.. all of West Superior. 

Loren W. Beelx? was Ixmi March 7. i8(\;. 
in Genesee county. He receive*! a thorough 
eihication in the Mani.stee high school, and 
for a time was a student at the Universitv 



ot Michigan. He then became a drnggist 
and pharmacist at Ovid and Flint, .\iich. 
His choice of a life work, however, was 
iiiedicine. and in 1887 he entered the medi- 
cal deiurtnient of the L'niversity of Michi- 
g~an, remaining- one year, and then entered 
Rush Mevlical College, (."hicago. from which 
school he was graduated in i8gi. In that 
s;utie year he locaieil tor the practice ot his 
pn^fession at West Superior, where he is 
engxigevl in gxMteral practice, and is meeting 
with gratifying- success. He has since sup- 
plemented his previous training by a lecture 
course at Rush Mi\lical College. 

At Stillwater. Minn., in 1804. 1^>- Beebe 
was married to Miss Lillian Jlenton .Peii- 
ningiou. a native of that State. In ixilitics 
he is a tuember of the Republican jxirty. 
Among- the siK-ial orgxmizations with which 
he is ideutitied are tlie A. O. U. W., the 
Moilern \\\xHhnen. b\nesters. Maccabees. 
Knights of Pythias, 1. O. O. F.. and the 
Knights of the Loyal lluard. 

ROBFRT C. MlTCHl-U.L. evlitor and 
publisher of the ir<-<-A7v Trihunol in Duluth. 
was Ikmu in Bloomingburg-, Ohio. Sept. i(^. 
183J. .son of Williant and Lydia Mitolicll. 

After completing- a common school edu- 
cation. Mr, Mitchell entered Walvish Col- 
lege in Indiana, and was graduated from 
that institution with the class of i86v. Even 
Ivfore leaving college he had decided upon 
a*lopting the leg-il ptvfession, and in i86j 
he was admitted to the Bar. Before settling 
in Duluth. in 18(10, he resided for sometime 
in Anoka a->unty, Minn., where he was act- 
ively connected with kxwl political work, 
and where he for finir venrs held the oftice 
of county attorney, .\fterwards circum- 
stances led him info daily jounialism. and 
for two years he was the editor and propri- 
etor of the Daily I'ltioti at St. Joe. Mo, 
I^pon coming to Duluth he established the 
U'crkly Tribiiiir, which in 1880 be changed 
to a daily and he pnhli.^heil the Tribune for 
twenty-one years. The 7>i7>mh«" tuially ab- 
sorlxHl the Poilv Xc^n'S and is now published 
as the \>:cs-fribinh\ Mr. Mitchell held 
the otVice of Register of the Unitctl States 



COMMEMORATIVE BlOGRAi'illCAL RECORD 



land office from 1876 to i88o. In 1894 he 
again entered tlie field of journalism and 
esiabiisiied tiie H'cckly Tribunal, of which 
pajH-T he is still the editor and proprietor, 
and it is generally considered as one of the 
ablest and most iiitluential weekly papers in 
the State. It is Rcpuhlican in its p<jlitical 
bias. 

Mr. Mitchell was united in marriage in 
1862 to Miss Frances L. iiulburd, daughter 
of E. S. and L/jrinda iiulburd. To this 
marriage four sons have been Ixjrn : Horace 
H., Harold E., Robert C, and Max R. 

Mr. Mitchell has lK.-en deeply influenced 
by the advance<J thought of the day and in 
religious matters holds the views of the 
Agnostics, and he has had many a battle 
with the clergy in defense of his religious 
beliefs. 

JAMES H. CAXXOX. a hotel man of 
many years' experience, well-known as the 
proprietor of the "Burton House," at Hur- 
ley, Wis., and the "Curry Hotel," at Iron- 
wxjd, Mich., was born in Ireland, Dec. 3, 
1840. When he was seven years old he 
came with his parents, Dennis and Xancy 
( Sweeney) Cannon, to Wilmington, Del., 
where his mother died within a year. Den- 
nis Cannon was a stationary engineer by 
profession, but after living a few years in 
the East, he came out West and l^ecame en- 
gaged in farming at Portage City, Wis., 
where he remained until his death, in .April, 
1902, in his ninety-third year. By his first 
wife he was the father of four children. 
James H. l>eing the eldest. He married 
(second) Cecelia McCurty. also a native of 
Ireland, who died at Portage in 1896. To 
this union were born eiglit children, all liv- 
ing. 

James H. Cannon had little opportunity 
for schooling, and when he was twelve 
years old he went to work in a hotel in Wil- 
mington. Del. Two years later he accom- 
panied his father to Wisconsin, remaining 
at home on the farm until i860. He then 
became steward in the "Iowa Central" hotel 
at Clinton. Iowa, and in the fall of i8^r. 
tofjk the position of steward at the "Old 



Berks House," and then at the "Le Clair. ' 
in this same year he enlisted for service ni 
the Union army, bilt was never sworn in. 
in 1864 he ojjened a bakery, having a gov- 
ernment contract to bake for the Union sol- 
diers, and for Confederate prisoners. After 
a year he gave up this business and moveri 
to Lebanon, Wis., on account of his* health. 
There he cleared a farm on which he re- 
mained until 1869, when he went to i*"ord 
River, .Mich., to take charge of a large 
Ixjarding house for the Ford River Lumljer 
Company. He remained in that place until 
1876, going then U> Xew L/^ndon, Wis., 
where he carried on a restaurant for three 
years. At the end of that time he secured 
the contract for supplying ffXid to the con- 
struction gang and track layers, at work 
l>etween Clintonvilie and Gogebic on the 
Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western railroad 
— now the Xorthwestern road. He gave up 
this contract in 1885 to assume charge of 
the railway eating houses for the same cryvn- 
pany. of which he continued to have the 
management until 1900. In that year he 
came to Hurley, where he opened the "Bur- 
ton House," and soon after the "Curry 
Hotel," of Ironwo^)d, Mich., both of which 
he owned and conducted. At Xe\v London 
he helped to establish the fair grounds, and 
there he also built the race track. He owns 
a stock farm at Xew London, where he 
breeds fanc\' catttle and race hor.ses. Among 
other record horses he raised Morine, a 
pacer, with a record of 2 :i3J^. 

Mr. Cannon married Feb. 11, 1863. El- 
len Hawkins, daughter of Peter and Bridget 
fDufify) Hawkins, Ixjth natives of Ireland, 
\\h>> came to the United States in 1848. 
Mr. Hawkins was a farmer in Lel^inon, 
\\'is., where he died at the age of seventy- 
eight. His wife li%ed to be seventy-seven 
years of age. Four of the nine children Ixirn 
to Mrs. and Mrs. Cannon, are living, as 
follows: Margaretta, Mrs. B. Ji-'hnston, of 
Bessemer, Mich., mother of four children; 
James H.. Jr., engaged in the hotel business 
with b's f-*her; Mamie. Mrs. B. D. Stim- 
vm. of Xew London. Wis.: and X'ettie. at 
home. The family are memliers of the 



2^b 



CO-MMEMORATR'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Catholic Church. .Mr. Cannon is independ- 
ent in pohtics antl was the first township 
treasurer of Ford River, Mich. Eraternally 
he is a member of tlie Cathohc Kniglits of 
Wisconsin, No. ib, of New London; and of 
the Knights of Cohimbus, Xo. 66y, of 11 ur- 
ley. 

CAPT. JOHN C. BECKWITH, who 
is the efficient and well-known clerk of the 
Circuit court of Barron county, is a native 
of the Empire State, having been born in 
Livingston county Aug. 13. 1S41. He is 
descended from New England parentage, 
being a son of John G. and Mary A. (Gar- 
rison) Beckwitli. the former of whom was 
born in the historic city of Hartford, Conn., 
the latter in Saugerties. N. Y. Capt. Beck- 
with's paternal grandfather. John Beckwitli, 
was a scion of a Colonial family, members 
of which served in the patriot army during 
the Revolutionary war which gave inde- 
pendence to the .\merican colonies. About 
1840 he moved to Ohio, where his death oc- 
curred. The Captain's maternal grantl fa- 
ther, Henrv Garrison, was likewise descend- 
ed from a Colonial family, and during the 
Revolutionary war was impressed by the 
British and forced into the ranks of the 
Royal army to tight against his compatriots. 
A family tradition has it that his wife, upon 
the occasion of his being taken away by the 
King's soldiers, ran after them and offered 
as a ransom for his liberty a number of gold 
pieces carried in her apron, which were re- 
jected. He however, remained loyal to his 
country, and when an opportunity came de- 
serted and joined himself to Washington's 
armv, with which he remained until the end 
of the war. Capt. Beckwith's father was 
reared in Hartford. There in his earlv life 
he was employed in an axe factorv. Later 
he removed to the State of New York anil 
followed the trade of painting in .\lbany. 
He came to Wisconsin in 1871, and died in 
Barron at the age of seventy-four years. 
Whilo livine in Barron countv he acceptably 
filled the oflfices of justice of the peace and 
deputy sheriff. His wife departed this life 
in 1900, aged seventy-six years. 



Capt. Beckwith's opportunities for ob- 
taining an education were limited. He hatl 
not yet reached his majority when the South 
withdrew from the Union, inaugurating 
Civil war. He became animated with the 
spirit of his Revolutionary forebears, and felt 
it to be his duty he help preserve what they 
had helped to found, an indivisible union, 
and accordingly, on Oct. 5, 1862, attached 
himself to Company D, 6th N. Y. V. L, be- 
ing mustered in as a corporal. For fourteen 
months following his enlistment he was in 
active service, and took part in some of the 
haril fought battles of the war. At Gettys- 
burg- he received a wound in the neck. For 
meritorious service in that battle he was 
l)romoted to sergeant and later to tirst lien- 
tenant, and owing to disabilities incurred in 
the service he was discharged in December, 
1863. After recovering his health he re- 
ceived a commission as recruiting agent, and 
enlisted Company D, 187th N. Y. V. L, of 
which he was appointed captain. With his 
command he returned to the front, remain- 
ing in active service, fighting at Fredericks- 
burg and other engagements. Tn one of the 
battles before Petersburg, his regiment, 
while charging a Rebel batterv' which it cap- 
tured, lost seventy men. During the last 
year of his service, his company had charge 
of the regimental colors. He remained in 
active service until the war was over, being 
present at Appomattox, where the intrepid 
Lee laid d(~>wn his sword to the "Silent Com- 
mander." 

Captain Beckwitli came to W'isconsin, 
settling in Columbia county in 1871. and 
there maintained his residence for three 
years. While living there he suffered the 
loss of his home by fire, and was unable to 
collect an insurance policv of fourteen hun- 
dred dollars, owing to the insolvency of the 
coiunany. In 1873 'i^ came to Barron coun- 
tv. then practically a virgin forest, and es- 
tablished himself upon a homestead claim 
in Barron townshin. which he still owns. In 
the civic and socinl affairs of the countv he 
has taken a creditable part. His political 
creed is embmced in the principles of the Re- 
publican party, to which he has remained a 



COMMEiMURATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



237 



stanch adhciciit llirougiiuul all the years he 
has exercised his suffrage at the polls. His 
first Presidential vote was cast fur the mar- 
tyred Lincoln, while a soldier in the field. 
\\ hile living in Barron county Capt. Beck- 
with has had a voice in the local councils of 
his party and frequently has been its rep- 
resentative to local conventions. At the fall 
election of 1902 he was elected to his pres- 
ent position, and in 1904, was renominated 
by acclamation. For twenty years he ac- 
ceptably served his townsmen as justice of 
the peace. He is a charter member of Mar- 
tin \\'atson Pt)st, G. A. R., of which he is 
the present Commander. He is also a mem- 
ber of the Masonic fraternity. 

Capt. Beckwith was married, in 1883, to 
Anna, daughter of James and Mary (Stu- 
art) Craig, the former a native of Scotland. 
Mrs. Beckwith was born in New York. To 
this union have been born nine living chil- 
dren : Mary, Mrs. Silas Calhoun, of Ver- 
non county. Wis. ; George W., of Polk coun- 
ty, same State; Emma, Mrs. William Bart- 
lett, of Barron ; William, of the same place ; 
Harry, of Chetek; and Sarah; Jennie, Etta 
and Edwin who are still at home. The pos- 
terity of Capt. Beckwith and his wife in- 
cludes eleven grandchildren. 

r 

HON. CARL JOIIX XORQUIST. a 
\vell-kn(jwn Scandinavian-American citizen 
of West Superior. Douglas county, was born 
Feb. 8. 1859. at Jonkoping. Sweden. His 
parents were Carl A. and Stina (Anderson) 
Xorcjuist, natives of Jonkoping, who came 
in 1863 to the Unitecl States and settled at 
Red W ing. Minn. They are now living at 
Pasken Lake. Wis., quite advanced in years. 

The early boyhfKxl of Carl John Xor- 
quist was passed in Red \\'ing. Minn., and 
in Pierce county. Wis. He grew uj) on the 
farm, spent some time in a machine shop and 
at eighteen took charge of the farm. The 
next year he opened a jewelry store in Red 
W^ing. carrying on that business for two 
years, and for two additional years was en- 
gaged in the livery bu>iness. Alx)ut 1887 
he went to Minneapolis as general agent for 
the Century Piano Co., and for other con- 



cerns. Ill 1890 he came to Superior, where 
he opened the first general agency for the 
Century Piano Co. at the Head of the Lakes, 
and also became a wood and coal dealer. 
Since the spring of 1898 he has been immi- 
gration agent for the Duluth South Shore & 
Atlantic Railway Co., and has been instru- 
mental in locating many settlers in northern 
W isconsin and Michigan, in 1893 Mr. Xor- 
quist was elected alderman and reelected in 
1894 and 1895, being chairman in the city 
council, of the committee on Streets and 
Bridges, Harlxtrs, Docks and Railways. At 
the time of the great forest fires at Hinckley, 
Minn., when many people lost their lives 
and thousands were made homeless, he was 
president of the council, and acting mayor, 
and in this emergency was very active in 
providing for the sufferers, many of whom 
sought refuge in Superior. In 1898 Mr. 
Xorquist was nominated for member of the 
Assembly on the Republican ticket, but, with 
the entire ticket, was defeated in the political 
landslide of that year. Always prominent 
in gatherings of the Scandinavians of Su- 
perior, acting as toastmaster on many oc- 
casions, he has perhaps done more than any 
other citizen for the advancement of the 
Scandinavian residents of northern Wiscon- 
sin. In 1894 he was president of the S. H. 
& E. F. of America, a Scandinavian relief 
and bene\olent association. 

On Aug. 28. 1880. Mr. Xorquist mar- 
ried Augusta W. Anderson, of Red ^^ ing. 
and to this union have been born the follow- 
ing children : Carl E., for the past four 
years a page in the House of Representa- 
tives at Washington, D. C. and now with 
the Western Exjiress Co.. at Superior; Clar- 
ence H. ; Marion ; and Frances V. The 
family are members of the Swedish Lutheran 
Church. 

CHARLES M. HL'MPHREV has 
since Jan. i, 1891, been a resident of Iron- 
wood, ^lich.. where he is a well known at- 
torney. Although born in Ohio, lie may be 
reckoned a son of Michigan. ha\ing lived in 
that State since he was three rears of age. 
He was born in Elyria. Ohio, July 17, 1865. 



238 



COMMEMORATIVE BlOGRAriilCAL RECORD 



and educated in the schools of Michigan, 
^oing through the Aiichigan Agricuhiual 
CoUege, and the University oi Aiichigau, 
and graduating from the Law School ot the 
latter in June, 188O. 

On his twcuty-hrst birthday Mr. Hum- 
phrey was admitted to the Bar, and has ever 
since been in active practice, with the ex- 
ception of a portion of the years 1887 and 
1888, when he acted as deputy clerk of the 
Supreme Court. On Jan. i, 1889, he w^ent 
into partnership with Hon. Philip Padgham, 
at Allegan, Mich., the firm name being 
Padgham & Plumphrey. This partnership 
continued for two years, soon after which 
Mr. Padgham was elected to the office of 
xircuit judge, and Mr. Humphrey moved to 
Ironwood, Jan. i, 1891. He has since con- 
tinued to reside in Ironwood, where he has 
at three difYerent times held the office of city 
attorney. 

Mr. Humphrey devotes his whole at- 
tention to the practice of corporation law, 
his chief clients being representatives of min- 
ing interests. He is a director in five min- 
ing companies, one of which operates an iron 
mine in the Lake Superior region, the others 
controlling gold and silver properties in 
Colorado. He is also the promoter of an 
electric railway, operated by the Holland & 
Lake Michigan Railway Co., of which he is 
president and general legal counsel. This 
electric road operates abotit twenty miles of 
broad gauge track, constmcted with sixty- 
five and seventy pound "T" rails, between 
Holland, Mich., and the villages of Sauga- 
tuck and Douglas, and connecting the sum- 
mer resorts on Black Lake with those on 
Lake Michigan. The road has facilities for 
carrying freight, baggage and express and 
United States mail, and operates an electric 
light plant at its power house. It owns a 
private right of way outside the city and vil- 
lages, and two valuable dock properties by 
which it makes connection w-ith two daily 
boat lines to Chicago. The road also owns 
an electric locomotive and rolling stock, by 
means of which it handles freight coming or 
going over the C. & W. M.' R. R., with 
which it has a connection. 



Air. Humphrey is a member of the Pen- 
insular Club, of Grand Rapids, aiul of the 
Chicago Athletic Association. 

E. J. HEULE is a native of Wisconsin, 
born in Sheboygan Falls, Sheboygan county, 
in December, 1857. His father, John Heule, 
w-as born in Holland, where he grew up and 
married. Immigrating with his family to 
the United States, he lived for a short time 
in New York and from there went to 
Sheboygan county, \\ is. He was a farm- 
er by occupation. His death occurred in 
1866, and his widow, whose maiden name 
was Jane Hunter, survived him many years 
and married again. To the marriage of John 
Heule and Jane Plunter were born six chil- 
dren; five of whom are still living, viz.: 
William, a resident of Sheboygan Falls; Ed- 
ward, of the same city ; E. J . ; Henry, who 
li\cs in Applcton, Wis. ; and Frank, living 
in Superior. 

E. J. Heule in his boyhood attended the 
public schools of Sheboygan Falls, but left 
at an early age to enter the chair factory of 
Bemis Brothers as an apprentice to the busi- 
ness. In their employ he obtained a thor- 
ough knowledge of the trade and then went 
to Menasha, \\ is., engaging in the busi- 
ness with Herbert Bemis, of the firm pre- 
viously referred to. There he remained for 
a number of years, until the firm was dis- 
solved. 

Mr. Ileule's long and active experience 
in the manufacture of chairs has given him a 
detailed knowledge of the business which has 
contributed largely to the success of the firm 
with which he has been connected. In his 
political SNinpathies Mr. Heule is a Repub- 
lican, and is held in high esteem as a citizen. 

B. M. KIXG (^deceased), who had been 
itlentified with the west end of Gates (now 
Rusk) county as an active real estate dealer 
since 1892, was born in Prescott, Canada, in 
1852. His education was received there, 
w here he resided until eighteen years of age. 

In 1870 Mr. King went to Cheboygan, 
Mich., and th -re engaged in lumbering and 
land surx'eying, carrying on the same lines 



CO.MAIKMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



239 



in conneclidii with handling real estate. 
While there he was in partnership with his 
brother, John i\.ing, and they met with much 
success. After his marriage, about 1892, 
he removed, with his wife and brother John, 
to Weyerhauser, Wis. Here the brothers car- 
ried on a very successful real estate business 
for a number of years, being the first firm to 
engage in developing the agricultural re- 
sources of what is now Rusk county. ^\fter 
several years John King went to Roseburg, 
Ore., w here he is now successfully following 
the same line of business. Probably Air. B. 
M. King had a wider and more perfect knowl- 
edge of the advantages of Rusk county than 
any other man in this section. His known 
integrity made him also a safe man to con- 
sult as to the finding of a permanent home 
in this favored locality. Successful in a ma- 
terial sense himself, in Rusk county his ad- 
vice carried weight with it. 

In addition to his holdings in the coun- 
ty, Mr. King was interested in this whole 
section of country. He owned a large 
amount of i)roperty in and around Weyer- 
hauser and iJruce. Politically he was a Re- 
pubnam and had frequently been a delegate 
to conventions, had held local ofhces, and at 
one time was treasurer of the town of 
Stubbs. Praternally he was a Knight of 
Pythias and a Alaccabee, a charter member 
of both lodges and was record and finance 
keeper of the latter organization for several 
years. 

In Cheboygan county, in 1876, Mr. King 
married Miss Emily La Breche, who was 
born in Canada, and they had three children, 
the eldest of whom, Mabel, a beautiful, ac- 
complished girl, died in 1899, aged seven- 
teen years, niue months and nineteen days. 
She had been carefully educated, and, al- 
though so young, had been a teacher of mu- 
sic in the schools. The other members of 
the family are: Delle, now Mrs. B. M. Ap- 
ker, and Benjamin M., a youth of fifteen 
years. The family is socially prominent. 

Mr. King was very well known all 
through this territory. He was the local 
agent for the old Xorthcrn Farm Lnnd Co. 
and when it merged into the James L. Gates 



Land Co., he retained the agency. During 
the last two years of his life he placed as 
many as 250 families on lands here as per- 
manent settlers. He died July i, 1904. 

GEORGE WOOD HARRISON, B. S., 
]\I. D., one of the leading physicians of north- 
ern Wisconsin, has been identified wath 
many of the most vital interests of the city 
of Ashland and vicinity for more than a 
score oi years, and is ranked among the 
most progressive, scholarly and public-spirit- 
ed residents of that prosperous city. 

Dr. Harrison was born at Oldham, Lan- 
cashire, England, Jan. 5, 1850, son of 
Thomas and Martha (Woodhead) Harri- 
son, both of whom were worthy representa- 
tives of esteemed British families. His 
grandfather, George Harrison, migrated 
from Cumberland to Scotland, where he 
married a Miss Woods, who was born in the 
North of Ireland. Their son, Thomas, was 
born in Scotland, and when grown to man- 
hood, engaged in the construction of iron 
bridges in England and elsewhere. In 185 1 
he came to the United States, but after erect- 
ing bridges in the cities of Pittsburg and 
Buffalo, he disappeared, his fate being still 
unknown in his family. Martha Woodhead 
was a native of Bradford. Yorkshire. Her 
mother, whose maiden name was Roper, 
came of a family extensively interested in 
woolen manufacturing. In 1864 Mrs. Har- 
rison came with her son to this country and 
settled on a farm near Fall River, Columbia 
Co., Wis., where her death occurred two 
years later. 

After finishing the grammar school and 
completing the course at Watson's Academy, 
in Bradford. George Wood Harrison came 
with his mother to W'isconsin, and for a few 
years divided his attention between teaching 
and agriculture. .After teaching a few years 
in Columbia county, he entered Rush Merli- 
cnl College, Chicago, and received his di- 
ploma from that famous institution in 1880. 
The same year he located in .Ashland, where 
he is now the senior member of his profes- 
sion, in point of vears of active, continuous 
practice. Since 1895 he has been a member 



240 



COMMEAIORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



of the Slate Uoard of Health, and he holds 
membership in the Wisconsin Aledical So- 
ciety, the American ■\Iedical Association and 
the Provincial Board of Health, which last 
organization includes representatives of all 
North American countries. He has ahvaj-s 
been a vigorous student of other topics as 
well as those pertaining to his profession, and 
his fund of general information is seldom 
exceeded among the men of this part of the 
State. His keen foresight and excellent 
judgment have made him equally successful 
as a business man, and he has been the pro- 
moter of various enterprises which have 
tended to upbuild the commercial interests 
of the city. He was one of the incorporators 
of the Ashland National Bank and is still one 
of the directors of that reliable institution. 
He is president and general manager of the 
Ashland Light, Powder and Street Railway 
Co., which he likewise helped to organize, 
and which furnishes both gas and electric 
lights for the city, and power for \-arious 
manufacturing purposes. He is also inter- 
ested to some extent in timber and mining 
lands, and is a stockholder in the \Vest Range 
Iron Mining Co., which is developing some 
excellent prospects near Ashland. He has 
donated liberally to secure the establishment 
of other important industries in the city, and 
lends his moral influence to the support of 
many undertakings calculated to advance 
the welfare of the people, never turning a 
deaf ear to the advocates of any worthy pub- 
lic enterprise. 

In political principle, Dr. Harrison is a 
Republican, and wields no inconsiderable in- 
fluence in the local and State conventions of 
that i^rty. His ofticial career began as 
chairman of the village board, and after the 
incorporation of the city he became its sec- 
ond mayor. He has long been prominent in 
Masonic circles, having been a charter mem- 
ber of the local chapter and commandery, and 
is also connected with Wisconsin Consistory 
and Tripoli Temple of the Mystic Shrine, at 
Milwaukee. H^e is also affiliated with the 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and 
has a host of personal friends outside of 
these organizations. 



In 1871 Dr. Plarrison was married to 
Miss Ida Woodhead, daughter of Joseph and 
Sarah (Haley) Woodhead, of Columbia 
county, Wis. Airs. Harrison was educated 
in the common schools of the State and at 
the Columbus high school, and is a lady of 
cultivated tastes, who has been a fitting help- 
meet in the rearing of their five sons. Like 
herself they are identified with the Presby- 
terian Church. The sons are: Bruce W., 
a graduate of the United States Naval Acad- 
emy at Annapolis, who died Jan. 11, 1904; 
David C. a graduate of the Northern Wis- 
consin Academy, and now an interne at St. 
Joseph Hospital, in Alilwaukee ; Wallace E., 
a graduate of St. John's Academy. Dela- 
field, W^is. ; George \\'., Jr., and Ralph W^, 
who are students at the Ashland high school. 

A. N0R:MAN ANDERSEN, attorney 
at law of Ladysmith, Wis., and one of the 
prominent members tif his profession in 
that portion of the State, is a native of Nor- 
way, born Jan. 30, 1876, son of A. and 
Carrie Andersen, natives of Norway. 

Until he was nine years of age, our sub- 
ject lived at Christiania, and attended the 
public schools. In the spring of 1886, his 
mother came to America with her family, 
settling near Cumberland, Wis., where he 
attended the public schools, gaining an ex- 
cellent education. In 1892 the ambitious 
young man went to Portland, Ore., whence 
he returned at the end of a year, and. at- 
tending school again, was graduated from 
the Cumberland high school in the class of 
1896. He then taught school for two terms 
in Barron County, and during that time 
proved himself an efficient teacher. How- 
ever, the young man had other ambitions 
and in 1898 he entered the office of district 
attorney ^^'. N. Fuller, and during his stay 
there read law so faithfully that he was able 
to graduate from the law department after 
a three }ears" course at the State University 
of ^Minnesota, Minneapolis, in 1901. with 
the degree of LL. B. The same year he 
purchased the practice of H. S. Comstock, 
of Cumberland, and remained there for two 
vears with very gratifving results. Soon 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



_'+i 



after <)i)enin_>,' liis office at Cumberland lie 
was lioiKjred Ijy a])])()iiitincnt to the office 
of third nninicipal judge of Harron county, 
by Gov. J^ilM)llclte, and at the expiration 
of his term received the nomination, on a 
non-partisan ticket, for tlie office, and was 
elected, but upon his removal to Ladysmith 
he resigned, in 1903. 

In the fall of 1903 Mr. Andersen began 
practice in Ladysmith, where he is meeting 
with good results, possessing just those 
(jualities re(|uisite in a good lawyer. His 
l>ractice is not confined to Lady.smith, but 
extends to the adjoining counties. He is 
devoted to his profession, is a close student, 
and exercises great care in the preparation 
of his cases. At present he is city attorney 
and has proved to be a man well fitted for 
positions of responsibility and trust. Mr. 
Andersen's law business has increased to 
such an extent that in the summer of 1905 
he found it necessary to have help, and he 
took into partnership \V. H. Andersen, a 
recent graduate of Minnesota University 
and a fine orator. The firm is known as An- 
dersen & Andersen. In his administration 
of the duties of third municipal judge of 
Barron county, as well as those of the office 
of which he is the present incumbent, Mr. 
Andersen has shown himself an impartial, 
painstaking and efficient official. As a judge 
none of his rulings were reversed in the 
higher courts, and lie has always been hon- 
ored and resjjected, even by tho.se against 
whom he has been obliged to act. He is a 
self-made man. who has w)rked his own 
way upward, and who, notwithstanding his 
youth, already stands high in the ranks of 
his profession. Fraternally he is a member 
of the K. of P., in which he is chancellor 
commander, the I. S. W. A. and the I. O. 
O. F. In politics he is an adherent of the 
Republican party, and is very active. 

Mr. Andersen was married in 1903 to 
Edith Cain, of Canton. Wis., a lady of cul- 
ture and pleasing personality, who lias 
many friends and is prominent in education- 
al an«l social circles. On July 28. 1904. on 
the first wedding anniversary, was born a 
son. Donald B. Andersen. 

16 



11. E. DICKERSOX, supervising archi- 
tect of the city (jf Ladysmith, was born in 
Whitewater, Wis., Jan. 21, i860, son of 
Charles C. and Alice L. (Cutter) Dickerson, 
natives of Ohio and I'ennsylvania, respect- 
ively. The parents settled in Wisconsin 
when young, and were there married. The 
father passed away in that State, and the 
mother still makes it her home. 

The son was reared in Whitewater cnun- 
ty and educated in the public schools, in 
early life he served an apprenticeshij) to the 
carpenter trade, and followed the same for 
some years. Later he became engaged with 
the Dexter Cold Storage Co., oi Whitewater, 
to do e.xpert work on the constrviction of the 
Dexter Cold Storage system, and in this con- 
nection he traveled extensively throughout 
the country, supervising the c<jnstructi(jn of 
many of the large buildings of this poinilar 
system. For ten years he thus continued, 
and was very successful, but, tiring of con- 
tinuous traveling, he resumed contracting 
and building in Whitewater, and liad con- 
tracts on many of the leading buildings of 
that place. 

In 1901. Mr. Dickerson removed to 
Ladysmith, which was then just being opened 
up, and at once established himself in build- 
ing and contracting, designing his plans as 
well. He made the designs for and con- 
structed the public high school building; sup- 
ervi.sed the construction of the court house, 
being appointed by the county board as sujier- 
visor of the work. He also designed and 
constructed the ])ioneer store owned and 
occupied by J. W. Fritz, and a number of 
residences in Ladysmith and the small towns 
of the county. Jn this work he has had a 
lifelong experience, and brings to his work 
ripened knowledge and a thorough Kne for 
it. Jan. I, 1904. Mr. Dickenson assume<t 
the projjrietorship of the widely known 
"Hotel fierard," one of the best liostelries in 
northern Wisconsin, a fact well recognized 
by the traveling jniblic, as well as by the ])eo- 
ple of Ladysmith. In June following Mr. 
Dickerson di.sposed of the hotel and returned 
to the contracting and building business. 

Mr. Dickerson is a charter member of 



242 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



]\Iystic Tie Lodge, A. F. and A. M., of which 
he is chaplain, and he has attained to the 
Royal Arch degree in that order. He is also 
a popular member of the Maccabees. Po- 
litically he is a Republican, and active in his 
party. Mr. and I\Irs. Dickerson have four 
children. Earl, Pearl, Lola and Vivian. 

COL. HENRY CLAY VAN LEUVEN 
is a popular citizen of West Superior, Doug- 
las county, who holds a responsible position 
in Washington, D. C. He was born in Scho- 
harie county, N. Y., March 25, 1844, his par- 
ents being George M. and Lucy Ann (Sny- 
der) Van Leuven. 

Grandfather John \'an Leuven came to 
this country from Holland, and lived quietly 
at Prattsville, N. Y., reaching the age of 
nearly one hundred years. George M. Van 
Leuven practiced law at Prattsville and 
Conesville, N. Y., and later in Albany. 
About 1857 e moved to Limespring, Iowa, 
where he was engaged in his profession- un- 
til the outbreak of the Civil war. He enlisted 
in the 26th Iowa V. I., under Col. Stark- 
weather, serving about two years and a half. 
Mr. Van Leuven spent the latter part of his 
life in retirement on a farm near Limespring. 
He was ar. ardent Republican and traveled 
forty miles to cast his vote for John C. Fre- 
mont, there being no polling place nearer to 
his home. Mrs. Lucy Ann (Snyder) Van 
Leuven was born in Schoharie county, N. Y., 
the daughter of a farmer there, of German 
descent. 

There was but one log cabin at Lime- 
spring when Henry Clay Van Leuven went 
there with his parents. He attended school 
in the neighborhood and later spent two 
years at Osage College. In August, 1861, he 
enlisted in Company II, 9th Iowa V. I., and 
was in the service about two years, when he 
wag discharged on account of disability. He 
was in the Department of the Missouri, un- 
der Col. Van Dever, and Gens. Sigel, Cus- 
ter and Carr, opposed to the Confederate 
Gen. Price at Wilson Creek, Pea Ridge and 
other engagements of that campaign. Two 
brothers of Henry Clay Van Leuven were 
also in the war: George M., who now lives 



in Osage, Iowa, was in the 3d I. V. I. ; and 
Alonzo, of the 9th I. V. 1., was killed at 
Vicksburg, May 22, 1863. After the war 
Mr. Van Leuven completed his course at 
Osage College and received the degree 
of Bachelor of Arts. He taught the first 
school at Limespring, was then appointed 
postmaster and later mail route agent from 
McGregor to Algona. Four years later he 
was appointed postoffice inspector for Iowa, 
receiving the indorsement of the entire dele- 
gation of the State in Congress. Afterward 
Air. \'aM Leuven engaged in journalism; he 
was connected with the McGregor Neivs, 
and later established the Limespring Tri- 
bune. Meantime he represented the Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Com- 
pany in a law suit at Des Moines with the 
St. Paul & Sioux City Railway Company in 
regard to over-lapping land grants. In this 
contest he was associated with Gen. S. S. 
Merrill, who offered him the position of trav- 
eling auditor of the Chicago, Milwaukee and 
St. Paul Railway Company. This offer Mr. 
\'an Leuven declined, owing to sickness in 
his family. 

Air. Van Leuven was active in organiz- 
ing the Iowa National Guard, and was elect- 
ed colonel of the ist regiment. For over 
ten years he published the Spring Valley 
I'icicttc in Spring Valley, Minn., during 
which time he was appointed colonel and aid- 
de-camp on the staff of Gov. Pillsbury of 
Minnesota. 

Col. Van Leu\en married Eudora A. 
Casey, a native of New York State, daughter 
of Van R. and Sophia (Streeter) Casey; 
they became the parents of ; Maude, who 
is Mrs. J. C. Dawkins, of Helena, Mont. ; and 
Carl S., of Superior. Airs. Van Leuven was 
descended on her father's side from New 
England ancestry. 

In the spring of 1895, Col. Van Leuven 
came to Superior with a view of engaging in 
journalistic work. He edited the Duluth 
Press for a time and while thus engaged was 
appointed private secretary to the Hon. Mr. 
Jenkins, AI. C, a position which he still 
liolds. Col. Van Leuven is an attendant of 
the Methodist Church. He is a member of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



243 



ihe G. A. R., of the K. T., and of the Ma- 
sonic fraternity. His extensive acquaintance 
in Washington enables him to be of great 
service to residents of tlie district wlio iiave 
business with the Federal government. 

DAVID SAXG, for many years a rail- 
road contractor and builder, and more re- 
cently a real estate man in West Duluth, at 
present alderman from the Eighth ward, is a 
Scotchman by birth, a native of Paisley, born 
July 12, 1841. His parents were William 
and Susan (Patton) Sang, both Scotch. The 
father immigrated to America in 1843, ac- 
companied by his family, and settled in 
Charleston, S. C. He was a carpenter and 
builder, and followed that trade till 1858. 
The following year he moved to Canada, 
where he bought land in the County of 
Bruce, and there died. There were nine chil- 
dren in the family, eight of whom were sons. 

David Sang was educated in Charleston, 
where he attended, for several years, a school 
supported by the Odd Fellows, and then for 
two or three years went to a school at Gran- 
iteville supported by a large cotton milling 
and manufacturing company. After the fam- 
ily removed to Canada he began regular 
work. He learned the carpenter trade, and 
until he became of age was variously em- 
ployed at that work, at sawmilling and farm- 
ing. In the fall of 1864, shortly after his 
marriage, he settled at Keweenaw Point, 
Mich., where he was occupied a couple of 
years in contracting and building. The 
Hecla and Calumet region was just being ex- 
ploited by Edward Hurlbert. Mr. Sang 
went there and put up the first house in that 
immediate locality. After two years he 
went to Munising, Mich., which was being 
opened up by a company that built a fur- 
nace for the reduction of iron ore, and for 
five years he made their charcoal on contract. 
He was then engaged for a couple of years 
in the wrecking business on the lakes, with 
headquarters at Marquette. Mich. At the 
same time he had the contract for hauling 
iron ore from the mines to the furnace of 
the Pioneer Iron Company. 

From Marquette Mr. Sang went to West 



Superior in company with McDermott & 
Ross, and there in 1880 entered upon a long- 
period of railroad construction. McDermolt 
& Ross had the contract for the construction 
of tlvat branch of the Northern Pacific that 
runs from Carlton, Minn., to Superior, and 
Mr. Sang was employed as superintendent of 
bridge work. The Northern Pacific was the 
first road to enter Superior, and the region 
was an unbroken wilderness from there west- 
ward. After completing that work the com- 
pany moved to Peterborough, Ontario, to 
build a section of the Quebec & Ontario rail- 
road, and Mr. Sang accompanied them in 
the same capacity as before. He next went 
witn them to British Columbia, to engage in 
the construction of the Canadian Pacific, but 
after less than a year he returned to Ontario, 
at Muskoka, and with a partner contracted 
to build a section of railway there. That 
work was completed in about eighteen 
months, and he then returned to his old em- 
ployers in British Columbia, and was en- 
gaged in building snow sheds along the Can- 
adian Pacific. At the completion of this work 
in 1890, Mr. Sang returned to Duluth for 
a short stay, and he looked the ground over 
quite thoroughly at that time. He did not 
remain there, however, but formed a part- 
nership for building the first three miles of 
the Great Northern cut-ofif line from Havre, 
Mont., to Spokane, Wash., which work oc- 
cupied him two years. He had previously 
invested in real estate in West Duluth, which 
he had improved, and in 1892 went there per- 
manently, and has since been occupied prin- 
cipally in looking after his property. 

Mr. Sang has always been a stanch Dem- 
ocrat, and since becoming a resident of West 
Duluth has been quite active in politics. In 
1894 he was elected alderman from the 
liighth ward on the Citizens ticket, and two 
years later was reelected as the Democratic 
nominee by a majority of eighty-two. Two 
years later he was again a candidate, but was 
defeated by a majority of three. In 1903. 
l)y a majority of sixty-two, he took his seat 
in the council a third time. His record there 
is one of honest and fearless action in lielialf 
of the best interests of the public. He has 



-'44 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



served on the committee on water works dur- 
ing the construction of the system, of claims 
and accounts, and of streets, alleys and side- 
walks, and was chairman of each one of 
those committees for one term. He has been 
a member of the Democratic county com- 
mittee for eight years, for two years as chair- 
man, and has also acted frequently as dele- 
gate to the various Congressional, county 
and city conventions. 

Mr. Sang was married in Canada, in the 
spring of 1864. to Miss Elizabeth Ward, 
daughter of one of his neighbors there. 
They ha\-e had no children of their own, but 
have reared a niece, Miss Aurora Sang, ^Ir. 
Sang's brother's child. The family belong 
to the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which 
Mr. Sang is one of the trustees. Fraternally 
he is a member of Euclid Lodge, No. 198, 
E. & A. M.. West Duluth, and is also a Royal 
Arch and Knight Templar Mason. 

W. L. TUTTLE. a director of the W'is- 
consin Blue Grass Company, an incorpor- 
ated company of Balsam Lake and Amery, 
is probably the best known man in Polk 
county ancl the one who has done as much as 
if not more than any other individual citizen 
to advance its interests. He was born in St. 
Croix Village. Wis., in 185 1, son of Andrew 
L. Tuttle, a mill man and lumljemian, who 
came to St. Croix in 1849, and operated 
there for some ten years. 

The son grew up in St. Croix, was edu- 
cated in the public schools, and when only 
eighteen years of age went into the real 
estate l)usiness. This occupatit)n he has fol- 
lowed ever since, until at present he is one 
of the heaviest dealers in Northern Wiscon- 
sin lands. A wide-awake, enterprising man, 
he has been largely instrumental in develop- 
ing the later growth of Polk county. In the 
fight over the county seat, Mr. Tuttle was a 
leader on behalf of Balsam Lake and gave 
cheerfully and freely of both time and means 
in securing its location at that point. After 
a struggle of six years the matter was fin- 
ally settled in 1897, and Mr. Tuttle may 
justly claim a large share of the credit. lie 
has been identified with the countv's history 



in an official capacity, and also served three 
terms as chairman of ihc town of Balsam 
Lake. In character he is veiy positive, of 
good business qualities, with keen discern- 
ment and untiring energy, and naturally,. 
therefore, has accomplished nnich in both 
his private and public activities. 

Mr. Tuttle married Miss Alberta A. Ship- 
man, and they are the parents of six children : 
Edith, Grace, Sandford, Harold, ]\lax and 
Helen, the last two being twins. 

JOHN W. SCILMIDT, a prominent 
contractor and builder of West Superior, 
Douglas county, is a native of Wisconsin, 
of German parentage. He was bom at Mish- 
icott, Manitowoc county, March 31, 1855, a 
son of John and Dorothy Schmidt, natives 
of Hessen-Cassel, Germany. The former 
came to the United States about 1840. A 
weaxer while in his native land, in this- 
country he engaged in farming, in Manito- 
woc county, where he became a successful 
and influential citizen. He is a prominent 
member of the German Lutheran church, 
and is still in good health, though long 
past eighty. His wife came to this- 
counti"}' while a young woman, and they 
were married at Two Rivers. W^isconsin. 
Her death occurred in 1896, when she had 
reached the age of sixty-nine years. Five 
sons were born to this worthy couple, as fol- 
lows : Henry, a farmer of Manitowoc 
county; John W. ; William, residing on the 
homestead farm in Manitowoc county; 
Louis, a partner of John W., the name of the 
firm being Schmidt Bros. ; and Adam F., a 
dairyman at West Superior. 

As a boy John W. Schmidt attended the 
public school and assisted his father on the 
farm, also learning the trade of a carpenter. 
At the age- of twenty-four years he went to 
Wausau, Wis., where he followed the car- 
penter's trade, and incidentally received 
from his employer soi,ne useful hints con- 
cerning the details of successful contracting. 
There he resided until 1885. when he went 
to Rockland, ]\lich., and for two years gave 
bis attention to agriculture. At the end of 
that periotl. he took up his residence in Ash- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



2-15 



laiul, \\'i>.. and engaged in contracting. 
Since 1888 he lias been a resident of \\'est 
Snperior, and with the otiier members of the 
firm, has been interested in tlie erection by 
contract of the majority of tiie largest strnc 
tures of the city. These include the W'asii- 
inglon Block, atldition to the West Superior 
Hotel, Roosevelt Terrace, Empire Block, 
Alaryland Block, First National Bank Build- 
ing, Berkshire Block, and Truax Block ; 
also the Wisconsin Grass Twine Plant, Car- 
negie Public Library and the Great North- 
ern Steel Elevator (the largest grain ele- 
vator in the world), as well as the Round 
House, Carshops and Flour Sheds of the 
Eastern Railway of Minnesota, and many 
smaller Iniildings in the city. Mr. Schmidt 
has also been interested in numerous bridge 
building contracts along the lines of the 
Great Northern Railway, and in the erection 
of its extensive Shops and Round House at 
Havre, Mont. From 1891 to 1893 Mr. 
Schmidt and his brother Louis were in part- 
nership with William Noonan, of Winona. 
Minn., but since the latter date the firm has 
been Schmidt Bros. During the Iniilding 
season this firm emi)loys about 100 men; its 
contracts usually include the complete build- 
ing from foundation to finish, and some idea 
of the magnitude of its operations may be 
formed from the fact that its contracts at 
Havre, Mont., and with the Eastern Rail- 
way of Minnesota at West Superior, each 
amounted to about $1 12,000. liesides these 
numerous contracts, Schmidt Bros, have 
erected a number of buildings themselves. 
Few individuals have contributed as great a 
share toward the suljstantial and permanent 
upbuilding of the city, and their business in- 
tegrity is uiKpiestioned wherever they are 
known. 

In 1893 J<jlin W- Schmidt married Miss 
Mary B. Martin, who was born in low'a, 
where her father died rluring her childhood. 
Her mother, Mrs. Mary 15. Martin, now re- 
sides in Aberdeen, S. 1). Mr. and Mrs. 
Schmidt have one daughter, Gladys. They 
are members of the German Lutheran 
duirch, and Mr. Schmiflt is affiliated with 



the Knights of Honor and the Benevolent 
Patriotic Urder of Elks. 

PATRICK AUGER, a Canadian by 
birth, is one of the most extensive land own- 
ers and farmers in Saxon, Iron Co., W'is. 
Lewis Auger, father of Patrick, was born 
in Canada and was engaged in the lumber 
business there until 1886. He then came to 
Saxon and took up a homestead claim of 160 
acres, on which he lived until his death, 
March 25, 1900. His wife survives him, 
making her home with her son, Patrick, l-'ivc 
of her six children are living, Patrick being 
the third eldest. 

Patrick Auger was born in Canada May 
I, 1858, son of Lewis and Zua ( liarllell) 
Auger, also Canadians. I lis educational 
opportunities were very limited, and at the 
age of thirteen he went to work in a saw- 
mill. After four years at that work he 
went to Bay City, Mich., where he remained 
nine years working in the lumber woods 
during the winters, and on the river in the 
summers. He then went to Ashland, being 
employed as a logger, and also for a time as 
couk in a lumber camp. In the fall of 1885 
lie came to Saxon, and homesteaded a claim 
of 160 acres, moving onto this claim the fol- 
lowing spring and beginning to cut square 
timber for the Ashland mine. The next 
year he returned to A.shland, where for a 
short time he kept a boarding house for 
Hayes Brothers, proprietors of the Ash- 
land mine. His next move was to Hurley,, 
where he carried on another boarding house. 
After this he came again to Saxon and built 
the "Saxon House," which he conducted 
for nearly two years. Returning to his farm 
he raised a little stock and did some logging, 
and in 1890 again took charge of the "Saxon 
House" for a time. In 1893 he established 
himself in the charcoal and cord wood bus- 
iness, which he carried on for ten years. He 
is engaged at j^resent in logging for the Ash- 
land Iron and Steel company. In the fall 
of 1 891 he Oldened a general store in Saxon, 
which he still owns and which is managed 
bv his son, Arthur. His chief interest is in 



246 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



his farming, in which he engages more ex- 
tensively than any other agriculturahst of 
Iron county. He is the owner of 960 acres 
of land, of which 300 are clear and on which 
he raises large crops of hay, oats and po- 
tatoes. At present he has 100 head of cattle, 
50 head of sheep, 60 hogs and 14 horses. 

On May 13, 1881, Mr. Auger married Al- 
vira Dargis, of Canada, daughter of Peter 
and Edmer (Hamelen) Dargis, both natives 
of Canada. Mr. Dargis, a farmer by occu- 
pation, now lives in retirement in Canada, 
where his wife died in 1872. But four of 
their six children are living, Mrs. Auger be- 
ing next to the youngest. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Auger ha\e been born the following children : 
Artkur ; Lillian M. ; Dalida F. ; Carman, de- 
ceased; Carmen L. ; William O., and \Vald- 
orf. The family are members of the Cath- 
olic church. Mr. Auger is a Republican in 
politics. Fraternally he is a member of the 
Catholic Knights of Wisconsin, No. 91,. of 
Flurley. 

JAMES LUTHER CHRISTIE (de- 
ceased) was a prominent journalist and pub- 
lic spirited citizen of Superior, Douglas 
county, where he resided for nearly twenty 
years. His birth occurred near Wellsville, 
Ohio, Dec. 17, 1841, and he died in Su- 
perior, Dec. 13, 1895. His parents were 
James and Martha Elizabeth (Russel) 
Christie, also natives of Ohio. The Russel 
family was of Scotch-Irish extraction, and 
one of Mrs. Christie's grandfathers was 
among the pioneer settlers of Ohio. After 
the death of James Christie, in 1843, the 
family returned to Ohio from Southern 
Illinois, where they had located on a farm. 
In 1857 they moved to Chatfield, Minn., and 
two years later to Winnebago City, that 
State, where the mother died. 

On going to Minnesota, James Luther 
Christie began learning the trade of printer 
in the oftice of the Chatfield Republican, 
which was published by his brother-in-law, 
H. W. Holley, in partner.ship with A. C. 
Brown. While living in Winnebago City 
he bought a paper at Blue Earth City, which 
he pul)lishi.-(l nbout a vear. About this time 



occurred the Sioux war in ^Minnesota and 
northern Iowa, and Mr. Christie enlisted 
and spent fourteen months in the service. 
Afterward he published at Winnebago City 
the Free Homestead, renting his establish- 
ment about a year later in order to enlist in 
the nth Minn. Heavy Artillery, being with 
this regiment about fourteen months. \\'hile 
at Nashville, after Gen. Hood's defeat by 
Gen. Thomas, he suffered much from jaund- 
ice, from the effects of which he never fully 
recovered. After the war Mr. Christie re- 
sumed the publication of the Free Home- 
stead for several years, then for a time pub- 
lished a paper, at Caledonia, Minn., and next 
returned to Winnebago City, and repur- 
chased the Free Flomestcad. Later he sold 
out and went to Mankato, where he 
conducted the Free Press, soon estab- 
lishing a daily edition, in partnership 
with General J. H. Baker, by consolidating 
the Free Press with the Record. After four- 
teen months he returned to Blue Earth City, 
where he started a prohibition paper, and in 
January, 1882, he came to Superior and 
bought the Times, which he continued to- 
publish until his death. This paper was an 
excellent publication and met with deserved 
success. Mr. Christie was also interested to 
a considerable degree in real estate; he was 
optimistic as to the future of Superior, but 
conservative in his business dealings and suc- 
cessful in most of his ventures. His res- 
idence was one of the best in the "Old town.'' 
For twenty-five years Mr. Christie was a 
member of the M. E. church, serving as one 
of the board of trustees from the time of his 
coming to Superior. He was a man of few 
words, but a ready and versatile writer, and 
had considerable poetic talent, though none- 
of his verses were ever published. He was 
active in the I. O. O. F and had filled all the 
chairs in Northern Lodge, at Superior ; he 
also belonged to the A. O. U. \V., and to 
the G. A. R. 

Mr. Christie married, Oct. 10, 1866, 
Annie Coggrave, who was born July i,. 
1847, in London. England, daughter of John 
and Elizabeth (George) Coggrave, both na- 
tives of Eng'and. For a number of years. 



t:OMMEMORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



-4; 



Mr. Coggrave was a member of the Queen's 
Guards, and at tlie time of the Poppenaw out- 
break was sent to Canada on mihtarj' duty. 
He was in Canada two years and while there 
married. His death occurred in 1848. when 
he was about thirty-seven years of age ; his 
widow survived liim until June 15, 1889. 
when she died in Superior at the age of 
seventy-two. John George, maternal grand- 
father of Mrs. Christie, came to Canada from 
Cornwall, where he had been in charge of a 
tin mine; he lived to a great age on a farm 
in Inverness, County Megantic, Quebec. 
Mrs. Annie (Coggrave) Christie came to 
Wisconsin at the age of eight, the family 
settling at Ripon, and later moving to Min- 
nesota. Mrs. Christie is the mother of five 
daughters and one son, as follows : Alluna 
C, a lady of great executive and literary 
ability, who took charge of the Times after 
her father's death ; Kate H. { Mrs. Newton), 
Alice C, and Martha E., public school teach- 
ers in Superior: Isabel R. and Henry A., 
students in the Nelson Dewey high school. 
All the memljers of the family reside in Su- 
perior, and all are members of the Method- 
ist Church. 

HERMAN J. FINSTAD, a public- 
spirited citizen, who has taken an active 
part in politics and filled several import- 
ant positions in Washburn and in Bayfield 
county, was born in Norway, at Loiton, 
Hedemarken, Haniarstift, Jan. 22, 1847, the 
son of Jens Anderson and Bertha Hansen 
(\'arlin) Finstad, the latter born in north- 
eastern Norway. 

J. A. Finstad took his last name from the 
farm on which his ancestors had lived for 
generations, and which is still in the hands of 
his relatives, though during his boyhood his 
parents removed from it to another farm. In 
his old age Mr. Finstad joined his son in 
Wisconsin, and died in Chippewa Falls, 
wlien about sixty-five years old. His wife 
had been taken from him in Norway. Her 
father, Hans Varlin, a dealer in pine lum- 
ber on Gloma River, became quite wealthy 
at one time, though afterward he lost much 
property by endorsing for friends. Al- 



though w'ithout any regular instrucimn as a 
cabinet maker, he could do fine work in that 
line. A man of exemplary habits and an in- 
fluential citizen, he was widely known and 
esteemed in his own locality. Members of the 
Finstad and the Varlin families have served 
in the Norwegian Storthing, or Congress. 

Herman J. Finstad spent his boyhood on 
a farm in his native place, working summers 
and attending school in the winter seasons. 
In 1869 he came to the United States and 
spent the first winter at Rushford, Minn., 
where he worked for his Ixjard and attended 
school. He silent a few weeks more at school 
later, but acquired practically all his knowl- 
edge of English by himself. He was at 
Chippewa Falls for many years, where he 
spent the winters in the woods and the sum- 
mers in the mills. In time he became log 
inspector for the Chippewa Logging and 
Pool Company. By 1887 he had decided ti> 
change his location and so went to Wash- 
burn, where he has since resided. 

Since Mr. Finstad has been at Wash- 
burn he has taken an active part in politics, 
and has held several important ofifices. In 
1889 he was appointed postmaster and filled 
that position very acceptably for four and 
a half years. In 1894 he was elected reg- . 
ister of deeds for the county, and reelected 
in 1896. Earlier in his career, while in 
Chippewa Falls, he had been nominated for 
a similar position but was defeated by a 
small majority. In 1896 and again in 1904 
he acted as delegate to the Republican State 
convention and has repeatedly been delegate 
to congressional and local conventions. 
Since the expiration of his official duties 
Mr. Finstad has devoted much time to scal- 
ing timber on the Bad River Indian reser- 
vation, and has recently acquired a patent 
to valuable timber lands in Oregon. 

In 1880 Mr. Finstad was married to 
Miss Marian Elizabeth Long, daughter of 
Ole and Elsa M. Long, residents of Wash- 
burn. Mrs. Finstad was born in Konsberg, 
Norway, but in 1875 the family came to this 
country, whither Mr. Long had preceded 
them by some four years. Mr. Long was 
a blacksmith bv trade, working at it both 



248 



COiLAIEAIORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



at the silver mines in Konsberg and in Clii])- 
pewa Falls. 

Mr. and Mrs. Finstad have had eight 
children. Those now living are Oscar, El- 
lert, Bertha H., Annie K., Esther M., Eliz- 
abeth and Herman Rudolph. Barnold H., 
a twin brother to Ellert, died when he was 
two years, nme months and twenty days old. 
The parents were among the ele\-en origi- 
nal members of the United Norwegian 
Lutheran church of Washburn, and Mr. 
l-'instad was the first treasurer of the socie- 
ty. For twenty years he has been a mem- 
ber of the I. O. O. F., and also belongs to 
tlie Encampment and Rebekah lodge, be- 
sides being a member of the Scan. H. & E. 
i\ of America. Since coming to Wash- 
burn Mr. Finstad has built a fine modern 
liome. His store building he sold, but in 
A])ril, 1903, he became a member of the 
firm of Finstad & Aune, dealers in furni- 
ture, stoves, tinware and crockery. 

HARVEY D. CLOW has been a resi- 
dent of Duluth since his boyhood. He was 
born in Ontario, Canada, Dec. 5, 1872, son 
of William L. and Jeannette (Johnson) 
Clow, both nati\-e Canadians, the former of 
whom was a tanner by trade, but in his later 
years was in the wholesale fish business in 
Duluth, where he died. His widow still 
resides in Duluth, and of her eight children 
six are living. 

Harvey D. Ck)w attended the public 
schools at Duluth and took a business course 
at the University of Michigan. He then 
became a postoffice employe, being the first 
mail carrier in Duluth, an occupation which 
he followed for six years. After that he 
spent three years as a surveyor, and in 1900 
went into partnership with William Nichol- 
son, doing an excursion and freiglit business 
on the Great Lakes. The company included 
the two original partners and Mr. Clow's 
brothers, D. I. and J. H. Clow, and Harvey 
D. Clow was president. The company 
owned the passenger steamer "Newsboy," 
and the general freight steamer "Belle P. 
Crosse," doing business all over the lakes. 
J. H. Clow was captain of the latter and D. 



j. Clow of tlie former. During the sum- 
mer season the "Newsboy" made regular 
e\ening excursions on Lake Superior, and 
daily trips up the beautiful St. Louis river 
t(j old Fond du Lac. The scenery on this 
route is the finest to be found on the Head 
of the Lakes, and a visit to Duluth is not 
complete unless it takes in this beautiful 
trip. 

EDWARD D. GAY, chief engineer in 
Duluth of the Duluth-Superior Traction 
Co., was born in Chicago, 111., Dec. 15, 
1859, and is the son of Edward D. and 
Margaret (Burns) Gay. 

Thomas and Frances Gay, the grand- 
parents of Edward D., Jr., came to the 
United States when their son Edward was 
fourteen years old. Thomas Gay, a veter- 
inary surgeon by profession, reached the 
age of seventy-six years, while his wife at- 
tained the age of ninety-four years, dying 
in 1895. 

Edward D. Gay, Sr., was born in Coun- 
ty Mayo, Ireland, and came to the United 
States with his parents. He was a dealer 
in horses for many years. In 1887 l''^ went 
to Rutland, Sargent Co., N. D., where he 
started a horse ranch in company with John 
Cooper, of Chicago. He died there in 1896, 
at the age of sixty-nine years. Mrs. Mar- 
garet B. Gay was born in Chicago in 1836, 
and still resides in that place. She is the 
daughter of David and Lucinda Burns, who 
came from Ireland and located at Fort 
Dearborn about 1827, when there were only 
a few buildings there beside the fort. A 
few years later David Burns settled on gov- 
ernment land near Lockport, 111., where he 
and his wife reached old age. 

Edward D. Gay. spent the most of his 
boyhood in Chicago, where he attended the 
public school. He also went to the West 
Side Academy, where he was a fellow stu- 
dent of the younger Carter H. Harrison, for 
eight years mayor of Chicago. At the age 
of eighteen years Mr. Gay began to learn 
the trade of a machinist, and two years later 
entered the employ of the Chicago, Danville 
& Vincennes Railroad (now the Chicago & 



COMI\IEMORATI\'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



2.\9 



Eastern Illinois). He spent two years in 
the locomotive works at Danville, III, from 
there went to the Spring"fiel(l, Effingham 
& Southeastern Railroad, working as loco- 
motive fireman, thence to the Baltimore & 
Ohio and later to the Minneapolis & St. 
Louis road, alter which he worked with the 
Dululh & Iron Range Railroad for six years 
as engineer. In July, iSyi. he entered the 
employ of the Duluth Street Railway Co.. 
which was succeeded by the Duluth-Super- 
ior Transit Co., and he has been chief engi- 
neer of the Superior Power House since 
that time. Six men are employed in this 
establishment, the engine having a capacity 
of 950 horse ix)wer. Mr. Gay is deputy 
State president, for Wisconsin, of the Na- 
tional Association of Engineers. He has 
made numerous investments in mining 
stocks in the West and in Ontario, and is 
president of the Elevator Investment Co., of 
Superior. 

On Jan. i. 1883, Mr. Gay was married 
to Miss Elizabeth Smith, daughter of John 
and Jane Smith, who were among the pio- 
neers of Superior, where Mrs. Gay was 
born. Mr. and Mrs. Gay are the parents 
of five children as follows : Edna Marga- 
ret, Mrs. F. Yahn, of Iowa ; Gertrude Jane, 
Martha Penrod, William Evans and Eliza- 
beth. The family attend the Presbyterian 
church. Mr. Gay is a charter member of 
Superior Lodge, No. 338, I. O. O. F. ; is 
junior deacon of Superior Lodge. No. 236, 
F. & A. M., and is a member of the Knights 
of the Maccabees. In early life Mr. Gay 
was a Democrat, but owing to the agitation 
of the American Protective Association, 
joined the Republican party, with which he 
has since affiliated. He is always interested 
in public questions, and is regardetl by his 
as.-^ociates as a useful and exemplary citizen. 

CHARLES COLE, an inlluential and 
public-spirited citizen of South Range, Dou- 
glas Co., W^is., was born in Charleston, Or- 
leans Co., Vt., July II. 1861. 

The ancestors of the Cole family were 
four brothers, who came from luigland In 
Col(jnial (lavs and .settled, two in Virginia 



and two in New England. The grandfath- 
er of Charles Cole was a carpenter and 
farmer in \'ermont, and died there at the 
age of ninety-four. His son, Zenas C. Cole, 
removed to Wisconsin in 1865, and engaged 
in boat building at Eau Claire. Four years 
later he went on a farm in Pulaski county, 
]\Io., but in 1875 returned to Wisconsin, 
going to Watertown, where his brothers, 
John, Luther and Ebenezer, were prominent 
l)usiness men, pioneers of the early days of 
1838. During the Civil war, Mr. Cole had 
enlisted in the Vermont Cavalry, but was 
rejected for physical disability. He w^as al- 
ways a Republican and took an active part 
in politics. In Vermont he served two terms 
in the legislature, and in Watertown, Wis., 
was made alderman. His death occurred 
in Colfax, Dunn Co., Wis., March 7, 1902, 
at the age of eighty-three. His wife was 
Miss Jane Albee, daughter of Elijah Albee, 
a prominent farmer and speculator in live 
stock in Orleans county, Vt. She is now 
lising at Retreat, Vernon county, W^is., 
having reached almost four score years. 
There were four children in the family, as 
follows: Sarah Jerusha, now Mrs. Dustin, 
of Retreat, Wis. : Ransom B., of South 
Range; Mary, wife of Mr. Dever, of Col- 
fax. Wis. ; and Charles. 

Charles Cole was educated in the public 
schools of Watertown, completing the high 
school course. At the early age of sex-en- 
teen he began farming at Marshall, Wis., 
where he had charge for two years of a 
farm belonging to an uncle. Thence he 
went to Chippewa county and engaged in 
lumbering at Bloomer for nine years. In 
1889 he went to South Range and decided 
to remain there. He has been more or less 
interested in logging and lumbering, and at 
present is operating a portable steam saw- 
mill. He has also been engaged somewhat 
in the real estate business, and is now the 
owner ot 500 acres of land, eighty acres of 
which are under cultivation. For one year 
he dealt in general merchandise in South 
Range, and during that period served also 
as i^ostmaster. Mr. Cole is a Republican 
and activelv interested in local politics; he 



250 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



attends many local conventions, and in 1902 
was a delegate to the congressional district 
convention at Chippewa Ealls. 

On May 9, 18S0, was solemnized the 
marriage of Charles Cole and Mina Arm- 
strong, daughter of Newell and Mary Arm- 
strong, of Jefferson, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. 
Armstrong were natives of New York 
State, and settled in Jefferson in the early 
days, passing the remainder of their lives 
there. Mr. Armstrong was a mason by 
trade. Mr. and Mrs. Cole are the parents 
of eisfht children, all living, Rolla A., Kffie 
May, Arcnie, Charles, Bessie, Bertie, Leon 
and George. 

REV. J. E. LINJ^ER. The "Swedish 
Lutheran Pilgrim Church" at West Super- 
ior has been fortunate since 1899, in retain- 
ing; as its pastor the Rev. J. E. Linner. 

The Pilgrim church was organized in 
1888 by Rev. A. P. Monten and he re- 
mained until October, 1899, getting the 
church onto a firm basis and securing the 
erection of the church building. Rev. Mon- 
ten was a native of Sweden, born Nov. S, 
1844. He came to this country in 1866, 
and later entered Augustana College and 
Theological Seminary, which is now located 
at Rock Island, 111. He was graduated and 
ordained in 1875 and previously to his resi- 
dence in West Superior, was in St. Paul, 
Minn. At present he has charge of a church 
in Maple, North Dakota. 

The present pastor of the Pilgrim 
church was born in Sweden in 1861, a son 
of John H. and Ingred Peterson. In 1871 
the family came to America and settled in 
Chisago county, Minn., where they were 
pioneers and where the parents still live. 
There were four children, one daughter be- 
ing now deceased. As a boy, the Rev. Lin- 
i-er attended the public schools and at the 
age of seventeen entered Gustavus Ado!- 
phus College at St. Peter, Minn. Thi-ee 
years later he began his studies at the The- 
ological Seminary at Rock Island, was grad- 
uated in 1887 and ordained the same year. 
His first call was to Iron Mountain, Mich., 
and in 1889 he removed to Lake City, Min.n., 



where he remained until 1895. In that year 
he removed to Welch, Goodhue Co., Minn., 
where he was in charge of the church for 
four years, until he accepted the call to West 
Superior. 

In 1887, at Iron Mountain. Alich., Rev. 
J. E. Linner was married to Hilda Olive 
Severson, a native of Iowa. To this mar- 
riage have been born six children, one son 
and five daughters. 

Rev. Linner is also in charge of two 
small churches, the S. L. Salem Church at 
South Superior, and that at Central Park. 
The latter was organized in 1871 and a 
building erected immediately; although older 
and formerly larger than the society at West 
Superior it now numbers but fifteen com- 
municants. 

The Pilgrim church was organized with 
only thirty or forty members, but so suc- 
cessful have its two pastors been in its up- 
building that it now has a membership of 
170 and a congregation of 285. The church 
building, which was erected in 1889, has a 
seating capacity of about 5001! there is also 
a commodious and comfortable parsonage 
built in 1890, and the value of the entire 
property owned by the society is estimated 
at $9,000. Under the present pastor, the 
churches, Sunday schools and Young Peo- 
ple's society are all in a most flourishing 
condition and their growth and prosperity 
in the future seem assured. 

JOPIN OSCAR BOSWELL. engineer 
at the pumping station of the Superior 
Water, Light and Power Co., was bom in 
W^ashington, D. C, Nov. 3, 1859. His 
parents were John Henry and Elizabeth 
(Truman) Boswell, the former of whom 
was born near Georgetown, Maryland. 

The grandfather of John Oscar Boswell 
came from England before the Revolution- 
ary war and operated a tobacco plantation 
in Maryland. This was continued by his 
son, John ITenry, who afterward carried 
on a planing mill in Washington, where he 
manufactured much of the material for the 
capitol building. In 1864 John Henry Bos- 
well moved to Blue Earth county, Minn.^ 



CO.MME.MORATIVE BIOGRAnilCAL RECORD 



\\liere he spent the remainder oi Iiis life 
on a farm, dying April ^6, 1894, aged sev- 
enty-eight years and twenty days. Iiis wife, 
Elizabeth (Trnnian) Boswell, died April 7, 
1870, when but thirty-eight years old. 
She was born in England, where her 
father, Henry Truman, was a carpenter. At 
one time Mr. Truman operated a line of 
freight vessels plying between Liverpool 
and Baltimore, and he died in Baltimore at 
the age of eighty-eight. 

John Oscar Boswell received his etlu- 
cation in the oublic schools of Blue Earth 
county. He remained on the home farm 
until 1889, when he went went to St. Paul 
and learned the profession of stationary en- 
gineer. He was with the Twin City Rapid 
Transit Co., for several years, and in 1894 
he located in Superior, where he has since 
been employed by the Superior Water, Liglit 
& Power Co. as engineer at the pumping 
house in the "old town." 

On Oct. 30, 1885, Mr. Boswell was 
married to ilargaret Josephine Carroll, 
daughter of Daniel and Mary Carroll. Mrs. 
Boswell was born in Marysburg, Minn., and 
died at Superior, Jan. 3, 1898, aged thirty- 
four years. Mrs. Boswell w'as a devout 
member of the Roman Catholic church. She 
was the mother of four children, Florence 
Lelah, Lenora, Ethel Elizabeth and John 
Robert. 

Mr. Boswell has been a Mason since 
1 888, and he also belongs to the A. O. U. 
W. He is a member of the National Sta- 
tionary Engineers' Association and sup- 
ports the principles of the Democratic par- 
ty. The family attend the Episcopal church. 

JOSEPH BARIBEAU, e.x-treasurer of 
the city of Superior, Douglas county, is one 
of the earlier residents of the place, as he 
came to the town in 1868. He has resided 
successively on the east side, or the "old 
town,"' in 1876, in West Superior after 
1885, and since 1893 in South Superior. 

^Ir. Baribeau was born in New York 
State in 1848, and is of French ancestry. 
He was reared in New York and in Canada. 
Later his parents reuKJved to Lowell, Mass., 



and there died. In the family were two 
sons antl two daughters, Joseph being the 
oldest child. He was married in Canada to 
Mary A. Moncemerquette. No children 
have been born to this union, but i^lr. ana 
Mrs. Baribeau have adopted a son. 

Mr. Baribeau has been connected with 
the business interests of Superior for many 
years. For a long period he was in the 
iiotel business, and in 1889 and 1890 was 
city treasurer. He is highly respected as a 
citizen and is well liked socially. 

HORACE EDGAR HUBBARD, a 
well-known business man of Superior and 
engaged in the shoe business for the last 
fifteen years, comes of a New England fam- 
ily wdiose name has been a familiar one in 
Vermont for many generations. The name 
Hubbard is supposed to be a corruption of 
Flubert, and all who bear the surname 
spring from DeHubert, an ofticer in the 
army of William the Conqueror, who re- 
ceived a large estate in England as a re- 
ward for his services. 

Coming down to the more recent and 
immediate ancestors of Mr. Hubbard, his 
great grandfather, Calvin, was the first of 
the name to settle in Vermont. He was 
torn in Tolland, Conn., but removed to 
Springfield, Vt., and was engaged there in 
a mercantile business for many years. His 
old account book, with entries beginning in 
1795. is still in existence, and is carefully 
preserved by his great-grandson. He w-as 
married first to Miss Ruth Meacham, by 
whom he had ten children, and after her 
death, to Miss Anna Meacham, a sister to 
his first wife. Mrs. Anna Hubbard and her 
husband both lived to be over ninety years 
old. 

Horace Hubbard, the second child anfl 
eldest son of Calvin and Ruth Hubbard, 
was born in Springfield, Vt., May 6, 1787, 
and was a- farmer all his life. He made his 
home nt Guildhall, Vt., and reached the age 
of sixty years. 

George Hubbard, son of Horace Hub- 
bard, was a merchant in that snme town for 
many years, but is now living in retirement 



COMMEMORATIVE BlOGRArillCAL RECORD 



;it the ago of eighty-seven years, lie was 
active in puhhc affairs, and represented his 
town in tlie State legishitnre, besitles hold- 
ing various local otVices. He supported the 
principles of the Republican party. George 
lluhhard chose for his wife Miss Lois Hall, 
who died July 3. i8(\^ daughter of a Con- 
gregational minister at Guildhall. 

Horace Edgar Hubbard was lx->ru in 
Guildhall. Vt., April jo. 1854. Until he 
was sixteen years old he attended the pub- 
lic scIkxiIs there and received a good com- 
mon school education. After he completed 
his studies he became a clerk in a general 
store in this place, conducteil by his brother. 
Thomas H. llnbbard. Later on he Ixnight 
out his brotlier and managed the business 
for himself some twelve years. 

In 18S6 Mr. Hubkird determined to try 
his fortut\es in the West, and going to Min- 
neapolis, he dealt in shoes for three years, 
and then in 18S1) went to Superior, where 
he saw a good chance to build up a llourish- 
ing business as the growth of the town 
should increase. His anticipations were 
more than realized, and he has met with 
most gratifying- success. Mr. Hubbard is 
of a quiet, retiring disposition, and gives 
little attention to politics, whether local or 
national. His chief diversion is found in 
occasional visits to the hunting and fishing- 
resorts that are so easily accessible from Su- 
perior. The family is connected with the 
Congregational church. 

Before leaving X'ermont Mr. Hubbard 
married, in 187S. Miss Edith A. Rickards. 
who, at the time of her marriage, w-as liv- 
ing in Guildhall, but was born in George- 
town. Mass. While Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard 
prefer a comparatively quiet life, they have 
manv warm friends, and are everywhere 
highly appreciated. 

MICHAEL GOROOX was born at 
Wallaccburg. Ontario, May 10, 1S45. son 
of Michael and Sarah ( Marsh ") Gordon, 
both of whom died during his early child- 
hood. 

Michael Gordon, the father, was of Eng- 
lish descent, his father having been an.otVi- 



cer in the r.rilish arm\-. William Marsli, 
the father of Mrs. Scuah Gordon, also of 
iMiglish descent and a farmer by occupation, 
attained the age of ninety years. His wife. 
Sarah Montgomery, of Scotch descent, at- 
tained the remarkable age of one hundred 
and four years. 

Michael tuirdon, the youngest ol the 
family of nine children, was brought up on 
a farm. At the age of sixteen he went to 
Saginaw, Mich., and secured employment, 
first working in the logging camps on the 
rivers, driving logs, and in the sawmills and 
later estimating- timber, selecting and locat- 
ing timber lauds and looking after logging- 
operations. This occupation he followed 
into the timber forests of other states, 
namely Wisconsin, Minnesota and Wash- 
ington. 

In 1880 Mr. Gordon was married to 
!•" ranees E. Pulver. daughter of Jolni S. and 
Sarah J. Pulver, of Brookings county, S. 
IX ]\lrs. Gordon was born at Otsego, 
\\'is. To Mr. and I^Irs. Gordon have come 
two daughters, Ella E' ranees, born in Brook- 
ings countv, S. n.. and Ivie Mae. born at 
Shell Lake. Wis. In 1883 ]\[r. Gordon 
moved his family from South Dakota to 
Shell Lake. Wisconsin. 

GUST X.\T1-;R, farmer and carrier of 
the United States mail on Rural Eree De- 
liverv Route No. 1. of Bruce. Rusk Co., 
Wis., is a pioneer in Wisconsin, as he set- 
tled at Island Lake, in Gates county, in 
1872. He was born on the shore of Lake 
Constance. Switzerland, July JO, 1846. son 
of John Jacob ami Catherine (.Shoope) 
Xater. both natives of Switzerland, of Ar- 
Ixm. in Canton Thurgau. on Lake Con- 
stance. John Jacob Xater was a dry goods 
merchant and did a large business, accunui- 
lating- a large property. He and his wife 
died in their native land. Six of their 
twelve sons grew to manhood, and one 
son, John, is carr>-ing- on his father's busi- 
ness; another. Dr. Henry, is a iMominent 
phvsician at Streator. HI., and his son, 
Louis, is a prominent citizen of Streator 
and cashier of the Streator National liank. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



2j5 



Gust Xater passed his early life in llie 
town of Kessweii, and in the pubhc schools 
(common and hij^h) lie obtained iiis educa- 
tion, remaining in his native land until he 
was rtfteen jears of age. His brother, \)r. 
J. II., then lived at Fort Wayne, Ind., and 
our subject crossed the .Atlantic to join iiim. 
He can well recall his lirst impressi(jns. He 
at once entered the public schools oi Ameri- 
ca. In April, 1863, he volunteered for ser- 
vice in the Civil war, entering Company M, 
iOth Ohio Vol. Cav., which was part of 
Gen. Kilpatrick's command in Gen. Sher- 
mans army, and was sent south to Xash- 
ville, T enn., participating in the battles there 
and at Franklin. Although still a mere 
youth he showed nerve which many season- 
ed soldiers did not possess. Subsequently 
he joined his regiment in North Carolina, 
at a point on Sherman's return north from 
Savannah, and was in active .service during 
the rest of the war. He took part in a 
number of the closing engagements, as may 
be noted by the movements of his regiment. 
It moved from Prairie Landing, on the Sa- 
vannah river, to Hilton Head, thence to 
Wilmington, N. C, thence to Raleigh, and 
in this marching and counter-marching sup- 
pressed much of the marauding depreda- 
tions of unorganized Confederate troops. 

During this part of his service llr. 
Xater met with a serious accident at Lex- 
ington, X. C, from a premature explosion 
of bombs, when some fifteen soldiers were 
injured, his eyes being afifected. This acci- 
dent had been planned by the enemy, and it 
fortunately did n<jt injure as many as the 
bushwhackers had hoped. Mr. Xater's in- 
jury, however, sent him to the field hospital, 
but he hnally recovered. From this point 
he went to Richmond, and then to Balti- 
more, and was finally di.scharged at Cleve- 
land. Ohio, in September, 1865. 

Mr. Xater then went to Aurora, 111., 
where he found a welcome at the home of 
his brother, with vvIkjui he remained two 
years, when he went to Chicago. There he 
became steward of the "Kirby House,' a 
jKisition he was acceptably filling at the time 
of the great fire, in October, 1871. Mr. 



Xater was an eye-witness of that great con- 
flagration, in which a number ot his help 
at the "Kirby House," which was in the 
path of the Hames, met death. After this 
lire interrupted his business in Chicag(j he 
accepted the management of the White Fox 
restaurant at Eau Claire, Wis., a noted place 
at that time, where he continued one year, 
and while there he was married to Miss 
Louise ilillmer, a native <jf L<jndon, Eng- 
land. 

In 187J Mr. Xater bought 160 acres of 
land at Island Lake, in what is now Rusk 
county, then Chippewa. The first perma- 
nent citizen in this region, he encountered 
many Indians, and saw many hardships in- 
cidait to pioneer life. -After erecting a log 
cabin in which he C(;mfortably settled his 
family, he became cook to the dififerent log- 
ging concerns in the regicjn, and during this 
period he was also manager <jf supplies for 
Mr. Rich, of Milwaukee, a heavy contractor 
of the Wisconsin Central railway from Wor- 
cester to .Ashland. In addition to his other 
duties he kept Ixjoks fcjr dififerent compan- 
ies. Later he retired to his farm, which he 
finally sold, purchasing land near Lake Am- 
ico, which is now widely known as a resort, 
Mr. Xater erecting the "Maple House," and 
keeping a fine hotel in adflition to farming. 
He owns 480 acres of land, much of it undei 
cultivation, with good improvements. 

Politically Mr. Xater is a Republican, 
and he always takes an active part in public 
afYairs. He has represented his town, Big 
Bend, on the school board fcjr a number of 
years, and for six years was secretary of. 
the schools, when it was the system of the 
township ff)r the secretary to hire all the 
teachers. Mr. Xater contracterl for and 
built a number of the first schoolhouses in 
the township, and much of the advancement 
in educational matters in this locality is due 
to his care and gootl judgment. I'raternally 
he is a member of Colburn Post, G. A. R., 
of Bruce; of Pinery Lodge, No. 146, I. O. 
O. F., of Chippewa Falls; and the Encamp- 
ment at Chippewa Falls. 

It was in 1903 that Mr. Xater first lie- 
came interested in being a candidate as car- 



254 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



j"ier on the rural mail route, drawing" up the 
petition for a route himself, and presenting 
it to Hon. John J. Jenkins, the member of 
Congress. After nearly a year of labor this 
locality was given a route, and he was ap- 
pointed carrier after taking the competitive 
examination required, his marks being 94 
per cent. His first delivery was made on 
March i, 1904, and since then his services 
have been continued with unfailing regular- 
ity and to the entire satisfaction of the pub- 
lic he serves. Few men are better known or 
more highly esteemed in this community 
than Mr. Nater. He finds friends on every 
side, while there are few who do not admire 
his business ability. 

Mr. and Mrs. Nater had a family of 
eleven children born to them, seven still sur- 
viving: Albertina, Leda, Georgie, Clyde, 
Clarence, Herman and Victor. William 
died in February, 1904, and the others died 
in childhood. The loss of this son, at the 
age of twenty-six, was a severe blow to the 
family. 

Mr. Nater is an artistic penman, and his 
taste and skill have frequently been called 
into use. Formerly his services were in con- 
stant requisition in making out payrolls and 
doing other writing for the various corpo- 
rations. Although immersed in business, 
he has given himself a little recreation. In 
1869 he made a most enjoyable trip to his 
native land and visited the friends of his 
early days for some seven months. We are 
not authentically informed, but we venture 
to affirm, however, that he was glad to re- 
turn to America and see again the results of 
his labor of so many years, and to meet the 
welcome of his new friends in the new 
world. 

ORVILLE L. BOYNTON, for a few 
years one of the influential residents of 
Washburn, Bayfield county, and the man- 
ager of the Edward Hines Lumlicr Com- 
pany-, although still a young man, was 
prominently connected with the lumbering 
interests of this section. 

R. H. Boynton, father of Orville L., is 
a native of New York. He joined the tide 



of nngration toward the West in 1840, and 
located in Wisconsin, for a time practicing 
law in Oshkosh, but he became more and 
more interested in lumbering, which ottered 
so attractive a field at that time. Always 
influential in local and county affairs, he 
was mayor of Pittsville for some years, and 
was long chairman of the county board ; he 
belonged to the Republican party. Mr. 
Boynton married Sarah E. Pickett, who 
was born near Ashtabula, Ohio, a daughter 
of Joseph Pickett, deceased, a farmer. Mr. 
and Mrs. Boynton now reside at Pittsville. 
Mr. Boynton has retired from business, be- 
ing over eighty-five years of age. The fam- 
ily is of English descent and came to Amer- 
ica in the seventeenth century. 

Orville L. Boynton was born Sept. 10, 
1866, while the family was living at Osh- 
kosh, where he received his education, grad- 
uating from the high school and also taking 
a course at Daggett's Business College. He 
became interested with his father in lumber- 
ing and was engaged with various firms. 
One year he was bookkeeper with the Wis- 
consin Lumber Company at Hansen, Wis., 
and later was the manager of the \\^ood 
Manufacturing Company, a concern in 
which the elder Mr. Boynton had an inter- 
est. There he remained five years, next ac- 
cepting an offer to become superintendent 
of a sawmill for W. H. Knox, of Duluth. 
At the end of his first year the firm sold to 
Alger, Smith & Co., and Mr. Boynton re- 
mained with the new firm for a year. In 
1899 he took a position with the Edward 
Hines Lumber Company as superintendent 
of its interests at the Keystone i\Iill, at Ash- 
land, where he remained two years ; and 
then, when the company purchased the mill 
of A. A. Bigelow & Co., he became the 
manager in Washburn, in 1902. The mill 
and railroad operations combined employ 
650 men, the railroad being utilized in sum- 
mer for transporting the logs, etc. During 
the season of 1902 the mill cut 50,000,000 
feet of lumber, and furnished sufficient logs 
til other mills to make a total of 95,000,000 
feet. On Jan. i, 1905, Mr. Boynton sev- 
eretl his connection with the Edward Hines 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



255 



Lumber Conipan};, having bought an inter- 
est in the Elk Lun'ber and Manufacturing 
Company, of Fernie, B. C, to which place 
he has moved, and he now has charge as 
general manager of the company. 

Mr. Boynton has also done considerable 
work in filling logging contracts. He spent 
one season on the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
St. Paul railroad near Dexterviile, Wis., 
and two on the Brule river, in Douglas 
county. 

In 1892 ]\Ir. Boynton was married to 
Nina, daughter of C. W. Briggs, of Grand 
Rapids, Wis., formerly of Oxford, where 
Mrs. Boynton was born. There are two 
children in the family : Vern and Norma. 

ROBERT STEWART. In 1894 the 
South Superior Improvement Company was 
succeeded by the South Superior Land Com- 
pany, and since 1897 its general manager 
has been Robert Stewart, previously ;)n 
agent for the company. 

Mr. Stewart was born in Richland 
■county, \\'is., in 1855. He was one of four 
children and was given a good education in 
the public schools. For a number of terms 
he taught school himself. Leaving his na- 
tive county he went first to Barron county 
and engaged in business at Chetek. During 
this time he platted the addition now known 
as North Chetek. He then went to South 
Superior. For the greater part of his life 
lie has been dealing in real estate, and has 
had a wide experience in that business. He 
was one of the first business men to take up 
his residence in South Superior, whither he 
went in 1890, and where he has since re- 
mained, assuming charge of the South Su- 
perior Land Company interests in 1896. 

Mr. Stewart's wife belongs to a pioneer 
Wisconsin family. She was formerly Miss 
Mary Howard, a native of Sextonville, 
Richland county. Mr. Stewart is recog- 
nized as one of the bright, progressive and 
public-spirited citizens of Superior. He is 
a supporter of the Republican party, but is 
not active in political circles. He belongs 
botli to the I. O. O. F. and tlic Foresters. 



BERNARD MOLITOR, one of the 
pioneers of Taylor county, who for many 
years carried on an extensive trading busi- 
ness with the Indians, is a native of Luxem- 
burg, but has lived in America since he was 
thirteen years old, playing a prominent part 
in the development of the region in which 
the greater part of his life has been passed. 
He was born in State of Luxemburg, Aug. 
10, 1839, son of Mathias and Margaret 
(Brandenburg) Molitor. 

The. paternal grandfather, Mathias Moli- 
tor, was a farmer and shoemaker who 
never left his native land, but died there at 
the advanced age of 104 years. The mater- 
nal grandfather, Bernard Brandenburg, 
came to this country in 1852, and settled in 
Sheboygan county, Wis. In his own coun- 
try he had been a soldier, and served five 
years in Napoleon Bonaparte's cavalry. At 
the battle of Menel he was attacked by six 
Russian Cossacks and received twenty-four 
saber cuts in the right arm before his life 
was saved by the timely arrival of a Russian 
officer. A brother, John Brandenburg, who 
was also in Najwleon's army, was captured 
at Waterloo and was forced to enter the 
British naval service, and he was brought to 
America. 

Mathias Molitor and his wife came to 
the New World at the same time as Bernard 
Brandenburg. He bought a farm in the 
woods of Sheboygan county. Wis., cleared 
it, and passed the rest of his life on this 
homestead. He lived to be seventy-two 
years old, and his wife passed away at the 
age of seventy-nine. Both were natives of 
Mensdorf, Luxemburg. They were the 
parents of four sons and four daughters, 
namely : Peter, who died at Winslow, Ar- 
izona ; Bernard ; William, who was the first 
settler of the town of Molitor, Taylor coun- 
ty, in 1878, and is at present a resident of 
Chicago; Mary, wife of Nicholas Scherf, of 
Washington county. Wis. ; Elizabeth, of 
Platteville. Wis. : Mary Jane, who married 
Mike Schmith, of Kansas; Mary, Mrs. Wil- 
liam Reynold, of Port Washington, Wis. ; 
and Mathias, of Dunn county, Wisconsin. 



COAIMEAIORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Bernard Molitor was thirteen years old 
when he came to this country with his par- 
ents and settled in Wisconsin. In that fron- 
tier country there were no schools for him 
to attend, but he acquired a good command 
of English by studying alone. He stayed 
with the family for some time and helped 
clear the farm, but in a few years went to 
Michigan and worked in the lumber region 
there. He spent several years in that work, 
until he had saved $1,000, with which he 
bought a farm in Fayette county, 111. He 
lived on the place from 1867 to 1878, but 
as the climate proved uncongenial to both 
himself and family, he sold out in the latter 
year and returned to Sheboygan county, 
Wis. Five years later Mr. Molitor re- 
moved to Taylor county, and has since then 
been identified with the development of that 
section. He took up a homestead claim of 
160 acres, in what is now the town of Ham- 
mel. A previous settler, who ha"d aban- 
doned the claim, had built a small log cabin, 
and Mr. Molitor determined to make it into 
a suitable home for his family, at least for 
the time being. At Medford he bought 
himber for $10, but getting it drawn to his 
claim proved to be the most expensive part 
of the business, as that cost him $12. The 
family rode out on the same load_, and be- 
fore night fell Mr. Molitor had a floor and 
roof added to the frame of the cabin, af- 
fording a good shelter at the very begin- 
ning. By the next year a larger log house 
was built, and it was the family home until 
1895, when a commodious frame house was 
erected. So simple was the life on the home- 
stead in those early days, that Mrs. Molitor 
lived there three years before going as far 
even as Medford, the nearest town. 

In addition to his farming Mr. Molitor 
carried on a trading post for some years ; 
most of his customers, of course, were In- 
dians, who became at times quite threaten- 
ing, but on the whole treated the family in 
a friendly way. For many years the Aloli- 
tor homestead was the stopping place for all 
of the lumbermen and traders, and many 
of these early customers still visit the local- 
ity occasicjually. Mr. Molitor, by his hos- 



pitable and friendly treatment, made friends 
of all his customers, and he was never 
cheated of a dollar by any of those who 
traded with him. Both in his farming and 
trading he prospered by reason of his in- 
dustry and ability, and gradually acquired 
considerable property. At one time Mr. 
Molitor owned 320 acres of land, but a ymrt 
of it has since been given to his son. 

In 1868 Mr. Molitor was married to 
Catherine Winkel, born in Sheboygan coun- 
ty, the daughter of John and Catherine 
Winkel. The father was born in Wurmeld- 
ing, Luxemburg, and the mother in Mens- 
dorf, Luxemburg. They came to Wiscon- 
sin in 1846, and after living many years in 
Sheboygan, Wis., removed to Kansas, 
where they still reside. Mr. and Mrs. Moli- 
tor have six children still living, namely : 
John B., a farmer in the town of Hammel ; 
Annie C. Mrs. Mike Yost, of :\Iedford; 
William D., of Hammel; Margaret, who 
married Peter Zenner, of Hammel : Eva ; 
and Mary Theresa. All the children have 
been well educated. There are seventeen 
grandchildren. 

Mr. Molitor is a man given to thinking 
for himself, and as such is necessarily inter- 
ested in pul>lic affairs. Being one of the 
earliest settlers he has naturally had consid- 
erable influence in the locality, and has been 
chosen to fill a number of the local oftices. 
among which may be mentioned that of 
chairman of the town of Grover, which in- 
cluded the present township of Hammel, and 
that of treasurer. The former office he held 
two vears, and served as treasurer four 
vears. fulfilling the duties of both positions 
with the utmost satisfaction, while as a man 
and neighbor he commands the respect and 
esteem of all. 

THO]\IAS MEXZIES MILLER. M. 
D., is one of the successful and ]irominent 
practitioners of Medford, and the senior 
physician in length of service in Taylor 
county. With unusual professional achant- 
ages during his sojourn abroad, he is an 
able i)hvsician and it would be difficult to 
find one whose devotion to his chosen call- 



COiMiMEAIORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



iiig- is more enthusiastic or one who more 
tliorouglily keeps up with the wonderful 
ad\ances that have lately been made in his 
profession. 

Dr. Miller is of Scotch lineage on both 
sides, and his father, James Miller, be- 
longed to a Highland family. His mother, 
whose maiden name was Isabel Brownlie, 
was born in Perthshire. James Miller came 
to America when he was only twelve years 
of age, accompanying several older broth- 
ers. In due time he acquired a farm in the 
town of Otonabee, Canada, in which local- 
ity the brothers had settled, and passed his 
life there. A Liberal in politics, he served 
some years as chairman of County Peter- 
borough. He lived to the age of hfty-five 
and his wife died when she was only forty- 
seven years old. One of Mrs. Miller's 
brothers, Claude Brownlie,> also came to 
this ^country and li\-ed to an advanced age 
in Vermont. 

Thomas M. Miller was born in Peter- 
borough, Canada, Sept. i8, 1850. After he 
had completed his preparatory studies, he 
entered Trinity :Medical College in Toron- 
to and was graduated in 1877. He went at 
once to Europe for further study and worked 
in the Edinburgh Royal College of Physi- 
cians, from which he received a diploma. 
He also studied in London and Dublin, and 
was given another diploma from the Rotun- 
da Hospital in the latter city. 

Dr. Miller returned to Canada in 1879 
and began practicing at Keene, Ont., but 
after three years there decided to cross the 
line into the United States, and in 1882 lo- 
cated in Taylor county. For three years he 
was at Chelsea and then removed to Med- 
ford, where he has since resided and where 
he has worked up a large clientele. His of- 
fice is in his residence, which is most pleas- 
antly and conveniently situated. 

Dr. Miller has various interests outside 
of his practice. He was one of the incor- 
porators of the Med ford Pea Camiing Com- 
pany, and is still a stockholder and director. 
He also gives some attention to agriculture 
and stock breeding, and has a farm of forty- 
five acres adjacent to the citv uliich I-; ,ill 

17 



under cultivation. A part of this place the 
Doctor has fitted up as a fair ground and 
trotting course, and the annual Taylor 
County Fair is held there. 

In 1882 Dr. Miller was married to Eli- 
zabeth luilton, daughter of Archie Fulton, 
of Peterborough, Ont., who has made an 
admirable helpmeet to her husband. 

J. A.' ANDERSON. In every com- 
munity can be found men whose enterprise 
antl energy have made them particularK- 
conspicuous in its affairs, and whose pubhc 
spirit and business sagacity have brought 
them popularity as well as commercial suc- 
cess. This is the case with J. A. Anderson, 
the founder and owner of the town site ot 
Dallas, Wis., who came to that neighbor- 
hood when it was almost a wilderness, lo- 
cating with his wife, on the last day of Feb- 
ruary, 1877, on a homestead claim which he 
purchased of Ole Knutson, who had en- 
tered it a few years previously. There, 
through the energies of Mr. Anderson, has 
arisen the present prospering town of 
Dallas. 

Mr. Anderson was born Feb. 2, 1848.. 
in Norway, eldest of the six children of 
Isaac and Carrie (Jenson) Anderson, also 
natives of Norway. He accompanied his 
parents when they came to America in 185S. 
They settled in Milwaukee, where they lived 
two years, and then moved to Eau Claire, 
where they were the first Norwegians to 
locate. Isaac Anderson was a carpenter and 
builder, and followed that work all his life, 
his death occurring in 1878. IJis widow 
still resides at Eau Claire. 

J. A. .Anderson attended school at Eau 
Claire and lived at home until his marriage, 
in 1873, t(; Miss Clara Bue. S^ children 
were born to this union, the fo^ survivors 
being Oscar, Carl, Mathew and Julius, the 
three lattet still residing at home. Oscar 
was married, in 1903. to Elnora Kinney, 
and has charge of all his father's interests 
at Colfa.x. 

.\t the time of his marriage Mr. .Ander- 
son erected -< home at Eau Claire, where he 
lived until ccming to Barron county, as 



258 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRArHICAL RECORD 



noted above. Upon his newly acqnired land 
he erected a small frame building 16x20 
feet in dimensions, in which he and his wife 
settled down to pioneer living. He imme- 
diately began making the plans which he 
was finally able to carry out, but at first 
every movement was hampered. The nearest 
sawmill was ten miles distant, over execra- 
ble roads, and his base of all supplies was 
far away. His first effort, after completing 
his house, was the building of a dam on the 
Big Pine Creek, and during the summer of 
1878, he built here a gristmill, a small stone 
structure, which was operated in the old 
wav until 1886. when he introduced burrs 
and rollers, this being the first mill so 
equipi)ed in Barron county. During 1880, 
Mr. Anderson constructed a sawmill with 
steam power and operated it for sixteen 
years, selling out then to E. Erickson, who 
still owns the property. 

The building of these mills made the set- 
tlement grow in importance, and the neigh- 
borhood became more thickly settled by pio- 
neers who wished to remain permanently in 
that section of the county. In 1900 the 
l)uilding of the railroad opened up a new 
era in the development of the hamlet. The 
securing of a railway outlet for the town 
had been agitated for over a period of sev- 
en years, and three different surveys had 
been made in 1893, and a portion of 
the proposed line, that between Cam- 
eron and Rice Lake, had been constructed. 
Owing to financial embarrassment the en- 
terprise was delayed, and eventually it 
passed into the hands of George Fuller, of 
St. Paul, who associatevl with him George 
Hass, of Chicago. 

In 1899 Mr. Fuller negotiated with the 
"Soo" Coimjany to undertake the construc- 
tion of the^ad above mentioned. The old 
survey was abandoned and a new line was 
run from Barron to Dallas by way of Dal- 
las. Construction soon followed, and trains 
were being operated by September, 1899. 
and it is considered that this line is one of 
the best paying ones in Northern \\'iscon- 
sin. To obtain this road was a work of no 
small ]>rcparation. many difficulties arising 



which required all the tact and iliplomacy, 
and all the money, that could be contributed 
by the public-spirited citizens. 

Foremost among the leaders in this mat- 
ter was J. A. Anderson, who labored un- 
ceasingly for this end for seven years, giv- 
ing his time, contributing funds to meet ex- 
penses, giving the right of way, and donat- 
ing depot and surrounding grounds. Mr. 
Anderson still owns the town site. The 
place was platted in 1891. He owns also 
residence holdings in Dallas, a large hotel 
building, a gristmill, planing mill, two store 
buildings, the water rights along 300 acres 
of fine land, and, at Colfax, in connection 
ivith his son Oscar, is also a large investor. 
There he owns the electric light system and 
water rights, and in 1895 he constructed a 
flouring mill and dam. The first mill w^as 
destroyed by fire in 1902, but in the follow- 
ing vears it was followed by a substantial 
three-story stone stnicture. 

In 1893, Mr. Anderson, associated with 
X. M. Rockman and G. Johnson, establish- 
ed the Normania Savings Bank, with a cap- 
ital of $3,000, this being the first Scandina- 
vian bank in this part of the State. For three 
years Mr. Anderson served as its first presi- 
tlent anil then sold his interest to jNIr. Rock- 
man, and the bank is still in operation. In 
1902, the Dallas Bank, a private financial 
institution, was organized, with a capital of 
$3,000, paid up, with George Voeland, of 
Colfax, president; J. A. Anderson, vice- 
president; and E. Engh, cashier. In 1903 
this bank was reorganized under the State 
banking laws, and with a paid up capital of 
$5,000. The present ofticers are J. A. An- 
derson, president; H. Halvorsen, vice-presi- 
dent, and E. Engh, cashier. 

In an article of limited space, it is im- 
possible to give Mr. Anderson anything like 
the credit his enterprise deserves. Some of 
the results may be enumerated, but the 
drawbacks with which he was obliged to 
contend, and the obstacles he had to over- 
come, can only be appreciated by those who 
have assumed like burdens. In 1900 he put 
in a telephone exchange in the village, and 
in 1901 he constructeil a long distance line 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPFIICAL RECORD 



259 



between Dallas and Colfax, the two towns 
being thirty miles apart. These lines have 
connection with outside lines throughout the 
whole Northwest. In 1902 he also put in 
ii telephone exchange at Colfa.x, and he is 
the owner and operator of the whole system. 
Both Mr. Anderson and wife are mem- 
bers of the Ludieran church. The first 
Norwegian church services ever held in Eau 
Claire were in his father's home, and he 
largely assisted his father in the construc- 
tion of the first church edifice ever built at 
Eau Claire. Although Mr. Anderson has 
taken some interest in politics, this has not 
been a leading feature in his very useful life. 
He has supported the principles of the Re- 
publican party on all occasions, but with no 
desire for personal advancement. Locally 
he has been as prominent in educational 
movements as in commercial enterprises, be- 
lieving thoroughly in the superior benefits 
of an intelligent community. He has served 
on school boards and has shown much per- 
sonal interest in the matter. At the present 
time he is president of the village of Dallas. 
During his long and busy life Mr. Ander- 
son has accomplished wonders, but the end 
is not yet, for he is full of plans for the 
future, which, when carried to fruition, will 
redound to his own credit, as well as to the 
benefit of those who have found here homes 
and fortune through his courage and enter- 
prise. 

ROBERT B. PATTON, a well-known 
citizen of West Superior, has for a number 
of years past filled a responsible position 
with the Philadelphia & Reading Coal and 
Iron Company. He is a descendant of a 
Scotch family. 

William Patton, grandfather of Robert 
B., came fnjni Scotland and settled in West- 
moreland county, Pa., about 1770. Al- 
though a newcomer William Patton soon 
espoused the cause of the Colonies, and the 
day after the battle of Bunker Hill, he en- 
listed and served through the war. He was 
one of those under Washington at Valley 
Forge, and during that terrible winter he 
lost two toes by freezing. He also served 



through the war of 181 2, receiving a slight 
wound in one of the engagements. Soon 
after the close of the Revolution, Mr. Pat- 
ton moved to a farm in Greene county. Pa., 
and there lived to the ripe old age of ninety- 
eight years. He was also a Baptist minister, 
held regular services for many years, and 
officiated at many weddings and funerals. 
His wife, to whom he was married in Vir- 
ginia, reached the age of eighty-four years. 

Richard Patton, son of William, was 
born in 1809. In 1852 he drove a team 
from Pennsylvania to Woodford county, 
ill., where he lived for many years on a 
farm in Green township. He died in Oma- 
ha, Neb., Aug. 30, 1887, at the age of sev- 
enty-seven years. Mr. Patton married 
Lydia A. Bowlsby, a daughter of Robert 
Bowlsby, a farmer and stockman who died 
in Virginia. His wife was a Miss Rocke- 
feller. Mrs. Lydia A. Patton was born 
near Uniontown, Va., a short distance from 
the Pennsylvania line, and lived to be nearly 
seventy-two. Her death occurred at Kear- 
ney, Neb., Jan. 4, 1886. 

Robert B. Patton was born in Wood- 
ford county. 111., Sept. 4, 1854, son of Rich- 
ard and Lydia A. Patton. He acquired his 
early education in the district schools and 
later spent two years at the State Normal 
School at Normal, 111. At the age of twen- 
ty years he entered the employ of the Illi- 
nois Central Railroad, and for two years 
was the conductor of a stock train running 
between Wapello, 111., and Chicago. For a 
number of years following he was in charge 
of a lumber and coal business at Rensselaer, 
Ind., and for two years of the time was a 
])artner in the firm. Two years more were 
spent on a farm at Kearney, Neb., where he 
gave liis chief attention to feeding and ship- 
ping cattle. From 1886 to 1892 he dealt in 
groceries at Omaha, and spent one more 
year in the employ of the Philadelphia & 
Reading Coal and Iron Company. In 1893 
he came to West Superior in the interests 
of that corporation and has ever since had 
charge of its business at Superior and Du- 
luth. An average of 250 men areempl(\ved 
on the docks of this concern in the two cit- 



26o 



COMMEMORATR'E IllOuKAi'lIlCAL Rl'AOUi- 



ies, and an inunonsc quantity of coal is han- 
dled. 

Mr. i'attuu was married Xov. 30, 1880, 
to Lola Moss, of Rensselaer, Ind., and to 
their union have come two sons, Kenneth 
Moss and Maurice \'ernon. Mrs. Patton is 
a member of the O. E. S. and Mr. Patton 
belongs to the K. P. lie was formerly a 
Democrat, but of late years has usually sup- 
ported the Republican party. The family 
are actively connected with the Congrega- 
tion.al church. 

Mrs. Lola (^Moss) Patton is a daughter 
of Dr. Gordon A. and Lydia A. (Green- 
held) Moss. Dr. Moss was born in New 
Richmond, Ohio, Aug. 6, 1822, a son of 
Levi and Lydia (Applegate) Moss, liis an- 
cestors were Scotch-Irish, the name being 
formerly spelled Maughs. Dr. Moss stud- 
ied medicine in Cincinnati, Ohio, and prac- 
ticed tirst at Terre PLaute, and then for thir- 
ty-one years at Rensselaer, Ind., where he 
died, Oct. 25, 1879. Pie ser\'ed during the 
Civil war as assistant surgeon, with the rank 
of first lieutenant in the 87th Ind. V. 1. On 
Feb. 3, 18O3, he resigned, but was soon 
after appointed surgeon with rank of major 
in the 151st Ind. V. I., and was mustered 
out at the close of the war. Dr. Moss was 
twice married; his first wife was Elizabeth 
J. Sa3ior, who died leaving no surviving 
children. The doctor was one of the most 
intluential citizens of Rensselaer and en- 
joved the friendship and esteem of an unus- 
ually large circle of acquaintances, lie had 
been a Mason since 1843, and a member of 
the 1. O. O. F. since 1862. 

On the maternal side Mrs. Patton is a 
lineal descendant of John and Mary (Doe) 
Parker, who came to America in the early 
Colonial ilays. John Parker was born at 
Bingley, Yorkshire, England, on the family 
estate, known as "Ravensoyd," and he w-as 
known to be in Philadelphia as early as 
1690. He was a furrier, and books are pre- 
served showing his transactions with the In- 
dians on the Suscjuchanna in 1690. Pie was 
a Quaker in his religious belief. 

Abram Parker, son of John, married 
Eleanor Richardson and kept the "Anvil 



Tavern'" at Parkcrsville, i'a. lie tlicd on a 
farm near there about 1752. His daughter, 
Keziah, married Peter W ickersham, the sou 
of William Wickersham, the second hus- 
band of Mrs. Iilcanor I'arker. Mrs. Keziah 
Wickersham lived at "Chadsford"' at the 
time of the battle of Brandywine, when a 
cannon ball struck the house. She was a 
relati\e of the Chad family, for whom the 
place was named. 

Lydia W . W ickersham, daughter of 
Keziah, married Aaron Greene, and they 
were the parents of JNlary Greene, grand- 
mother of ivlrs. Patton. Mary Greene mar- 
ried Aaron Greenfield, and to them, in Mus- 
kingum county, Ohio, was born Lytlia A., 
wife of Dr. Gordon A. Moss, and mother of 
Mrs. Robert U. Patton. 

Mrs. Patton was one of seven children, 
three of whom died in childhood. Those 
who survive are: William E., a banker and 
stock broker in Detroit; Lola, ]\lrs. Patton, 
a graduate of the Rensselaer high school, 
who studied music in the Detroit Conserva- 
tory of Music and taught both vocal and in- 
strumental music for a while; George \'., an 
attorney in Frankfort, Ind.; and Nellie S., 
the wife of \V. T. McCoy, teacher of Latin 
at the John Marshall high school, Chicago. 

GUSTAF ALFRED ALEXIUS, sec- 
retary of the Superior Cash Grocery Com- 
pany, dealers in groceries and provisions at 
Superior, is one of the successful young bus- 
iness men, wiiose progress and development 
during the last decade have been sinniltan- 
eous with that of the city. Pie was born in 
the parish of Kinne Klefva, Westergoth- 
land, Sweden. Sept. 9, 1867, son of Johan- 
nes and Christine Alargerita Alenius, na- 
tives of the same locality. The mother is 
now deceased, but Johannes Alenius. at the 
age of sixty-five years, still resides there 
upon his farm. He is a man of infiuence 
and he has filled some local offices. He 
comes of a family which has been conspic- 
uous in the same parish for a number of 
generations, a number of its members hav- 
ing been ministers of the Lutheran church, 
and others engaged in professional \-oca- 



CO-MME.MORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



261 



tions. Swan Alenius, ri Ijrotlicr of Johan- 
nes, is professor in the i'llenientar L'u-o\erk 
at Boras. 

Gnstaf A. Alenius received a good com- 
mon scliool education, and at tlie age of 
twenty-one years, with a view to improving 
his condition in Hfe, came to America. He 
spent the next few years in the iron mines 
at Hurley, Wis., Init, not finding that occu- 
pation congenial to his tastes, in 1891 hr 
cated in Superior. The next year he se- 
cured employment in a grocery store and 
continued with one employer the greater 
part of five years. He made the most of his 
opportunities and during an interwal of this 
period trjok a course at Augustana Business 
College, Rock Island, 111., thereby liecoming 
more familiar witli the best commercial 
methods as well as with the English lan- 
guage. In 1897 he became a partner with 
a Mr. Wickstrom in the purchase of a stock 
of gnjceries at Allouez, and the firm of Al- 
enius & Wickstrom carried on business at 
that place for the next three years. After 
disposing of bis interest in that concern, 
Mr. Alenius entered into partnership with 
X. Christenson, and under the firm name of 
Alenius & Christenson, located at the corner 
of Weeks avenue and Fifth street, where 
they carried a fresh and complete stock of 
everything in their line, while the affable 
manners and strict integrity of the proprie- 
tors won the confidence and good will of 
their business contemp<^^jraries as well as of 
a host of customers. In July, 1904, this 
firm and three others, Andrew Ekstrom, 
Gronquist & Erickson, and John Anderson, 
incorporated into one company, and now 
under the name of Superior Cash Grocery 
Company, are doing business at Nos. 430- 
432 Hughitt avenue. 1002 Xortb Fifth 
street and 1302 North Fifth street, Superior. 
Of the new company Mr. Alenius was elect- 
Cfl secretary and holds that ol'fice at the pres- 
ent time. 

Mr. Alenius was married, in 1899. to 
Anna Maria, daughter of Carl Johan Gun- 
derson, of Smoland, Sweden. Their two 
cndflren are named, respectively, Alpliild 
Margarita and Eskil Milburn J(jliannes. They 



attend the Lutheran church and on joy ex- 
cellent social connections. Mr. Alenius is 
aiiiliated with the United Order of Foresters 
and w ith the At(jdern W'oodmen of America. 
Since becoming a citizen of the United 
States he has given his support to the Re- 
publican party, and is in every sense a use- 
ful and public-spirited citizen. 

J. MADISON STILSON, M. D., unc 
of the leading physicians at Weyerhauser, 
Rusk Co., Wis., was born in 1873, in New 
York, son of Madison and Anna J. 
(Church) Stilson, the former of Massachu- 
setts and the latter of Vermont, both de- 
.scendants of old Colonial families. 

Dr. Stilson received his preliminary 
educati(;n in the public schools of Treadwell, 
Delaware Co., N. Y., and at the age of four- 
teen years he entered the military school 
known as the Hudson River Military Insti- 
tute at Claverack, N. Y., where he remained 
two and a half years, taking a scientific 
course. From there he went to Chamberlain 
Institute at Randolph, N. Y., where he com- 
pleted his course in science. At the age of 
fifteen years he began the study of medicine 
under Dr. T. J. Greene, a graduate of the 
McGill Medical College, at Montreal, Can- 
ada, who was his preceptor during his va- 
cations while taking his scientific and liter- 
ary courses. In the fall of 1892 he matricu- 
lated at the C<jilege of Physicians and Sur- 
geons at Baltimore, Md., where he took two 
years of the regular course, and in 1894 he 
entered the Baltimore University School of 
Medicine, where he remained until the fol- 
lowing year when he was graduated. From 
his first entrance into the medical college he 
did dispensary work and interne work in the 
hospitals. 

After a vacation which extended through 
the ensuing summer. Dr. Stilson established 
himself in the practice of medicine at God- 
frey, 111.; where he remained three years, 
two years of which he was physician to 
Monticello Seminary. In 1898 he sold his 
practice there and went to Chicago to take 
a post graduate course in the West Side 
Hospital, after completing which he opened 



262 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



an office on the ^\'est side and entered into 
practice, remaining in the Windy City a year 
and a half, during this time being aiifiHated 
with several hospitals. 

Dr. Stilson then came to Wisconsin, and 
after looking o\-er this section of the State 
in search of a desirable location, selected 
Weyerhauser, and here he has been located 
ever since, building up a practice which is 
second to none in the county. He holds the 
position of railway surgeon to the Minne- 
apolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railroad, 
and is examining surgeon for a number of 
insurance companies. In 1902 he was elect- 
ed coroner of Rusk (then Gates) county as 
the candidate of the Republican party. His 
professional equipment is of a high order and 
his literary attainment is of the best. He 
possesses a calm, dispassionate temperament, 
is conservative and studious, and is well up 
in modern medical thought. In marked de- 
gree he enjoys the confidence and esteem of 
the people, ihe Doctor has many pleasant 
fraternal connections ; is a Mason ; a member 
of the K. of P. at Weyerhauser; is finance 
keeper of K. O. T. M., Tent No. 75; of the 
A. O. C. ; and of the Modern Woodmen of 
America. He is also examining physician 
for the Royal Neighbors. 

In 1903 Dr. Stilson was married to Miss 
Ellen Lineburg, of Weyerhauser. 

STEPHEN S. HOAR, a well known 
citizen of Shell Lake, was born in Albert 
County, New Brunswick, Oct. 27, 1848. His 
parents ^ere George and Isabella (Stiles) 
Hoar, both natives of Albert County. 

In 1763 there came from Devonshire, 
England, three brothers, James, John and 
Ebenezer Hoar, who settled in Massachu- 
setts. They traced their lineage back to 
Herman Hoar, an officer of Richard Coeur 
de Lion, who was knighted for gallant serv- 
ice at the battle of Essex. A hotel in Lon- 
don has been kept by successive generations 
of the Hoar family for five hundred years, 
each proprietor bearing the name of John 
Hoar. 

Stephen S, Hoar is descended from Eben 
Hoar, who was a Loyalist and went to Nova 



Scotia from New England about the begin- 
nmg of the Revolution. His grandson, 
James L. Hoar, was the father of George 
Hoar, both of whom were lumbermen. 
George Hoar came to Shell Lake about 
1892, and died there July 4, 1894, in his 
seventy-fifth year. He had been an earnest 
and active member of the M. E. Church. His 
wife, Isabella (Stiles) Hoar, died in 1867, 
when forty-eight years of age. Her father, 
Stephen Stiles, was born in Canada, whither 
his parents had come from the North of Ire- 
land; he was a sea captain, and lived to be 
sixty-seven years old, dying in Albert Coun- 
ty, New Brunswick. Our subject's brother 
Frank commanded the "Lizzie R," which 
went down during the great gale of August. 
1873, on Georgia Shoals, near New York, 
none of the crew ever being heard from. 

On reaching his majority Stephen S. 
Hoar engaged in lumbering and shipbuild- 
ing at Alma, New Brunswick, where he also 
carried on a general store. For a number of 
years he was successful, but owing to the 
loss, in the Bay of Fundy, of a vessel and 
cargo which he owned, and to other dis- 
asters, he lost his property. In July, 1886,^ 
he came to Shell Lake and entered the em- 
ploy of the Shell Lake Lumber Co., spend- 
ing five years in the store of that firm, mean- 
time opening a livery stable, which he still 
carries on. He has built two stables in the 
village, and his present barn, built in 1892. 
is a commodious building with a stone base- 
ment. He keeps from twenty to twenty-five 
horses, and lias an excellent custom. For 
a number of years he has also dealt in ice, 
and now supplies the whole village. All of 
his business is conducted honorably and 
with judgment, and he is highly respected 
by his friends and associates. 

Mr. Hoar married (first) June 4, 1873, 
Susan Wright, daughter of Roliert and Su- 
san Wright, of Albert County, New Bruns- 
wick. She was a member of the Methodist 
Church, and died in 1884, at the age of 
thirty-one, leaving four children, viz. : 
Frank, now an attorney at Shell Lake, a 
graduate of W'isconsin University; Albert, 
in business with his father; Belle, Mrs. W. 



COALMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



263 



B. Kinzie. of Shell Lake ; and Blair, editor 
and proprietor of the Shell Lake il'atc/iiiniii. 
In February, 1885, Mr. Hoar married (sec- 
ond) Marilla Strong, who was born in Al- 
bert County, daughter of David Strong. She 
died at Shell Lake in 1889, leaving two sons, 
Harry and Da\id, both at school. Mr. Hoar 
married (third) in January, 1893, Martha 
Devereaux, daughter of Walter Devereaux, 
of St. John, New Brunswick, and to this 
marriage were born live children : Milton, 
Stephen, Walter, John and Robert, the last 
named dying when two and a half years old. 
Mrs. Martha (Devereaux) Hoar is a com- 
municant of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Hoar 
is a member of the I. O. F. In politics a 
Republican, he lias been for two years a 
member of the town board, and since 1899 
deputy sheriff of Washburn county. 

JOSHUA G. THOxMPSON, now liv- 
ing in retirement after a long and useful life 
at Hudson, St. Croix Co., Wis., was born 
in Somerset county, Maine, son of Christo- 
pher Thompson, of Solon, Maine, and his 
wife, Ann Gray, of the .same place. The 
family were among the early settlers of 
Maine, where the father was a farmer and 
lumberman, being one of the first to get out 
lumber, and spending his life there. Under 
President Buchanan he was deputy collector 
of United States Customs, and retained that 
office for four years. He took a great deal 
of interest in politics; was town clerk for 
twenty-five years on the Whig ticket, and 
also took an interest in military alifairs, be- 
ing colonel of a cavalry regiment, and well- 
known throughout the State. In religious 
matters he was a Universalist. His death 
took place in 1893, while his wife died in 
1898. The following family was born to 
them: Climena, deceased; Warren, de- 
ceased ; Joel, deceased ; Joshua ; Albert, de- 
cased ; Christopher, living in Togus, Me. ; 
Lyman G., in market, Boston, Mass. ; Irene, 
married to Westley Patterson, and living in 
Amery, Polk Co., Wis. ; Elvira, of Madison, 
Me. ; Ann, living at Madison, Me. ; Abial, 
an insurance agent, of Lewiston, Me. ; Mo- 
ses, deceased. 



Until he was twenty-one years of age 
Joshua G. Thompson worked upon the farm 
and only attended school for three months 
in the year; school was held in the primitive 
log houses of that day. After he had at- 
tained his majority he worked in the lum- 
ber woods of Maine until 1851, when he and 
some neighbors started for California. They 
first went to New York City and took a 
steamer- to Panama, where they remained 
a week, and then went on to San Francisco. 
Mr. Thompson worked in the mines for 
over two years, meeting with such success 
that he returned in the spring of 1853, and 
remained in Maine until 1855, when his ad- 
venturous spirit brought him West to 
Washington county, Minn. There he 
worked for a time at lumbering, then re- 
turned for his family. In the spring of 
1S58, he returned with his family and set- 
tled in St. Croix county, Wisconsm. 

In February, 1849, ^^''- Thompson mar- 
ried Marian Thompson, of Emden, IMe.. by 
whom he had the following children : Ella, 
of Salt Lake City, married C. W. Miller, 
and has two children. Gordon and Edna: 
Elwin, of Hudson, Wis. ; Fred, of Hudson, 
Wis., deceased; Climena, who married Hen- 
ry Jones, of Castleton, N. D., and has sev- 
en children, Florence, Frank, Oscar, Grace, 
Mattie, Marian and Sterling; Ida M., at 
home; I. George, of Hudson, Wis.; Schuy- 
ler, a farmer of Oregon ; Etta, who died in 
August, 1903, wife of Jacob Lowell, of 
Fargo, N. D. .\11 these children were lil)er- 
ally educated and generously given advan- 
tages their parents never secured. 

In 1855 Mr. Thompson and wife came 
to St. Croix county and purchased forty 
acres of prairie land upon which he erected 
a house and stables and began to make a 
home in the wilderness, ably assisted by his 
noble wife. F^roin time to time he added to 
his possessions until he owned 480 acres, all 
of which was improved, and upon which he 
made his home until 1900, when he moved 
to Hudson Citi', Wis., and for the past three 
years has been retired, living surrounded by 
the comforts procured by ample means. On 
his great property Mr. Thompson carried on 



J04 



COM MEMO RATI \E BiOC.RArillCAL RECORD 



general fanning, believing that it brought 
the most profitable results. In addition to 
other interests Mr. Thompson has several 
excellent residences in Hudson which hring 
him in a handsome rental. 

Ever since he cast his fust vote, Mr. 
Thompson has been a Democrat, and he has 
always taken a very active part in public 
affairs. Many years ago he was elected 
town clerk, and after he had held that posi- 
tion a long time he was made chairman of 
the town lxx\rd; he was also honoreil by 
election to the coimty Ixxird for two terms, 
and many times served as a member of the 
sc1kx>1 lKK\rd, its clerk and also its treasurer. 
In religious matters, Mr, Thompson is a 
member of the Universalist church, follow- 
ing in the footsteps of his father, while ]\lrs. 
Thompson is a member of the Methodist 
church. 

Although he is eighty- four years of age. 
Mr. Thompson is one t,if the most active 
and intelligent men in the county, always 
interested in local affairs, and able to gnve 
sound, reliable advice u^xmi important ques- 
tions. Having liegim his life career in a 
very humble way by bard work he has stead- 
ily forged forward and is now one of the 
most highly respected men of his couninui- 
ity. 

HERMAN ROETHIG, proprietor of 
the Ashland County HcroliL of Glidden, 
Ashland Co., Wis., is one of the enter]nis- 
ing young men of northern Wisconsin, who 
have made a success of printing and news- 
paper publishing. Mr. Rviethig was Ihmu 
in Silesia, Germany, in 1871, son of Carl, 
Sr., and Johanna Roethig, natives of that 
Province, His parents emigratetl to Am- 
erica in 1S83. ''"•^^ settleil on a fann near 
Cilidden; they now reside in Oregon. 

Until he was eleven years of age Her- 
man Roethig remained in the Fatherlantl, 
and his earlier etlucation was obtained in 
the schools of Brunswick. Germany, to 
which place they had later moved, supple- 
mented by three years in the public schools 
of Glidden, after coming to tlie United 
States. From earlv bovhood he desired-to 



become a printer, and wlien about foiulccn 
had the oppornuiity to enter the ottice of 
the J^ioiiccr in lilidden, beginning at the 
lowest round of the ladder as printers 
devil. With true German pluck and persist- 
ency he went at his duties, and by the end 
of two and one-half years he had so far 
mastered" the secrets of the trade as to lie a 
pretty good printer. He then found an 
opening in Ashland, where for a short lime 
he was compositor and pressman on the 
Ashland linu's. was then connected witli 
the Ashland .VrrvV, and latter accepted a 
situation in the job room of the Ashland 
Press, learning nuich of artistic job print- 
ing while with that pajier. His next ix^si- 
tion was on the Ashland Hcrold, a German 
paper, where he familiarized himself with 
Gernum con)position. In 1801 ^Ir. Roethig 
returnetl to Glidden, spending a few years 
on his father's fann. and tilling a clerical 
position in one of the general stores of Glid- 
den. After this he opened a job printing 
office in (.ilidden, which he carried on suc- 
cessfully until 1800, when he went to lUit- 
tenujt, and was for several months composi- 
tor and pressnum on the Eai;h\ then return- 
ing to Glidden and continuing bis job print- 
ing luitil 1897. when he established his own 
paper, the Bcriclttcrstattn-, the first issue 
of which appeared April 10. 1897. This 
was a German paper of eight six-column 
pages, issued every Saturday. In 1003 he 
purchased the Ashland Hcrolii, a German 
weekly published then in Ashland, Wis., the 
county seat of that county, whereuix>n he 
then published both papers, one at Glidden 
and one at Ashland for several montlis : then 
be moved his newly purchased establishment 
from Ashland to his home town, and on 
Xov. 1. 190^^, Mr. Roethig consolidated the 
two papers into one of \2 six-column pages 
weekly and called same the AsltlaiiJ County 
Ih'roLL which is publisluxl Thursdays of 
each week. By so iloing he placed the sub- 
scriptions of both pajx^rs into one bulk, and 
thereby largely increased the same. 

Mr. Roethig is an able editor, alert in 
g-athering news, and expert in presenting it 
attractively to his many appreciative read- 



LOJ.LMHMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL KliCORD 



crs. Jn jxjlitics the pajH-T is indq)endeiit. 
'i'he priiitiii;^ office is well cr|uipi>ccl with all 
the essentials fur doinjf first-class and artis- 
tic job work, and turns out as good work 
as many much more pretentious establish- 
ments. 

In 1896 Mr. Roethig and Helena l<\\>- 
plingcr were united in marriage. They 
have two children, Irene and KImer. Both 
Mr. and Mrs. Roethig arc faithful members 
of the Roman Catholic church. 

ELMER H. ARNOLD. Among the 
younger Ijusiness men of .Superior none is 
more favorably known than i'^lmer H. Ar- 
nold, the enterprising and progressive head 
of the firm of Arnold & .Schimmel, metal 
workers, w ho liave Ixren located in West Su- 
jxrrior since 1890. 

The Arnold family is of English de- 
scent, and has lived in this ajuntry for sev- 
eral generations. Job Arnolfl, grandf'ilher 
of Elmer H., was a merchant in New Yf.rrk, 
removed to Ashland, 111., and thence, in 
1854, to Hastings, Minn. From that time 
on he devoted most of his attention to the 
ministry of the Methodist church, his cir- 
cuit covering several cjunties. His death, 
which occurred near Hastings, at the age 
oi seventy, was cau.sed by a sunstroke. He 
left nve vjns, two s^jns by his first marriage, 
now living in Tacoma, W'a^h.. and the fol- 
lowing children by his second : Matthew 
H. ; Dr. E. Y., for two years a physician 
at West Duluth, now practicing in >Iinnc- 
apolis; Isaac W., an attorney at Minneap- 
olis, who servefl in the Civil war; and two 
<laughters, Kesiah \\'el>ster, now deceased, 
and Mary, now Mrs. R. L. Freeman, of Lrjs 
.\ngeles, Cal. 

Matthew H. Arnold, father of Elmer 
H., was lx>rn in Harmony, Chaut;< 
N. v., learned the trade of a tii 
Hastings, and carried on that lnisinc.» for 
many years in Minneajxjlis. later /fallowing 
the same line at Taylors I-'alls. Minn., and 
also dealine in hanlware. In 1881 he re- 



in a hardware business at St, Croix Falls, 
Wis., and remained there until his death, 
seven years later. He was always a strong 
Republican, and in any kxrality he reside<I 
he was a man of much influence. At Tay- 
lors Falls he was marshal and at various 
times i'lUtd other Ux:al offices most efficiently. 
Cut ofif in the prime of life, when only fifty, 
he was a man whose »»lace was hard to fill. 
He was a meml>cr of the Masonic fraternity, 
and had jwssed all the chairs in the Blue 
L'jdge. During the Civil war he served in 
Hatch's Battalion, Company H, 7th Minnc- 
sfjta Cavalry; suffering from fever he was 
discharged for disability. His first wife, 
Mrs. .\ugusta. (Marshall; Arnold, was Ixjrn 
in Illinois, of Mohawk-Dutch descent, and 
died in 1872, at Minneapolis, aged twenty- 
six, leaving three children, one of whom is 
deceased: Letta A. is now Mrs. H. C. Man- 
ders, of Osakis, Minn., while the surviving 
son is Elmer H., the subject of this sketch. 
Mr. .Arnold married for his secf>nd wife 
Eliza J. Smith, by whom he had four chil- 
dren, none of whfwn are living. 

Elmer H. Arnold was born in Minneai>- 
olis Oct, 5, 1866. He attended the public 
schools of Taylors Falls and Stillwater, and 
enjoyed the further advantage of one year 
in the high school in Minneafjolis. From an 
early age ! /'oywl ab^^ut tin ' 

and was y various cities i; 

nesota ano i.i- Ji-in. P'rom Dec. i, ixv, 
to 1890, he was thus employetl in Duluth, 
and then located in West Superior. In 
1892 the firm of Arnold & Farrell was 
formf-'l I'l' : I :i^)f)Ut two years Mr. Farrell 
mAd and the firm has iK'en Ar- 

nold . '1 ever since. They arc tin 

and sheet metal workers and make a 
tv ',f 1x»at work. They do most of tl ■ 
•1 that line at the Head of the ! 
ing all re'juired by the Sujieri' ; 
yards, and employ fifteen men. Their plate 
of business on Banks avenue was tmilt in 
1895 and affords most com: 

Mr. .Arn'ild was marri< 
M. Krue." 
■■. Pa., dar 
r.nurger. To this Min'in Tive i;::n'in:ii u.i^t 



266 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



been born: Marshall M., Loran W., Dru- 
cilla Fay, Clair Marie and Elmer K. 

Mr. Arnold belongs to many of the more 
important fraternal organizations, being a 
member of Snperior Lodge, No. 338, I. 
O. O. F., in which he has passed all 
the chairs, and has Iiccn a delegate 
several times to the Grand Lodge of 
Wisconsin ; of Whaleback Camp, No. 
779, M. W. A.; of North Star Lodge, 
No. 112, A. O. U. \V. ; and of Custer Camp, 
No. 46, Sons of Veterans, in which he has 
filled all the chairs, and served on the staff 
of the Minnesota Division. He has always 
been a Republican, and in 1902 serxed as 
inspector of elections for Precinct E in the 
Fifth ward. 

PROF. WALTER C. CROCKER, for 
ten years the efficient superintendent of 
schools in Washburn county, and now post- 
master at Spooner, has been a resident of 
Spooner since 1891. He was born in Au- 
gusta, Eau Claire Co., Wis.. Oct. 23, 1869, 
son of David and Aldula (Stone) Crocker. 

David Crocker was a native of New York 
State, but when a boy went to Galena, 111., 
where he spent some years of his young 
manhood as a merchant. In 1849 he moved 
to Madison, Wis., going from there to Au- 
gusta in 18C0. In Augusta he built and 
operated the first flouring mill in the local- 
ity, carrying on that business for twenty- 
five years. About 18S8 he moved to Trem- 
pealeau county, where he operated a flour- 
ing mill for a few years, and then came as 
a pioneer to Shell Lake, Washburn county. 
He put up one of the first buildings in Shell 
Lake, but soon moved to Spooner. which 
was then, in 1893, a small hamlet, 
and there he established a drug bus- 
iness which he carried on until his death. 
David Crocker was an ardent Republican, 
taking an active interest in politics. He vol- 
unteered for service in the Civil war, but 
was rejected on account of physical disabil- 
ity. He was an honored member of the K. 
of P. and of the Temple of Honor. Pie was 
the father of ten children, as follows : Levvis 
F., Frank R., Frederick C. (deceased), 



Mary L., Oscar A., George E., Walter C. 
Bertha H., Anah C. and Jessie I. David 
Crocker died at the age of seventy-seven, 
April 16, 1898, his wife, who was sixty- 
seven years old, dying the evening of the 
same day ; both were buried in one grave. 

Walter C. Crocker received his early 
education in the public schools of Augusta 
and Shell Lake, and when he was eighteen 
he entered the normal school at Valparaiso. 
Ind. There he completed the teacher's 
course, and also the scientific and commer- 
cial courses, graduating in 1891. lie then 
returned to Wisconsin and began teaching, 
very soon becoming principal of the Spooner 
school, and retaining that position until 
1894. In that year he was elected county 
superintendent of schools on the Republican 
ticket and was reelected to that office 
every succeeding year, resigning in 1904, in 
February of which year he was appointed 
postmaster at Spooner. The efficiency and 
the high standard maintained by the Wash- 
burn county schools, which rank second to 
none in the State, are most largely due to 
the earnest and faithful work of Prof. 
Crocker. When he took charge there were 
about thirty schools in the county ; through 
his efforts that number has been doubled, 
and the standard greatly raised. Prof. 
Crocker served as town clerk ten years, the 
town of Spooner at that time embracing 
more than one-third of the territory included 
in Washburn county. He has always been 
an active Republican, influential with his 
party, and has been a delegate to county and 
congressional conventions. In addition to 
his other interests Prof. Crocker acts as. 
agent for the Insurance Company of North 
America, Philadelphia and New York Un- 
derwriters, and is engaged in a general real 
estate business. 

In 1S92 Prof. Crocker married .Mice R. 
Mead, daughter of H. M. Mead, and they 
have a family of five children, as follows: 
Sylvan Mead, Ruth, Alta, Claire and Ken- 
neth. Prof. Crocker is a member of Spoon- 
er Lodge, No. 260, Blue Lodge degree, A. 
F. & A. M. ; of the Eastern Star ; of the K. 
P., Shaw Lodge, No. 62, and the M. W. A. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



i(n 



He is a communicant of tlic Episcopal 
church. 

WESLEY SCOTT WITHERS, editor 
of the Taylor County Star-Ncics, and one 
of the practical journalists of northern Wis- 
consin, has passed his whole life in the State 
where he was born, in Belleville. Dane coun- 
ty, Jan. 30, 1876, son of Bramwell and 
Mary (Oliver) Withers. 

The first of the Withers family to laml 
in America was John Withers, grandfather 
of Wesley Scott, who came from England 
to Canada when only a lad of ten. He was 
a gunsmith and molder by trade, and, after 
following that occupation for a while in 
Canada, came to the United States with 
his wife and children and lived for the rest 
of his eighty years at various points in Wis- 
consin. He married Elizabeth Scott. Their 
son Bramwell was a boy when his parents 
brought him to Wisconsin, and he was 
reared and educated at Moscow, Hillsboro, 
and other places where the family lived. He 
became a blacksmith and machinist and car- 
ried on shops at Argyle, Monticello and 
Belleville, Wis., and is now residing in 
Evansville, Wis. Mrs. Mary O. Withers 
was born at Belleville, Wis., daughter of 
William Oliver, a pioneer farmer of Dane 
county, who was a native of Scotland and 
came to America in boyhood. Mrs. With- 
ers's death occurred in Monroe, Wis., in the 
spring of 1887. 

Wesley S. Withers attenfled school first 
in Green county, and afterward completed 
his high school course at Monticello, grad- 
uating when nineteen years old. From the 
time he was fourteen he had worked more 
or less in a printing office, anrl had become 
familiar with much of the work of such 
concerns. After graduating he was em- 
ployed in the office of the Madison Demo- 
crat Company, State printers, for a period 
of two years, and in 1899 went to Superior. 
There he was engaged as foreman in the 
office of the Daily Tclcf^ram, and acquired 
the practical experience in the management 
of a newspaper that has made his present 
work successful. He bought his interest in 



the Sltir-A'cics in the fall of 1902, and since 
then the paper has been under his personal 
management. His ability and experience 
promise a prosi>erous future of ever increas- 
ing" usefulness and influence. 

Mr. Withers was married Jan. 30, 1901, 
to Harriet Nicholas, the daughter of Rev. 
R. W. Nicholas, of Brodhead, Wis. Mr. 
Withers is a member of the M. W. A., and 
being of a genial, social disposition is pop- 
ular with his friends there, as well as with 
his business associates. 

HENRY H. SCOBIE, the oldest engi- 
neer as regards length of service on the 
East End of the Northern Pacific system, 
has an enviable record in that service, and 
is one of the most trusted employes on the 
road. Few people who ride upon a train 
realize the responsibility which rests with 
the man at the throttle, or appreciate to 
what an extent their safety depends upon 
his skill and watchfulness. 

Mr. Scobie was born June 20, 1851, at 
Tullycootrie, Scotland, son of John and 
Mary (Dawson) Scobie, natives of the same 
locality, who first came to the United States 
in 1848. They soon returned to Scotland, 
but made the journey across the Atlantic 
again in 1854, spending ninety days on the 
ocean. John Scobie was a machinist by 
trade, serving his apprenticeship with 
Blackwell & Son, in Glasgow, and while in 
his native country was employed around 
weaving machinery. In 1855 he entered 
the employ of the Michigan Central Rail- 
way Company, working first in the shops 
at Detroit, later at Marshall and Michigan 
City, Ind. In 1859 he went to New Or- 
leans, where his death occurred in July, 
i860. His wife survived until 1882, dying 
in Michigan City, Ind., at the age of fifty- 
eight years. Her father, John Dawson, 
died at that place when over eighty years 
old, and her mother, Mrs. Janet Dawson, 
lived to be over ninety. Several of their 
sons engaged in business in Michigan City. 
Three. Edward, William and Thomas, 
served in the Union army during the Civil 
war, with the 9th Indiana and 73d Indiana 



-68 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Volunteers. John Dawson followed his 
trade of weaver in Scotland. 

Henry H. Scobie attended the common 
schools duriiig his boyhood, but his educa- 
tional advantages were none too liberal, for 
he began work at the tender age of ten 
years, in a stave factory at Michigan City. 
When the factory closed for lack of help he 
entered the employ of the Michigan Central 
Railway Company, in the boiler shop, and 
when only fifteen years old he became fire- 
man of a locomotive. In January, 1871, 
when not quite twenty, he became an engi- 
neer, and he was thus engaged on the 'road 
for some time, being with the Michigan 
■Central for fourteen years in all. At the 
time of the great Chicago fire, in October, 
1 87 1, he fired a relief train into Chicago 
from Michigan City. 

In June, 1878, Mr. Scobie entered the 
■employ of the Northern Pacific Railway 
Company, at Brainerd, Minn., running an 
engine between that point and Fargo, N. 
D. In April, 1879, on the completion of 
the line to St. Paul, he pulled the first freight 
train into that city, and from 1879 until 
1882 his run was between Brainerd and St. 
Paul. From March, 1882, until 1891, he 
ran a passenger engine between Brainerd 
and Fargo, and he has since had a passen- 
ger run between Duluth and Brainerd. Mr. 
Scobie has had two collisions, for neither 
■of which he was in any way responsible, 
and he has never had an accident due to any 
negligency on his part. He has been in- 
trusted with many specials, and had the 
honor of running the "Golden Spike" spe- 
cial between St. Paul and Fargo at the time 
of the celebration of the completion of the 
Northern Pacific road. \Vhen Mr. Scobie 
settled in Brainerd he built a comfortable 
home there, and his residence was at that 
place until he was transferred to his present 
run, in 1891, since when he has lived at 
Duluth. Here, in 1892, he built himself a 
home in the pleasant suburb of Oneota, and 
he is one of the respected residents of his 
neighborhood. 

Mr. Scobie was married, in 1873, tp 
Delia Miller, of Michigan City, Ind., who 



died in Brainerd in 1883, leaving two chil- 
dren: Mamie, who died in 1892, at the age 
of eighteen years, and Henry, now of Spo- 
kane Falls, Wash., who is a locomotive en- 
gineer. Mrs. Scobie was a member of the 
Lutheran church. In 1884 Mr. Scobie was 
married, at Fargo, N. D., to Miss Anna 
Green, and by this union there are also two 
children, Frank and Alma. Mrs. Scobie 
and the children are members of the Cath- 
olic church. 

Fraternally Mr. Scobie aftrliates with the 
A. F. & A. M.; the B. of L. K, and the I. 
O. O. F., having joined the latter order in 

FRANK N. McINTYRE, while still 
a young man, is regarded as one of the able 
business men of his section. While his in- 
terests are many and varied, he is most 
closely associated in the public mind with 
the hotel business, and it is there, perhaps, 
that his skill and judgment have most 
plainly manifested themselves. By birth he 
is a Canadian, born at Mabou, Cape Breton 
Island, March 10, 1866, a son of Donald 
and Mary (McPhee) Mclntyre, natives of 
the same locality. 

The paternal grandfather, John Mcln- 
tyre, came from Inverness, Scotland, about 
1820, and settled on wild land at Mabou, 
where he improved a fine farm and lived 
out his days quietly. His wife, Anna Mc- 
Lellan, survived him a number of years, liv- 
ing to be ninety-three. Neil McPhee, the 
maternal grandfather, was also a farmer, 
who came from Moore, Scotland, to Prince 
Edward Island during his childhood, lived 
there with his parents for a while and then 
removed to Cape Breton, where he spent 
most of his life on a farm. 

Donald Mclntyre spent his life on the 
family homestead, which he had inherited 
at Mabou, and was one of the most success- 
ful farmers in that region. He took much 
interest in all questions of public polity, geii- 
erallv holding Conservative opinions, and 
was elected to several of the local offices. 
He died in his seventy-second year, April 
3, 1897. His wife survived him less than 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



269.1 



a year and died Feb. 13, 1898, at the age 
of sixty-nine. Their family consisted uf 
six children, who all lived to maturity, viz. : 
Mary, 'Mrs. Michael Kennedy, of Strath- 
lorne. Cape Breton; Matilda, wife of Angus 
Kennedy, of the same place; Angus, of 
Wheaton, 111. ; John, who is living on the 
Mclntyre farm at Mabou; Julia, j\lrs. John 
Beaton, who died at Mabou in 1893, aged 
thirty-four years; and Frank N. 

Frank N. Mclntyre remained at home 
and attended the public schools till he was 
nineteen, and then went to Chicago to en- 
ter an Institute of Telegraphy. After six 
months of assiduous work he secured a posi- 
tion in Silver City, N. M., on the line of the 
Deming, Silver City and Pacific Railroad. 
He spent fifteen months there, but at the 
end of that time returned to Chicago and 
worked two years as time keeper at the 
Union Slock Yards. In 1888 he left Chi- 
cago, and going to Hayward, Wis., was em- 
ployed there as scaler and time keeper for a 
lumbering firm. For five years Mr. Mcln- 
tyre was thus employed, and then decided 
to start out for himself in a new line. He 
built a hotel, the "Lavelle House," and de- 
voted his energies to its management for 
over a year. His next enterprise was deal- 
ing in gentlemen's furnishing goods, a bus- 
iness he successfully pursued for three 
years. In 1900 Mr. Mclntyre located at 
Lake Nebagamon, bought the "Xebagamon 
House" and built up a constantly increasing 
patronage, which proves indubitably the 
good management and the popularity of the 
house. As a recreation Mr. Mclntyre finds 
his chief pleasure in horticulture and raising 
live stock. While his operations in these 
lines have not been extensive, they have 
demonstrated the practicability of such oc- 
cupations in that locality. 

In 1893 Mr. Mclntyre was married to 
Louisa Lavelle, who was born in Eau 
Claire, Wis., the daughter of Patrick and 
Xorah fCulbert) Lavelle. Ik-r father was a 
a native of Canada, who spent most of his 
life in Wisconsin, in the lumbering busi- 
ness, and died at Lake Xebagamon in 1901, 
aged sixty-nine years. Mrs. Mclntyre has 



borne her husband five children : Marie,. 
Xorah, ^Marguerite, Francis and Helena. 
The family are connected with the Catholic 
church, which Mr. Mclntyre helped to or- 
ganize and was one of the first trustees. 

Mr. Alclntyre is a public-spirited man, 
always ready to encourage any project for 
the material or moral advancement of the 
community. A Democrat in his principles, 
in 1904 he was elected justice of the peace 
at Lake Xebagamon, and in the same year 
was elected clerk of the board of education. 
During his residence in Hayward he served 
for four years as county judge. 

DAVID J. LaLOXDE, a well-known 
shoe dealer and chiropodist, of Ashland, 
w-as brought up in the shoe business from 
boyhood, his father before him being a suc- 
cessful shoemaker and dealer. 

F. LaLonde, father of David J., was a 
French Canadian. He was a shoemaker by 
trade, and came to Michigan in the early 
sixties. His first wife was Matilda Bouch- 
ard, also a Canadian, who died soon after 
the birth of her son, Gregory F., who is now 
a shoe dealer in Detroit, Mich. Mr. La- 
Londe married (second) his first wife's sis- 
ter, Marie, who bore him the following chil- 
dren: David J., of this sketch; Eugene, 
deceased ; Vincent, deceased ; Cecile M. ; 
Charles, deceased; Thomas, gunner's mate 
on the battleship "Xew York" ; Johan and 
Emily. Mrs. Marie (Bouchard) LaLonde 
died when she was forty years old, and Mr. 
LaLonde married (third) his present wife,. 
Emily Sequin. They reside in Detroit, 
where Mr. LaLonde carries on a shoe store. 

David J. LaLonde was born in Alpena, 
Mich., March 3, 1873. He attended the 
public schools of his native town until he 
was fifteen, when he went to work for his 
father with the shoe firm of Fontain & La- 
Londe. He remained with this firm eight 
years, and then came to .\shland, where he 
secured employment with M. C. Boswick, 
remaining in this place four years. He then 
became buyer for the shoe firm of Steven- 
son, Dopp, Watson & Co., but after a year 
decided to go into business for himself. He 



2-0 



COAIMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



opened a shoe store at No. 105 East Second 
street and made a success of it from the 
start, having now one of the best shoe es- 
tabhshments in Ashland. Since June, 1904, 
he has been located at the corner of Second 
street and Ellis avenue. 

On June 26, 1901, Mr. LaLonde mar- 
ried Lottie V. LaFontiue, daughter of 
Ralph and Clarise (Berdick) LaFontine, 
both of New York State. Mr. and ]\Irs. 
LaFontine live at present in Scofield, \\"is., 
where Mr. LaFontine is a millwright. Of 
their four children three are living, Mrs. 
LaLonde being the eldest. Mr. and Mrs. 
LaLonde are devout members of the Cath- 
olic church. They have one child, Lucille 
C. Mr. LaLonde is independent in politics. 
Fraternally he is connected with the 
Knights of Columbus, No. 669, of Hurley, 
and with the Elks, No. 558, of Ashland. 

G. W. HEAVERIN, proprietor of the 
"Heaverin Flouse," and one of the early 
settlers of ApoUonia, is a gentleman well 
known throughout Rusk county, he having 
taken a prominent part in the development 
of this community. His birth occurred in 
jVnderson county, Ky., Oct. 14, 1845. 
When he was four and one-half years of 
age, in 1850, his parents, William N. and 
Mary (Cox) Heaverin, moved to Vernon 
county. Wis., and they were the thirteenth 
family to settle in that locality. The father 
took up a homestead in its primitive state, 
repeating the pioneer history of all who 
seek homes in unbroken country. His later 
life was spent upon this farm, where he died 
in 1862. For many years he was a justice 
of the peace and township assessor. His 
widow survives and lives on the homestead, 
a venerable lady of eighty-five years. 

Until he was eighteen, G. W. Heaverin 
was given the advantages of a common 
school education, but at that time, in 1864, 
he enlisted in Company 1, 42d Wis. V. I. 
This regiment was in service until the cUxse 
of the war, in charge of the transport sta- 
tion at Cairo, III, from which base the reg- 
iment operated in the detached service 
throughout the surrounding country. Mr. 



Hea\'erin received his honorable discharge 
with the rank of corporal. Flis brother, 
James H., enlisted in 1861 in response to 
the first call for men, in the 8th Wis. V. I., 
and saw active service for a year in the 
.-Vrmy of the Tennessee; he was a sergeant 
at the time of his death at Corinth in 1862. 
Two other brothers, Benjamin F. and Wil- 
liam, now reside in Vernon county. One 
sister, Mrs. Hattie Wyant, of Minneapolis, 
completes the family of which our subject 
is a member. 

After returning home, Mr. Heaverin re- 
sided in Vernon county until 1870, when he 
entered the employ of the Eau Claire Lum- 
ber Company, and thus continued until 
1 88 1, when he removed to Chippewa Falls, 
to enter the employ of the Chippewa Lum- 
ber & Boom Company, as salesman. This 
relation continued until 1891, when he 
was offered a better position with the 
Viroqua Sheeting Lath Company, and 
until March, 1892, he acted as one of 
their traveling salesmen, in Wisconsin, 
Michigan, Illinois. Iowa, Missouri and Min- 
nesota. At that time he brought his family 
to Apollonia. then a new town, with the 
purpose of filling the position of superin- 
tendent of the Weyerhauser Lumber Com- 
pany's yard and retained the same four 
years, when he began business on his own 
account. Realizing the need of a hotel in 
the new town he erected the hotel building, 
a roomy structure, with accommodations for 
thirty people. Since Mr. Heaverin entered 
the hotel business, he engaged extensively 
in contracting and building, and has put up 
a number of the important buildings in the 
town, including the new school. Odd Fel- 
lows' Hall, etc. 

In his fraternal relations Mr. Heaverin 
is a member of the I. O. O. F. Lodge, No. 
259; the Encampment; the Royal Purple; 
Eureka Tent of the Maccabees, No. 76 ; and 
James Cobuni Post, G. A. R., at Bruce, of 
which he is a charter member. Frequently 
Mr. Heaverin has been chosen to represent 
his home lodges as a delegate at conclaves. 
He also takes a deep interest in temperance 
work, and in fact in anything and every- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



271 



thing lie deems will sustain the moral tune ui 
the community or advance its best interests. 

Mr. Heaverin was married in Vernon 
county, Wis., in 1868, to Miss Mary Giles, 
and the children born to them are Sarah E., 
Frederick, May and Charlotte Cecil. Mr. 
Heaverin is of fine personal presence and 
possesses a genial, courteous manner. He 
is an entertaining talker, and is frequently 
called upon whenever a speaker is required. 
Mr. Heaverin does not aim to be an orator, 
but as soon as he begins to talk, his audience 
is interested, and in a few minutes, he, to 
use a popular term, has it with him. As a 
presiding officer at various meetings he lias 
few superiors, and he understands how to 
maintain the dignity of the position. 

His hotel has a good patronage and en- 
joys a wide-spread reputation for the excel- 
lence of its accommodations and table, and 
it is recognized as being as good a place 
as can be found on the entire "Soo"' road. 
In connection with the hotel he conducts a 
livery, which is replete with turnouts and a 
good stock of horses. 

PARTELOW MILES, one of the suc- 
cessful pioneers of Northern Wisconsin 
was born at St. Mary's, now Gibson, New 
Brunswick, April 20, 1848, the son of 
James A. and Sophia (Harding) Miles. 

The paternal grandfather was born in 
Connecticut, of English descent; a Loyalist 
in sentiment, at the close of the Revolution 
he decided to leave his home rather than re- 
main under the new government, and hence 
removed to New Brunswick, where he was 
one of the pioneers in the ^■icinity of Fred- 
ericktnn. He left a large family, many of 
whom still live in that region. One son, 
Thomas O., was a member of the legisla- 
ture of New Brunswick for a number of 
years. James A., the fatlier of Partelow, 
was a prominent farmer and lumberman, 
and even more active in political and mili- 
tary affairs, his official rank being that of 
captain of a company of militia. His death 
occurred in 1866, in his seventy-ninth year, 
while liis wife, a native of County York, 
Xew Brunswick, passed away a few years 



later, at the age of seventy-four. The ma- 
ternal grandfather was John Harding, a 
capitalist and a man of rugged health, who 
attained the age of ninety-two years, and 
whose death even then was accidental, 
caused by a fall. 

Partelow Miles was educated in a pri- 
vate school and also took a course in civil 
engineering. When he was seventeen he 
went to Portland, Maine, and learned the 
trade of a ship carpenter, which he followed 
for five years in various ports along the At- 
lantic. In 1870 he went to Stillwater, 
Minn., and in the fall of that year located 
at Amick, now Gordon, in Douglas county. 
Wis. For several years he was in the em- 
ploy of the St. Croix Dam Company and 
was occupied in getting out timber and 
building dams, for the purpose of controll- 
ing the stream and getting timber to Still- 
water. Later he was engaged in logging 
and filled many contracts on the St. Croix 
river. Still another interest of Mr. Miles 
was a homestead claim which he took up, 
where he was extensively engaged in stock 
raising and in growing the feed for the 
stock. He was also for some time a timber 
cruiser, locating timber lands for different 
parties. This work he has continued in to 
a considerable extent, and has been engaged 
to estimate timber lands all over Northern 
Wisconsin and Minnesota. So much of an 
expert in that line has he become, that in 
1901 he was sent to Oregon and Idaho, 
where he spent a month in locating timber 
claims. He also deals in copper lands on 
the Minong Range. 

Soon after going to Gordon Mr. Miles 
was married. His wife was a Miss Agnes 
Gordon, daughter of Antoine and Sarah 
Gordon. The former had settled there in 
1856, and the village took its name from 
him. Mr. Gordon was a half-breed French- 
man, born near Lake Superior, who en- 
gaged in the fur trade and kept a stopping 
place for the lumbermen of northern Wis- 
consin on the line of the first mail route be- 
tween St. Paul and Bayfield. His daugh- 
ter. Agnes, was born at La Pointe, Wis. 
Mr. and Mrs. Miles were married Feb. 14, 



272 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



1871, and are the parents of live children, 
as follows: Philip D., who married Cora 
Huff, has three children and resides in 
Gordon, Wis. ; Vivian, Hester, Annie and 
Florence. For some years the family lived 
a most isolated life, as they were located in 
the northern part of Washburn county, 
about eight miles from the village of Gor- 
don, which lies in a rather sparsely settled 
region, and their nearest neighbors among 
white people were several miles away. 
Since October, 1900, their home has been 
in the city of Superior. 

In their church connections both Mr. 
and Mrs. Miles are faithful to their early 
training; the latter is a member of the 
Catholic church, while Mr. Miles attends 
the Methodist. Socially he is a member of 
Spooner Lodge, No. 260, A. F. & A. M. li^ 
his political principles he has always been a 
stanch Republican, and amid all his other 
duties has found time to take some active 
part in local matters. For a number of 
years he was a member of the board of su- 
pervisors for Washburn county, and in a 
variety of ways has proved himself a val- 
uable citizen. 

JAMES G. ADAMS, the veteran edu- 
cator and popular principal of the Hayward 
public schools, was born in Webster, Vernon 
Co., Wis., June 13, 1855. His parents, 
Simeon and Aby F. (Doan) Adams, were 
natives respectively of Perry and Morgan 
counties, Ohio, and came to Wisconsin in 
1854, traveling the entire distance of over 
700 miles in a covered wagon. 

The Adams homestead claim was 160 
acres of heavily wooded land in a sparsely 
settled region, the nearest railway station 
being SpaVta, thirty miles distant. Simeon 
Adams was well educated for the times, and 
was a successful country school teacher, 
teaching many winter terms while living in 
Ohio, and one term after settling in Wiscon- 
sin. His Wisconsin school was conducted in 
the Salem Methodist church building, on his 
own land, and was the first school in tlie 
neighborhood. Among his pupils in Ohio 
was the late Jeremiah M. Rusk, afterward 



GoN'enior of Wisconsin. While in Wiscon- 
sin he taught Thomas J. Snodgras, who be- 
came a popular and influential minister of 
the Methodist Church, filling some of the 
most important appointments in the Con- 
ferences with which he was connected. In 
the spring of 1873 the Adams family moved 
to Newton, Vernon county, and in 1876 Mr. 
Adams decided to retire from business and 
moved to Viroqua, Vernon county, and then 
to Winterset,. Iowa. The following year 
he settled on a farm near Dexter, Dallas 
Co., Iowa, where he died in 1884; his wife 
passed away in 1879. Of his four sisters 
and six brothers, only two of the latter sur- 
vive : Josiah, born in Ohio ; and Mordecai, 
who lives near Bloomingdale, Wis. Simeon 
and Aby F. (Doan) Adams were the pa- 
rents of the following children : James G. 
mentioned below; Lucy E., Mrs. E. F. 
Cook, of Van Meter. Iowa; Lydia B., Mrs. 
A. G. French, of Winterset, Iowa ; and 
Julia, living in Monroe, Iowa. 

In his sixth year James G. Adams be- 
gan attending school, his first teacher being 
Jeremiah Conway, and the school house a 
log cabin on his father's farm. Here dur- 
ing short winter terms he received the ele- 
mentary education in the three "Rs" which 
constituted primary education in those days. 
Later he attended the village schools in 
Bloomingdale for two summer terms. 
While living in Newton he was fortunate 
enough, in the fall of 1873, to be able to 
attend a private school for teachers, con- 
ducted by D. M. Fullmer, and the following 
winter he was a pupil in the upper depart- 
ment of the village schools, then under the 
direction of Hartwell Allen, ex-county su- 
perintendent of schools. This schooling 
was supplemented by part of a term 
in the Viroqua high school. Up to 
this time the winters had been devoted to 
stu Iv, and the summers to work on the 
farm and in the mill. In the fall of 1874, 
Mr. Adams attended a private school for 
teachers under the direction of Hartwell Al- 
len, and the same winter began his chosen 
life work as a teacher, in the town of Jeffer- 
son, Vernon county. The first venture was 




JAMES G. ADAMS 



CO-MME.MORATR'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



successful, and the next spring lie further 
qualitietl himself fur his profession by doing 
preparatory work in the I'lattexille State 
Normal School. Some unavoidable de- 
ticiencies in his high school training pre- 
vented his completing the whole course and 
graduating with his class in 1879, but while 
teaching the following year, he made up 
the two studies in which he was condition- 
ed, and received his diploma. There being 
no class to graduate in 1880, he was obliged 
to wait for his formal graduation until 
1 88 1, but his diploma bears the date of the 
actual completion of the course, June 24, 
18S0, countersigned by the State Superin- 
tendent, July II, 1881. 

Mr. Adams did not wait for his diploma 
to do good work in his profession. From 
1879 to 1 88 1 he was principal of the graded 
schools of Argyle, Lafayette county; from 
1881 to 1883 principal of Colby village 
schools; from 1883 to 1884, principal of 
Marshtield city schools. At the close of the 
latter term he went to Dexter, Iowa, to set- 
tle up his father's estate, and returning to 
Wisconsin in 1885, he became principal of 
the Bloomer High school, where he re- 
mained two years. From 1887 to 1889 he 
was principal of the high school in Merrill, 
after which he spent three years at Jetfer- 
son, and two years at Waterloo, Jeffer- 
son county, as high school principal. While 
a resident of Jefferson county he attended 
the summer school at the State University 
for two years. In September, 1894, he be- 
came principal of the Hayward high school, 
where he remained till the spring, of 1903. 
While in Hayward Mr. Adams was untir- 
ing in his efforts for the betterment of the 
Sawyer county schools, and his work met 
with much success, the standard attained 
by these schools at present comparing fav- 
orably with that of the best in the State. 
In the spring of 1903 he decided to retire 
permanently from educational work, 
and became owner and publisher of the 
Spooih'r Ri'i^istcr, Spooner, Wis., its circu- 
lation increasing under his management. 
In March, 1904, Mr. W. C. Crocker, super- 
intendent of schools, of Washburn county, 
became i)ostmaster at Spooner and re- 



signed his former position. Upon petition 
signed by half the voters of Washburn 
county, State Superintendent C. P. Cary 
appointed Mr. Adams to the office to fill 
out the remainder of the term, which ex- 
pired July I, 1905. 

A "Hislor)- of Educatit)!! in Sawyer 
County, Wisconsin," written by Mr. 
-Adams, and issued in 1902, is a book of over 
300 pages, written with great care and elab- 
oration of detail, in a clear and well chosen 
literary style. Mr. Adams's long education- 
al career has been marked by steady ad- 
herence to the highest ethical standards and 
lofty ideals, with which he has endeavored 
to imbue the young minds under his care 
quite as much as with the more technical 
book knowledge of the schools. Fle is in 
hearty sympathy with the most approved,, 
modern, educational methods, and has been, 
successful in inspiring his pupils not only 
with intellectual ambitions, but with the de- 
sire to become useful citizens and noble men 
and women. 

On Aug. 28, 1888, Mr. Adams was- 
married to Delia S. White, an accomplish- 
ed young lady of Omro, Wis., and they 
have two interesting children: Nerva J.,, 
born Oct. 20, 1889; and Grace A., born 
June 22, J 891. ]\Ir. Adams is past grand 
in Jefferson Lodge, No. 29, I. O. O. 
v.. and was the first W. M. of Key- 
stone Lodge, No. 263, F. & A. M., of Hay- 
ward, serving two years, from the organ- 
ization of the lodge until December, 1896; 
he is also a member of Progress Camp, No. 
4156, Modern Woodmen of America. A 
Methodist in religious belief, and a Re- 
publican in politics, Mr. .Adams is firmly 
convinced that neither a religious sect nor 
political party should have a controlling in- 
finence in the management of our public 
schools. 

TRUM.\.\ G. JEFFERS, one of the- 
most esteemed of Medford's early residents, 
who still makes his home there, was born in 
Walerville, Oneida Co., N. Y., July 22, 
1833. son of George and Belinda (Cadwell), 
Jeffers. 

On both sides Mr. Jeft'crs comes of dis-- 



'74 



COMME^IORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



tinguished New England ancestry. Aleni- 
bers of the JetYers family came from Eng- 
land about 1740, and settled in Litchlield 
county, Conn. Lieut. Thomas Jeffers, grand- 
father of our subject, was an ofticer in the 
war of 181 2. A shoemaker by trade, he re- 
moved from Connecticut to Waterville, N. 
Y., before the war, and followed his calling 
there. He died at the age of seventy. The 
maternal ancestors, the Cadwells, were 
among the Puritans who went to Holland, 
and afterward came to Massachusetts with 
Gov. Winthrop. 

George Jeti'ers was born in Waterville 
in 1 801. He removed from his birthplace 
to Jefiferson county, N. Y., in 1835, and 
lived on a farm there for twenty years, 
when he went \Vest, bought a farm in Wau- 
paca county. Wis., improved and cultivated 
it, and made his home on it, till his- death 
at the age "of seventy. He always took part 
in local affairs, was supervisor of the town 
of Henderson, Jefferson county, and of 
Farmington, in Waupaca county. Mrs. 
Jeffers, who was born in 1806, survived her 
husband thirty years. She was a devout 
member of the Methodist church. Her 
father was Phineas Cadwell, a veteran of 
the Revolution, who removed from Connec- 
ticut to New York State, and later to Wis- 
consin, where he died in Union Grove, Ra- 
cine county, when within ten days of his 
100th birtiiday. For the last forty years 
of his life he was blind. In his extreme old 
age his hair turned black again and a new 
set of teeth grew. George and Belinda Jef- 
fers had fourteen children, of whom the 
following four are living: Eliza, Mrs. 
William Penny, of Sheridan, Wis. ; Julius 
M.. of Logan, Iowa, who served three years 
in Company G, 21st Wis. V. I.; Albert, of 
Sheridan, Wis., who served four years and 
eight months in Company B, 14th Wis. V. 
I. ; and Truman G. 

Truman G. Jeffers was educated in New 
Y'ork State and remained there until he 
was twenty-four, as he did not follow his 
father to Wisconsin till two years after the 
latter's removal thither. The son also set- 
tled in Waupaca county for the first few 



years, but Sdon bought a farm in Portage 
county and lived on it until 1874, the year 
he went to Medford. In that city he be- 
gan as a dealer in real estate, and although 
he has been much in public life, he still does 
considerable business in that line. Mr. Jef- 
fers compiled the first set of abstracts of 
the county, which he afterward sold. His 
present residence he built in 1877, and 
planted the trees which now form a beau- 
tiful grove around it. 

In 1858 Mr. Jeft'ers was married to Ada- 
line Severance, born in New Hampshire, 
daughter of John G. Severance, of Lanark, 
Portage county, who settled in Wisconsin 
in 1852. Mrs. Jeffers is a communicant of 
the Episcopal church. Mr. Jeffers cast his 
first vote in 1856, for James Buchanan, 
though he is a Republican in principle, and 
from the formation of the party a stanch ad- 
herent in national matters. He has always 
been independent where local issues were 
concerned. He has served two terms as 
clerk of court, two terms as register of 
deeds, has been a justice of the peace for 
the past five years, deputy clerk of the 
court for the last ten years, and nine years 
in all as city clerk. On the early histoiy 
of Taylor county ^Ir. Jeft'ers is probably 
the best informed man in the county. When 
the Medford Lodge of the Masonic frater- 
nity was formed Mr. Jeft'ers was one of the 
charter members. He also belongs to the 
Chapter of Wausau. 

JOHN A. ISAx\CSON is one of the 
early settlers of South Superior, where he 
has resided since the spring of 1890. He 
was postmaster during Cleveland's second 
term, and previous to that had engaged for 
some time in contracting and building. He 
is now a member of the police force of the 
city. 

]\Ir. Isaacson was born in 1861, in Lew- 
iston, Columbia Co., Wis., his father being 
Andrew Isaacson, a native of Sweden and 
an early settler in Columbia county, now 
living retired in Hazel Run, Minn. Mr. 
Isaacson's mother was a native of Norway, 
and he was the eldest of seven children. 



COALMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



isix sons and a daughter, John A., Henrj', 
Charles J., August A., Edward, Matthew 
and Susan, all residents of Minnesota ex- 
cept John A. and Charles J., the latter liv- 
ing in Rio, Wisconsin. 

John A. Isaacson was brought up on a 
farm in Columbia county, and learned the 
carpenter's trade, which he followed for 
many years. He lived for some time at 
Rio, where he married Leona E. Allen, 
also a native of Columbia county. To this 
union have been born four children, Ross, 
Myrtle, Allen and Grace. Mr. Isaacson is 
a Democrat in politics, and fraternally is 
connected with the Odd Fellows and the 
Modern Woodmen of America. He is 
treasurer of the Greenwood Cemetery As- 
sociation and is esteemed as a worthy and 
progressive citizen. Mrs. Isaacson is a 
daughter of Seth and Maria Allen, the for- 
mer one of the early settlers in Columbia 
county, where he located in 1845 ; ^^^ '^"^ 'i'^ 
wife are now living in retirement in Rio. 
^Irs. Allen's maiden name was Maria 
Brown, and she was the first white child 
born in Lima, Ohio. She was the mother 
of twelve children, of whom five are now 
living. 

WILLIAM EDWIX IIIBBARD, one 
of the wideawake and energetic citizens of 
Medford, Taylor county, may truly be 
called a representative self-made man, for 
his success is the result of his own unaided 
efforts. 

Hibbard is one of the many corruptions 
of the name De Hubert. Ijorne by an officer 
under William the Conqueror, whose pos- 
terity includes the Hibbards, Hubbards, 
Hulberts, and others of similar names. The 
first to come to America was I^obert llib- 
l>ard, a brick maker by trade, who landed on 
these shores in Colonial days. Descendants 
from him were among those who fought in 
the Revolution, and one of them attained the 
rank of captain. 

John Hibbard. grandfather of William 
E.. in early life went to Canada, where he 
engaged in lumbering and also operated a 
sawmill in Montreal. His son, Richardson 



by name, was also a wo(jdsman. The lat- 
ter was born in Ogdensburg, \. Y., in 
1826, before the family went to Canada, 
but was brought up in that country and lived 
there for many years. In November, 1875, 
he went to Taylor county and located a 
homestead, in the present town of Little 
Black. From that time on his chief oc- 
cupation was farming, though he still did 
some logging. His death occurred in 
1896. Mrs. Richardson Hibbard, who 
is still living at Medford, was Miss 
Dilima Therrien, and was born in the 
County of Berthier, Quebec, in 1828. Her 
parents were Louis and Rosa Therrien, of 
French descent, the former a Canadian 
farmer who lived to be ninety-two years old. 
Mrs. Hibbard bore her husband eight chil- 
dren, as follows : Susan, Mrs. E. England, 
of Little Black ; George, of Portland, Ore. ; 
Sidney, of Westboro, Wis. ; John, of Mar- 
quette county. Wis. ; Capitola, Mrs. E. 
Fountain, of Little Black; Mary, Mrs. F. 
Williams, of Rhinelander, Wis. ; William 
E. ; and Edward, of Portland, Oregon. 

William E. Hibbard was born in the 
County of Berthier, Quebec, April 24, 
1865. In 1879 he joined his father in Tay- 
lor county. Wis., where for the first time 
in his life he attended school. He was able 
to go only a few years then, but by steadily 
persevering in studying by himself, he has 
succeeded in acquiring a good practical 
education. He soon went to work in the 
woods and continued logging for some time. 
Five years were spent in the employ of one 
lumber company in Ashland county, and he 
also filled some logging contracts and 
worked in sawmills for several summers. 
His next engagement was with the West- 
boro Lumber Company, as timber buyer, 
and he negotiated sf;)me extensive purchases 
during the four years he worked for the 
c(jmi)any. 

In July, 1893, Mr. Hibbard was mar- 
ried to ^liss Nora Manney, of Medf<ird. 
who was born in Waupaca county, daughter 
of Barney W. and Mary Manney. Mr. 
Manney was a veteran of the Civil war, 
and a farmer, and went to Tavlor countv 



276 



CO.MME.MORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



in 1879, dying at Medlord in 1S9J. Mr. 
. and 2^irs. Hibbard are the parents of three 
children, Vernon, ^Myrtle and Orvilla. Mr. 
Hibbard is a strong Repnbhcan, and in the 
fall of 1902 was elected clerk of the circuit 
court, a position which he hlls with the ut- 
most ability. He is an enthusiastic Mason, 
belongs to the Royal Arch Chapter, and is 
past master of the Medford Lodge. The 
family attend the IMethodist clunxh, and in 
church and social circles alike they are high- 
ly esteemed. 

OLE THORESOX, a prosperous farm- 
er of Grantsburg, Burnett Co., Wis., was 
born in Norway, Nov. 19, 1828, a son of 
Thore Ingebrigtson, of Aasen, Tromso 
Amt, and Hannah Olson, also of Norway. 
Thore Ingebrigtson was a farmer, and 
came with his sons and daughters to Amer- 
ica, locating in Burnett county. Wis., where 
they took up 160 acres of land, and where 
botn he and his wife died. They were con- 
sistent members of *:he Lutheran church 
and very worthy, good people. The father 
assisted in building the lirst church of his 
faith in Burnett county, and always helped 
to build roads, or in any way hasten the 
advance of civilization. He and his good 
wife reared seven children : Karen, wife of 
E. J. Tollofson, a farmer in Burnett county ; 
Ole; Swen, a farmer ni Burnett county. 
Wis. ; Jorgine, wife to Oliver Olsen, mayor 
of Grantsburg; Iver, a farmer in Burnett 
county, ^\"is. ; Ole A. Joresen, ex-judge and 
a farmer at Crookston, Minn. ; Ingeborg, 
wife to A. Higdem, of Seattle, Wash. Two 
others died in infancy. 

Ole Thoreson was educated in his na- 
tive land and remained with his parents 
until he was thirty years of age, assisting 
on the farm. He also did considerable 
work as a lumberman, both in Norway and 
Wisconsin. When the family came to 
America in 1862, they took the trip on a 
sailing vessel, and se\en weary weeks were 
consumed on the voyage. Finally they 
landed in Quebec, and from there came via 
St. Croix Falls to Burnett county. Wis., 
their destination. Ole Thoreson took up 



100 acres of land in the woods, and in this, 
great solitude he erected a log shanty in 
which he lived until he built his more pre- 
tentious residence later on. When he took 
up his home in this wilderness bears, deer 
and other wild animals were the nearest 
neighbors, and often replenished the family 
larder. Now all this is changed. The 
dense woods have been cleared, and eighty 
acres are placed in a fine state of cultivation, 
upon which Mr. Thoreson raises wheat, 
oats, hay, corn and potatoes, although he 
devotes the greater portion of his energies 
to his fine dairy. 'Mr. Thoreson has been 
very successful and ow'es his prosperity ta 
his thrifty habits, untiring labor and good 
management. 

In Norway in 1856 iSIr. Thoreson mar- 
ried Anne Anderson, and the following- 
children were born to them : Hannah, who 
married Jacob Hege and lives in Burnett 
county; Tollof, at home; Heni-y, at home; 
Caroline, who married L. Olson of Grants- 
burg. All of these children were educated 
at Grantsburg. Although a stanch Re- 
publican, i\Ir. Thoreson has never aspired 
to political honors. He, like his parents, is 
a member of the Lutheran church, and he 
is popular in it, as he is throughout the 
county, where he is well and widely known. 

ALEXANDER R. HAMILTON, 
chairman of the town of Lake, is a fanner 
by occupation and was one of the first set- 
tlers in the northern end of Price county, 
where he took up his present homestead in 
1883. 

Andrew Hamilton, father of Alexander 
R., came from his native Scotland to Amer- 
ica in 1848 or 1849, accompanied by his 
wife, jMargaret (Scoular) Hamilton. They 
settled in Dodge county. Wis., on a farm, 
and made it their permanent home. Mr. 
Hamilton also ran an iron furnace at Iron 
Ridge and lost his life in an explosion there. 
His widow survived many years, passing 
away at Attalla, Alabama. 

Alexander R. Hamilton was born in 
Dodge county, Wis., Oct. 13, 1850, and 
there, on the home farm,, grew to manhood. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECUKiJ 



receiving his education in llie public 
schools. He remained in that region until 
after his marriage, but in October, 1S83, 
with his wife and one child, he moved into 
Price county, where he took up 120 acres 
of unbroken forest, in which wild animals 
still roved at will. He put up a log cabin 
and began work on his land, which today is 
one of the best improved farms in Price 
county, though some forty acres of the or- 
iginal homestead still remain undeveloped. 
He has acquired other tracts and owns 440 
acres in all. A comfortable farm residence 
has succeeded the original dwelling, and he 
has ample barns for his crops and herds. 
For some years he has been engaged in the 
Jjreeding of short horns, and but lately has 
turned his attention to Guernsey cattle. To 
some extent he has been interested in dairy- 
ing. 

Mr. Hamilton was married in 1877 to 
Etta Judd, daughter of Reuben and Re- 
becca Judd, of Mayville, Dodge county, by 
whom he has two children still living, Ar- 
thur and Guy. Mrs. Etta Judd died in 
1887, and in 1888 Mr. Hamilton married 
her sister, Eda. Reuben Judd went to Cal- 
ifornia with an o.xteam in 1848, the trip tak- 
ing several months. He was there engaged 
in mining for five years, during which time 
his family heard nothing of him. After his 
return to Wisconsin his wife died and he 
went back to California, where he died. 

Among the fanners of the county Mr. 
Hamilton ranks as one of the most progres- 
sive. Practical in all his methods and 
ideas, he has been uniformly successful in 
his undertakings, while his sterling quali- 
ties of mind and heart have won him the 
confidence and respect of his fellow towns- 
men. A Republican in politics, he has 
served the town of Lake four terms as 
supervisor and two terms as chairman of 
the town board. 

JONATHAN FRANCIS LUNT, late 
a well known business man of West Super- 
ior, was born in Penobscot county, Maine. 
Aug. 17, 1850, and came of a family quite 
remarkable for tlieir longevitv. 



The grandfather on the paternal side 
belonged to an old New England family 
I'.nd passed his life in Maine, where he died 
at the age of ninety-five. His son, Nathan- 
iel Lunt, was born in Maine and spent most 
of his active life there engaged in the lum- 
ber business. He lived to the age of eighty- 
five. His wife, Sarah (Grieg) Lunt, was 
a native of New Hampshire, of Scotch de- 
scent. She passed away when eighty-two 
years old. To Nathaniel Lunt and his wife 
were born eight sons, as follows : Daniel, 
who died in Maine; George, an extensive 
lumberman of Orono, Maine; James, who 
died in San Francisco, Cal., where he was 
in the commission business ; John, in the 
lumber business, who died in Oshkosh, 
Wis. ; Jonathan F. and David, twins, the 
latter a mining e.xpert in Colorado and else- 
where, whose death occurred in South Da- 
kota; Alfred D., a lumberman, well known 
throughout Wisconsin, and a man univer- 
sally held in the highest esteem, who died 
at Milwaukee; Richard M., a retired lum- 
berman of Appleton, Wisconsin. 

Jonathan F. Lunt attended East Cor- 
inth College for several years, but when a 
young man of only twenty he left IMaine 
and went West. He settled at Grand Rap- 
ids, where he remained for fifteen years, 
dealing in lumber and other merchandise. 
In 1885 he moved to North Dakota, bought 
three hundred acres of land at Grand Forks 
and raised wheat for several years. He 
sold out there in 1891 and settled in West 
Superior, where he remained, dealing in 
real estate, mortgage loans, and handling 
more or less timber and timber lands. He 
also dealt somewhat in city property in 
Seattle. 

Mr. Lunt was married to Beda Ann 
Addison, who was born in Greene county, 
N. Y. TJieir married life continued only a 
few y»ars, as Mrs. Lunt's death occurred 
Sept. 20, 1876; she was buried at Chippe- 
wa Falls, Wis. Mrs. Lunt was a member 
of the Episcopal church. Two children 
were born of this union, a son, who died in 
childhood, and Nora B.. who was educated 
at Chippewa Falls, at Kenosha, Wis., and 



>7S 



CO.AIMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



at a voung' kulies' seminary in Phihulelphia. 
where she was graduated. She is now the 
wife of Raleigh Chism, an extensive niann- 
facturer of and dealer in lumber in Seattle. 
W'a.'ih., by whom she has one son. 

Mr. Lunt was a lifelong Republican, 
and wherever he lived took an active part 
in the municipal life of the city. Although 
lie never soliArited a \'ote for any office he 
was elected to the school board of Grand 
Rapids and served as clerk of the board 
for six years. For three years he was 
mayor of the city and gave an especially 
efficient administration. During six years 
of his residence in Grand Rapids he was 
the lumber inspector of the State in the 
district around the Chippewa, Black and St. 
Croix rivers. In all his relations, his du- 
ties were most satisfactorily performed 
and his honorable business method.s and his 
integrity of character were unquestioned. 

THORSTEN OLSEN, one of the lead- 
ing business men of Burnett county. Wis., 
is a highly esteemed resident of the village 
of Grantsburg. Mr. Olsen is a native of 
Norway, born Sept. 29,- 1841, son of Ole 
Clemeson and Turi Thorsenson, natives of 
the same place. 

The father was a blacksmith by trade 
and both he and his wife spent their entire 
lives in their native coimtry, where she died 
aged eighty-si.\, and he in his seventy- 
eighth year. They were members of the 
Lutheran church. Mr. and Mrs. Olsen had 
seven children : Birgit, Mary, Joron, Ron- 
ang, Clemet, Thcrsten and Birgit. 

Thorsten Olsen was educated in the 
schools of his native country, and he lived 
at home until 1867. In early life he learned 
the shoemaking trade, at which he worked 
on coming to America in 1867, '^t Chicago, 
111., where he remained one year. He then 
went to Winona, Minn., where he worked 
for two years for Brown & Schmidt, shoe 
manufacturers, then going to St. Peter, 
where he also spent two years. Mr. Olsen 
went from St. Peter to St. Paul, being em- 
ployed by Johnson & Mason for two years, 
and leaving their employ to engage with 



Forpaugh & Tarbox, with whom he re- 
mained five years. At this time his health 
gave away, and for two years was unable 
to tlo any work, but in the spring of 1879 
be located in Grantsburg, Wis., making his 
way by team, as there were no railroads at 
that time. At the time of Mr. Olsen's loca- 
tion in Grantsburg there were but eleven 
houses in the now thriving village of about 
700 inhabitants. The second year of his 
residence there he started a drug store and 
sold patent medicines. His business grew 
rapidly, and he put in a much larger stock. 
Mr. Olsen soon took up the study of phar- 
macy, having a doctor to assist him, and on 
Jan. 20, 1886, passed the State board of 
examiners. lie returned to Grantsburg and 
enlarged his business and continued in the 
drug business until 1900, when he sold out 
to N. Unseth, of Grantsburg. From 1900 
to the present time ]\lr. Olsen has devoted his 
time to his grocery and flour business, and 
in the latter year took up a homestead in 
Marshland, Burnett county, a tract of 120 
acres. 

In 1869. at Winona, Minn.. Mr. Olsen 
was married to Miss Martha Jensen Engel- 
stad, who was born in Norway, April 2S, 
1848. JNlr, and Mrs. Olsen have had sev- 
en children : Tillie, married Andrew Pe- 
terson, of Grantsburg; (leorge married 
Tcnsie Anderson and is living in Grants- 
burg, where he carries on bookkeeping and 
clerking; Nora is teaching music at home; 
Olof is clerking and bookkeeping at Grants- 
burg; Louise is a teacher in the schools and 
of music at Grantsburg; Inga is at home, 
attending high school ; and Thomas is also 
at high school. Mr. Olsen has been \illage 
councilman and has been a member of the 
school board, the board of control and the 
Fair Association. He has always taken a 
great interest in township events, and votes 
with the Republican party. Pie is a con- 
sistent member of the Lutheran church. He 
is the owner of a good deal of real estate, 
resilience and farm lands, aggregating 840 
acres. He is also engaged in dealing in real 
estate at Grantsburg. Mr. Olsen has been 
local weather observer for eleven years. 



COMiMEMORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



2;9 



COL. CHARLES II I X M A X 
GRAVES needs no introduction to the citi- 
zens of Duluth. As a higlily successful bus- 
iness man, as an official whose name is con- 
nected with honorable administration in the 
affairs of both city and State, and as one 
whose family and social standing is above 
reproach, he is entitled to his position as 
one of the most influential residents of the 
city, and his appointment in 1905 as United 
States minister to Xorway and Sweden was 
looked upon as a deserved honor for a cap- 
able and patriotic citizen. 

Col. Graves was born Aug. 14, 1839, 
in Springfield. Mass., son of Rev. Hiram 
A. and ^iary (Hinman) Graves, the fomier 
of whom was editor of the Watclumm and 
Reflector, a religious publication at Boston, 
where he died at the age of thirty-four 
years. His ancestors came from England 
in Colonial times, and members of the fam- 
ily were active in the Revolutionary war. 
Mrs. Man,- (Hinman) Graves came of a 
prominent family of Xew Haven, Connec- 
ticut. 

Charles Hinman Graves received his lit- 
erary education in the public schools of Bos- 
ton and an academy at Litchfield, Conn., 
and in tiie Island of Jamaica, where he lived 
for a time with his father. In the spring 
of 1861 he enlisted in Company I, 40th X. 
Y. V. I., though the company was formed 
at West Cambridge, Mass., and he served 
until the close of the war, rising gradual- 
ly to the rank of major and assistant adju- 
tant-general of volunteers. He was in tiie 
Army of the Potomac throughout the con- 
flict, and took part in most of the battles in 
which that army was engaged, at Gettys- 
burg receiving a wound which kept him in 
the hospital for three months. In 1865, 
after the end of the Civil war, he was ap- 
pointed a first lieutenant in the regular 
army, was subsequently i)romoted to cap- 
tain, and received the rank of colonel by 
brevet. He continued witii the army until 
i8f)9, when he resigned his commission and 
located at Duluth. Minn. Here he engaged 
in the real estate and insurance business, in 
\vhich he has ever since been actively inter- 



ested. In this ccjnncction he has erected a 
number of substantial buildings in the city. 
In 1880 he helped to organize the Duluth 
Telephone Company, of which he has been 
president since 1900. He was the first man 
in Duluth to engage in the commercial 
shipment of wheat, in 1871, in which year 
he bought and shipped two million bushels, 
brought from southern Minnesota. His in- 
terest in the grain business lasted some 
years, during which he served as president 
of the Lake Superior Elevator Company, 
which built most of the grain elevators in 
Duluth. 

With these numerous business cares, 
Col. Graves found time almost from the be- 
ginning of his residence in Duluth for act- 
ive participation in public affairs, in which 
he has been conspicuous. Prom 1873 to 
1876 (both inclusive), two terms, he was 
a member of the State Senate, and during 
that time took an active part in its delibera- 
tions. In 1873 he secured the passage of a 
bill by which the State assumed the respon- 
sibility of the controversy between Duluth 
and Superior, relative to harbor improve- 
ments at the Head of the Lakes. In 1875 
he was a member of an investigating com- 
mittee of the Senate which looked into the 
affairs of the State treasury, exposing 
grave irregularities in the conduct of that 
office, and drafted a bill which laid down 
rules for the same, the plan then adopted 
being still followed. In conjunction with 
Senator (now Judge) Buckham, of Fari- 
bault, he drafted a bill establishing the first 
railroad commission of Minnesota, which 
was the first organization of its kind in the 
West. In 1881-82 Col. Graves was mayor 
or Duluth, and in 1889 he was representa- 
tive from his district in the State* Legisla- 
ture, during this term serving as S])eaker 
of the House, in 1894 he was honored with 
appointment to the board of tlie State Cap- 
itol Commission and is still a member of 
same, this body having charge of the erec- 
tion of the State capitol at St. Paul. He is 
now in Stockholm rendering efficient ser- 
vice to his country in his present high and 
honorable office. The Colonel has I^ecn a 



28o 



commemorativb: biographical record 



Republican from youth, and has ah his life 
been active in the councils of the party. 
Fraternally he is a thirty-second degree 
Wason. 

In 1873 C°^- Graves was married to 
Mrs. E. Grace Stevens, who was born in 
Brooklyn, N. Y., daughter of Major Gen- 
eral Totten, chief engineer of the United 
States army, and died at Duluth, Oct. 25, 
1902. She was a communicant of St. Paul's 
Episcopal church, to which the colonel also 
belongs, and he is a vestryman in same. 

JOHN M. HURLESS, county treas- 
urer of Rusk county. Wis., is well fitted by 
experience and training for the responsible 
office which he is so acceptably filling, and 
he also possesses social qualities calculated to 
win and retain him many friends. His birth 
took place in Richland county, Wis., -July 
2^. 1857, and he is a son of J. M. and C. 
Hurless, the former of whom was born in 
Virginia and the latter in Tennessee. The 
parents came to Richland county in 1854, 
and were among those who laid the founda- 
tions of its future greatness. Richland 
county has remained their permanent home 
and there they now reside. Earlier in life 
the father was a farmer, but he is now liv- 
ing retired. Seven children were born to 
these parents, all of whom are living and 
prosperous. 

John M. Hurless was reared upon the 
farm and educated in the public schools, as 
are so many of America's children. Before 
attaining his majority he opened a general 
mercantile establishment in West Lima, 
Wis., and there continued to carry on his 
business for a number of years. At the same 
time he dealt in live stock and was success- 
ful in his enterprises. 

In March, 1899, he removed to Rusk, 
then Chippewa county, settling on a farm 
near Island Lake, where he enjoyed the 
distinction of being one of the first settlers 
of that locality. There he built a home and 
lived in it until the fall of 1901. when he 
removed to Ladysmith to fill the office of 
county treasurer to which he had been ap- 
pointed the previous spring by Gov. Robert 



LaFollette. \\ hen his term expired he 
came before the people and was returned to 
the office, there being no opposition to 
him, and in November, 1904, was again re- 
elected by a large majority. This office 
Mr. Hurless has filled in a manner which 
reflects credit upon himself and his con- 
stituents. He has managed the weighty af- 
fairs as he would his private concerns in a 
thrifty, far-sighted and honorable manner. 
In politics he is a stanch Republican, and 
needless to say, wields considerable power 
in his party. He is a man of excellent bus- 
iness ability, is conservative in his actions, 
and possesses sound common sense, which 
he exercises both as a private citizen and a 
public official. 

Mr. Hurless was married in Iowa coun- 
ty to Miss Emma Stumbaugh, of Richland 
county, by whom he has had four children : 
Odus, assistant to his father in the treasur- 
er's office; Claude, Bessie and Jewel. 

SAMUEL T. MERRITT, one of the 
responsible men of Hudson, St. Croix Co., 
Wis., was born in Putnam county, N. Y., 
April 17, 1830, a son of Nathan and Eliza 
(Townsend) Merritt, both natives of Put- 
nam county, N. Y. 

Elisha and Deziah (Fuller) JNIerritt, 
parents of Nathan Merritt, were of West- 
chester county, N. Y., and married in Put- 
nam county, where they engaged in farming 
and died. In the Baptist church Elisha 
Merritt was a leading light, and he support- 
ed it liberally. 

Nathan Merritt was reared in Putnam 
county, where he married Eliza Townsend, 
and also engaged in farming and also 
bought and sold considerable stock. He 
died in the county of his birth, a man wide- 
ly respected. While a stanch Republican, 
he did not take an active part in politics, 
aside from holding several of the lesser of- 
fices of the township. Nathan Merritt and 
wife had children as follows : Samuel T. ; 
and Henry Clav, living in Kewaunee, 111., 
where he is engaged in the cold storage 
business. 

Samuel T. Merritt was educated in the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAriilCAL RECORD 



28r 



coninion schools of his native place and 
seminaries of adjoining counties. At the 
beginning of his business career he taught 
school in Westchester county, N. Y., and 
also in New Jersey for several years, and 
then taught near Cleveland, Ohio, until 
1855. In that year he went to visit rela- 
tives at his old home and was married, in 
1857, to Elizabeth Hill, of Plainfield, N. J., 
daughter of Rev. Daniel T. Hill, a Baptist 
minister. This lady died in June, 1897, 
the mother of four children : Charles, a 
farmer in Wakefield, Neb. ; Everard, a 
farmer in \\' akefield. Neb. ; and Ida E. and 
Marion I., both at home. 

After their marriage I\Ir. and Mrs. 
Merritt came to St. Paul, where they spent 
the winter of 1857, and in the spring they 
went to Washington county, Alinn., where 
he owned 100 acres of land. This was 
partly improved, and they made it their 
home until 1862, when they sold the prop- 
erty and located at Hudson, Wis., where 
Mr. Merritt bought his present home on the 
corner of Orange and Seventh streets. In 
the meanwhile the elder Mr. Merritt died, 
and our subject went to New York State to 
attend to settling up the estate. This took 
him two years, and upon his return he re- 
sided at Lakeland, Minn., renting his home 
at Hudson for five years. While living at 
Lakeland he owned the •'Pioneer Hotel," 
one of the leading hostelries of that place. 

After his return to Hudson Mr. Merritt 
engaged in buying and shipping wheat and 
enjoys the distinction of being the first to 
ship wheat down the ri\er to La Crosse, 
which he did by barge, with the boat 
"Viola," which was built in Hudson. He 
has also been extensively engaged in real 
estate operations in Dixon and Wayne coun- 
ties. Neb., and now owns a fine farm of 320 
acres in that State. In addition to other in- 
terests, Mr. Merritt owns three buildings 
on Second street, Hudson, and is recognized 
as one of the leading business men of this 
thriving city. Such men as Mr. Merritt do 
much to build up any comnnmity. Their 
Inisiness enterprise and acumen are such as 
-to make them able to nr,-;isi) commercial op- 



portunities, and as their concerns grow in 
volume, new life is attracted toward the 
center of activity, and the locality as well 
as the undertaking gains greater prosperity. 

In the ranks of the Republican party 
Mr. Merritt has always been an influential 
man, although his efforts have been directed 
toward the advancement of his parly and 
the securing of good government, rather 
than his own personal preferment. Early 
in life Mr. INIerritt joined the Baptist 
church, of which his wife was a consistent 
member, and he is very prominent and 
highly honored among its leading lights, 
while he can always be counted upon for 
generous donations. 

Like many other representative Ameri- 
cans, Mr. Merritt started out in life poor in 
pocket but rich in the possession of health, 
courage and ability. His success has not 
come to him by any royal road, but through 
careful, plodding work, good investments 
and excellent management, while the gen- 
eral esteem in which he is held has been hon- 
estly won by honorable methods and a pleas- 
ing personality. 

WILLIAM \y. SCOTT first came to 
Duluth in 1872, when it was merely a ham- 
let in the wilderness, and has ever since re- 
sided in that region, growing up with the 
country and prospering as it has prospered. 
He was born in the town of Woodville, Pen- 
obscot county, Maine, July 20, 1843. 
Luther M. and Caroline (Smith) Scott, his 
parents, were both natives of Maine, the 
latter a daughter of Capt. Smith, who was 
a sea captain. They came to the West 
after their son was permanently located 
there, settling in Fond du Lac, Minn., about 
twenty years ago, and there Mr. Scott died 
in August, 1899. while his widow is still 
living there, aged eighty-five years. 

William W. Scott was reared in Maine 
and received a good common school educa- 
tion. On July 19, 1862, he enlisted, be- 
coming a private in- Company A, iSth 
Maine Vol. Inf.. whence in Decemlier. 1862, 
he was transferred at Fort Sumner, Wash- 
ington, D. C, to Company \, i^' Mair.e 



282 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Heavy Artillery and served from that time 
on with the Army of the Potomac. He saw 
\ery aeti\e serxicc and took part in o\cr 
forty battles, amoni;- which were Spottsyl- 
vania, North Anna. Totopotoniy, Deep 
Bottom, Weldon railroad, Boydton I'ord, 
Cold Harbor, Sailor's Creek, Vaughn Road, 
Appi^mattox and numerous engagements 
around Petersburg. One of these last was 
the famous charge of the First Maine 
Heavy Artillery on June i8, 1864, when, 
out of tiie regiment of one thousand men, 
seven hundred fell in seven minutes. Two 
of those who went down in this fearful de- 
struction were his brothers, John li., who 
was killed outright, and Henry 11., who 
was severely wounded, but recox-ered. In 
another engagement, that of Hatcher's Run, 
Oct. 27, 1864, Mr. Scott captured a Rebel 
regimental flag from the 26th North Caro- 
lina, a daring and meritorious action. Three 
hundred Rebels had just been taken prison- 
ers, and one of them made a desperate at- 
tempt to escape with the flag, which Mr. 
Scott fortunately frustrated. A number of 
battles followed, and j\Ir. Scott was under 
tire nearly all of the time for a year. On 
April 2, 1865, he passed through Peters- 
burg, pursuing the Rebels to Amelia Court 
House, \'a., where there was a small en- 
gagement. Four days later, while charging 
on Lee's w-agon train, he was wounded in 
the left arm, which he was finally obliged to 
have amputated. He displayed tremendous 
nerve, for after being ' wounded he 
fired one more shot and then walked two 
miles to reach a doctor. He was in a tent 
hospital at Berksville Junction for four days 
and was then sent to City Point Hospital, 
where he had the gratification of meeting 
President Lincoln, who sat down on his cot 
and talked to him for some little time. He 
was next sent to Jarvis Hospital, in Balti- 
more, and then was finally discharged June 
12, 1865, as corporal. Samuel E. Burnham, 
captain of Company A, ist Maine Heavy 
-vrtillery, says: "William W. Scott, late 
corporal of Company A. ist Maine Heavy 
Artillery, was one of the best and biave'st 



.soldiers in the L'nion army in that great 
struggle — the war of the Rebellion, 1801- 
J865 — and he can rest assured that his gal- 
lantry deserves antl ought to receive the ap- 
plause of the povennnent and all loyal peo- 
])le. the highest honor of a true American 
st)ldier." 

After this arduous military experience 
Mr. Sct)tt remained at home for a year, and 
in 1867 went to Minnesota, where he was 
engaged in the lumber business, first at Elk 
river and then at Monticello. He went next 
to Sauk Rapids, where he learned teleg- 
raphy, working on a commercial line at 
Little Falls one summer, and at Crow Wing 
for four years. On May 18, 1874, he ac- 
cepted a telegrapher's position with the 
Lake Superior and Alississippi Railway 
Company, which afterward became the St. 
Paul & Duluth, and for three years was 
their night operator at Rice's Point. Trans- 
ferred to Fond du Lac, he was there thir- 
teen years as station agent and operator, 
and then in 1889 took a similar position in 
West Duluth, where he remained four 
years in that double capacity, and for five 
years more as operator alone. Since then 
he has worked for the Northern Pacific 
Railway Company, which succeeded the St. 
Paul & Duluth, and is one of their oldest 
employes. 

On Christmas day, 1873, Mr. Scott was 
united in marriage with Miss Angelia 
(ilass, daughter of E. B. Glass, a pioneer of 
Duluth. Their children were named as fol- 
lows : William \\'.. Jr.. Adelbert Leon. 
Lillian Ada, ^Myrtle. Lulu and Olive. Ad- 
elbert and Lulu are deceasetl. and three oth- 
ers died in infancy. 

Mr. Scott is a Republican in sentiment, 
and during his residence at West Duluth 
when it was a separate municipality, he rep- 
resented his ward in the town council for 
i8gi and 1892. Subsequently during 
Henry Trulsen's first administration as 
mayor he was apixiinled on the secret ser- 
vice tw^o j'ears. 

Mr. Scott naturally belongs to the G.. 
A. R., holding membershii) in Willis .V.. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



^S3 



Gorman Pust, Xo. 23. Tlie family is con- 
nected with ihc Mclliodist JCpiscopal 
church. 

HELGE JOHXSOX is one of the 
most progressive of tlie Scandinavian- 
American citizens of Superior, Douglas 
county. Mr. Johnson was born in Byske, 
Sweden, Aug. 16, 18C9, a son of M. A. 
and Christine W. Johnson, both natives of 
Sweden. For many generations the John- 
sons have been prosperous sea-faring pe<j- 
ple. Al. A. Johnson was born in Skanor, 
Sweden, was a captain in the merchant mar- 
ine for twenty years, and part owner of the 
vessel lie commanded, and died in 1886, at 
the age of forty-seven. His father was also 
a sea captain and was lost at sea. Two 
sons of M. A. Jolinson follow their father's 
occupation. Mrs. Christine W. Johnson 
died in 1884, aged forty-two years. Her 
father, whose name was Ostrom, was super- 
intendent of a glass factory at Byske. 

Helge Johnson's boyhood was passed in 
his native place, where his educational ad- 
vantages were good. When he was seven- 
teen he went to sea for a year and then came 
to the United States and settled at Bayfield, 
Wis. Dec. 9, 1890, Mr. Johnson enlisted 
at Fort Snelling in Company D, 3d U. S. I. 
and was with the army dvz years, most of 
the time stationed at Fort Snelling. During 
the great railroad strike of 1894 he was sent 
to Montana and to other places along the 
line of the Xorthem Pacific and Great 
Northern Railroads, for the protection of 
the company's property, and suffered much 
from exposure. He also assisted in sup- 
pressing the Indian uprising at the Leech 
Lake Agency, in Minnesota, in 1894. After 
coming to Superior, in December, 1895, 
Mr. Johnson completed a course in the Bry- 
ant & Stratton Business College, of Bufifalo, 
by correspondence. While in the army he 
had occupied his spare hours with study, 
making himself familiar with English and 
other branches. For two years he was a 
dealer in cigars and confectionery at West 
Superior. He then l)ecame a clerk in the 
office of register of deeds ; he siient two 



years in the city treasurer's office, and in 
1899 was employed for a time as a weigher 
in the United States mail service. Since 
January, 1901, Mr. Johnson has been depu- 
ty register of deeds for Douglas county. 

Mr. Johnson married. May 20, 1901, 
Carrie Anderson, a daughter of Nils An- 
derson .of Star Prairie, St. Croix Co., Wis- 
consin. 

Since becoming a citizen of the United 
States, Mr. Johnson has voted the Repub- 
lican ticket. For the last four years he has 
been a member of Superior Lodge, No. 
338, I. O. O. F., and of the K. P. Mr. 
Johnson's varied experience has given him 
a wide range of general information, and 
his readiness with his pen makes him a val- 
uable public officer. 

WILLl.VM J. EGBERT, officially 
known as the "Indian Farmer," of the Bad 
River Indian Reservation, located at Odan- 
ah. Wis., was born in New York City, Sept. 
29, 1836, son of William and Sarah E. 
(Ketchum) Egbert, the former of whom 
was born Feb. 4, 1804, at Utica, N. Y., and 
the latter, born in New York City, died in 
1 84 1. The second wife of William Egbert 
was Elizabeth iVnn Lloyd, who was born 
Aug. 15, 1803, in New York State. 

William Egbert spent his younger years 
at New York City as a cotton broker, at one 
time having as many as twenty-five men in 
his employ. He thus continued until 1845, 
when he removed to Southport, Wis., nov, 
Kenosha, where he bought a farm of eighty 
acres and there lived until May, 1856, when 
he sold his property and came to St. Croix 
county, locating in the town of Hammond, 
purchasing 400 acres of wild land, prairie 
and timber. With great courage, and amid 
numerf)us hardships, he cleared up a home- 
stead ; Ifiter he sold 160 acres of this prop- 
erty, and then purchased another 160 acres. 
Upon this place he lived, engaged in farm- 
ing until about 1890, when in the fall of that 
year he came to Hudson, where he died 
April I, 1893; his widow died there April 
10, 190 1. During his long career in St. 
Croix county he became well known as a 



-284 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



farmer, stock raiser and dairyman. He also 
took a deep interest in town affairs and voted 
and worked for the Republican ticket. For 
many years he was a preacher in the Metho- 
dist church, and was a member of the West 
Wisconsin Conference. Several charges 
were committed to his care and he was well 
known as a successful revivalist, his elo- 
c^uence being most convincing, and he 
brought many members into the church. 

William Egbert and Sarah E. Ketchum 
had three children : William J., and two who 
died in infancy. By his second marriage to 
Elizabeth Ann Lloyd, Mr. Egbert had four 
children: Sarah E., married Jesse S. Ham- 
ilton, and died in 1891 ; Maria L., married 
J. B. Jones and they live at Eau Claire; 
Susan Jane, married Alexander Russell and 
died in December, 1870; Theodore Eugene 
is in the commission business at Seattle, 
Wash. ; he married Lestina E. Collins. 

William J. Egbert, the subject proper of 
this biography, attended the public school 
and remained with his father until he was 
twenty years of age, after which he worked 
for himself, among the farmers, until his en- 
listment. 

On April 21, 1861, with many other 
])rave young men, Mr. Egbert enlisted in 
Company I, 12th 111. V. I., at Princeton, 111., 
for three months, and was sent to Spring- 
field, 111. Shortly after the company was 
sent to St. Louis, Mo., and kept there for 
about a month, thence being sent to Cairo, 
111., where they were mustered out. Return- 
ing to Hudson, the young soldier remained 
with his parents for a short time to recover 
from the effects of unusual exposure, and 
on Aug. II, 1862, reenlisted in Company A, 
30th Wis. V. I., as a private, at Hammond, 
\\'is. From there the company was sent to 
Camp Randall, Madison, and Mr. Egbert 
was put on guard duty within the State until 
the spring of 1864, when he was sent to 
Fort Rice, N. .Dak., and while there assisted 
in building the fort. The company remained 
there until Oct. 12, 1864, and then went to 
liowling Green, Ky., where he was stricken 
<lown with fever and placed in the United 
States hospital at Ouincy, 111. So ill did he 



Ijecome that he was kept there from October, 
1864, until June 30, 1865, although he man- 
aged to discharge the duties of chief clerk 
in the office of the surgeon general's office. 
Finally, on June 30, 1865, he was honorably 
discharged and returned once more to his 
home. 

On Aug. 17, 1862, William J. Egbert 
married Miss Huldah Elizabeth Patterson, 
who was born at St. John's Island, a daugh- 
ter of Sylvanus and Caroline M. (Cooper) 
Patterson. Mr. and Mrs. Egbert became the 
parents of four children, namely : ( i ) Ger- 
trude Emeline, married Wilbur Darrell, and 
became the mother of three children, — 
Harry Egbert, Little (deceased Dec. 24, 
1902, aged eighteen years) and Charles 
(who is with his mother) ;she is now inEng- 
Irnd and is an opera singer of note; (2) 
Winnifred Maude, married J. L. Armstrong, 
of Stratford, Ont., conductor on the Great 
Northern railroad, and they have one daugh- 
ter, Meta Blanche; (3) Paul S., of Minne- 
apolis, is collector for the Toledo Scale Com- 
pany; (4) Percy K. is a barber of Portland, 
Oregon. 

Until 1855 Mr. Patterson, the father of 
Mrs. Egbert, lived in Canada, his native 
land, but at that time he came to Kenosha 
county. Wis. After a time there spent in 
farming, he moved to St. Croix county, in 
1857, 'iiid locating at Hammond, worked at 
his trade of blacksmithing for many years, 
meeting with success, being an excellent 
workman. Later he acquired a farm three 
miles north of the village. The death of Mr. 
Patterson occurred in 1889, while his wife 
died in August, 1863. Mrs. Patterson was 
an active member of the Methodist church, 
in which she took a deep interest. Mr. Pat- 
terson was a Republican, but would never 
consent to run for any office. Six children 
were born to this worthy couple: Almond 
H., a farmer of North Dakota, was in the 
Union armyj Melvin H., who lives at Elm- 
wood, Wis., was also a Union soldier; Sarah, 
deceased, married James Ross; Sophia, mar- 
ried S. A. De Mille and they live at Minne- 
apolis: Lucinda I., married Alexander Ross, 
and died in 1899. 



CO.MMEAIORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



28.:;: 



Rciuniiu!^- ironi the scene of battle I\Ir. 
Egbert settled down at Hammond, and there 
remained until 1897, working- at his trade of 
carpenter, at which he is verj' expert, and 
then moved to Hudson, where he remained 
actively engaged in conducting a large real 
estate business, handling large properties, 
until he became sub-agent of the Bad River 
Indian Reservation, at Odanah, Wis. He 
was elected clerk of the circuit court of St. 
Croix county in 1896 and served six years. 
For nine years he was village clerk, and 
clerk and police justice at Hammond; was 
assessor while residing" in that village, and 
was the leader of the Republican party in 
that locality. From the time he cast his first 
vote for President Lincoln until today he 
has always been a stanch supporter of Re- 
publican principles. 

Since 1884 he has befen an honored 
member of the G. A. R., when he joined 
Sidney A. Bean Post, No. 182, of Ham- 
mond, Wis. Mr. Egbert is a Mason, having 
joined Blue Lodge, No. 192, at Baldwin, but 
later demitted to Blue Lodge, No. 56, at 
Hudson, Wis. ; he is also a member of St. 
Croix Chapter, No. 44, R. A. M., of tlud- 
son, of which he is High Priest; and of the 
Eastern Star, No. 81, of Hudson. Mrs. Eg- 
bert is a member of E. A. Clapp Relief 
Corps, No. 57, Hudson, and also of the East- 
ern Star, No. 81, Hudson. 

Mr. Egbert has always been an active 
man, ambitious and public-spirited. By hard 
work, good manageiucnt and thrift, he be- 
came one of the leading men of Hudson, and 
he was an important factor in the business 
life of that community. 

H. J. WHITE, tanner, is one of the best 
known of the pioneer settlers of Barron 
county, W'is., still surviving. He was born 
in 1837, in Oneida county, N. Y., a son of 
John and Maria (Staples) White, of County 
Kent, England, who emigrated to America 
in 1827. They settled at Deerfield, Oneida 
Co., N. Y., where the family lived thirteen 
years, and then, after a residence of five 
years in the town of Vernon, same county, 



removed to Canada, where the wife and 
mother died. 

H. J. White was rearetl on a farm and 
received but limited education in the public 
schools of that day. In i860, accompanied 
by his brother Isaac, he came to Oshkosh, 
NVis., later removing to Calumet county. In 
1864 he- and his brother enlisted in Company 
K, 1st Wis. Vol. Cav. and both saw active 
service in the military department of the 
Mississippi and participated in the numerous 
skirmishes which occurred in raiding expe- 
ditions. Both were honcirably discharged in 
July. 1865. 

After ihcir discharge the brothers re- 
turned to Chilton, Calumet Co., Wis., w-here 
they engaged in the pearl ash business. In 
1873 o^i'' subject came to Barron county, 
where he took up a homestead in what is now 
Sumner township, being one of the very ear- 
ly settlers. Here he erected a cabin and in 
the spring following was joined by his fam- 
ily. Here he engaged in teaching school in 
connection with farming, and in the fall of 
1875 he was elected as a non-partisan candi- 
date to the superintendency of the pulilic 
schools, his opponent being Alvah Dewey, a 
cousin of Admiral Dewey, then the editor of 
a newspaper at Rice Lake. So efificiently did 
Mr. White discharge the duties of this ofifice 
that he was reelected twice, serving six years 
in all. During his incumbency of the office 
of superintendent he was veiy zealous in the 
advocacy of the plan of district purchase of 
text books, and when he retired had the satis- 
faction of seeing nearlj' every district in the 
county working under that system. His 
predecessors in the office were Oliver De 
Mers, Albert Finley and Rev. Wellington 
Bird. \\'hen Mr. White assumed charge of 
the schools there were only twenty-seven in 
the county and there were eighty at the close 
of his term of office. Subsequently Mr. 
White was elected chairman of Sumner 
township and served several terms, during a 
part of which time he was chairman of the 
county lioard ; during this incumbency he 
was chairman of the committee which accom- 
plished the erection of the county poor 



286 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



house. For liis interest in this work, which 
he brought to completeness, he received 
much praise from tlie State Board of Chari- 
ties and Reform. For a number of years he 
has been a justice of the peace in Sumner 
township and is the present incumbent of 
the clerk's office. He has always been one of 
the public-spirited, enterprising men of this 
section, fully alive to its needs and perfectly 
capable of filling almost any office in the 
gift of his fellow citizens. 

Mr. White married Alvira Oram, of Cal- 
umet county, Wis., and they had six chil- 
dren, as follows: Alice (Mrs. Nuesse) ; 
George. Effie, Everett, Flora (Mrs. Ma- 
lone, of Superior), and Sidney (deceased). 

GEORGE BRAUN, local land agent for 
the Wisconsin Central Railway Company, 
with headquarters at Rib Lake, Taylor coun- 
ty, a prominent business man and an expert 
on land values throughout Wisconsin, was 
born March 15, 1849, ^^ Sheboygan, Wis., 
where his boyhood was spent and where he 
was educated, chiefly in a private school. He 
is a son of Jacob and Mary Anna (Haas) 
Braun, who were born in Bavaria, Germany, 
and came to Sheboygan county as pioneers 
in 1847. The father died in 1861 but the 
mother survived until 1880. They had 
twelve children, ten of whom still are living, 
as follows : Charles S., of Bigstone, S. D. ; 
Louis, of Calumet, Mich. ; Martin, of Buf- 
falo, N. Y. ; Philip, of Buffalo ; George, of 
Calvary, \\'is. ; Joseph, of Hollandtown, 
Wis. ; Susan and Margaret, of \\'isconsin, 
both widows; Mrs. Magdalen Juckem, of 
Sheboygan; Mrs. Katherine Mast, of Buf- 
falo; Mrs. Lizzie Doll, of Buffalo; and an 
infant named Peter, the last two being the 
members of the family who have passed 
away. 

After attaining his majority, George 
Braun became an employe of the C. B. Hen- 
schel Co., manufacturers of fanning mills, 
and later as traveling representative he vis- 
ited all parts of the country, continuing this 
business association for ten years. M_r. 
Braun then became interested in handling 
horses, his dealings in this line being of an 



extensive character and his sales being prin- 
cipally made in the Lake Superior regions. 
During this period he settled at Calvary, 
l-'ond du Lac county, where he has retainetl 
his home ever since, has taken an active in- 
terest in village matters and is a representa- 
tive citizen of the neighborhood. About the 
time he went to Calvary Mr. Braun 
became actively interested in lands and se- 
cured appointment as land agent of the Rib 
Lake district by the Wisconsin Central Rail- 
way. He has served in this capacity ever 
since, and probably is the best informed man 
in this part of the State concerning this rich 
mineral and agricultural section. During his 
six years of work in the locality, he has 
noted a great increase of desirable settlers, 
the majority being Germans, who successful- 
ly engage in grain farming. The locality is 
especially adapted to the grains, grass and 
fruits, particularly fine apples being pro- 
duced. Some of the most desirable tracts of 
160 acres have been sold for as much • 
$6,000. The settlers who come are quiet, 
industrious people, who desire to found 
homes, and thus take an interest in building 
up .and developing the section. They could 
have no better adviser than is found in Mr. 
Braun. 

Mr. Braun married Maggie Beau, of 
Calvary, and they have eight children living : 
George F., village clerk at Rib Lake, and as- 
sociated with his father in business ; Joseph, 
Otto, Leo, William, Nora, Lottie and Alma. 
I'Vank and John are deceased. The family 
belongs to the Catholic church. Fraternally 
Mr. Braun is a member of the Catholic 
Knights of Wisconsin. 

To attract to this part of the State. 
people who will become good citizens in 
every sense of the word, has been Mr. 
Braun's object, and, as noted, he has suc- 
ceeded in a most satisfactory manner. The 
class which has undertaken the development 
of this part of the State, which nature has so 
kindly favored, are mainly thrifty, progres- 
sive, industrious men, who have come with 
a patrimony from their native land, and 
thus in no way resemble the great body 
which in time inevitablv become a care to a 



COiMAIEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



2Sy 



commonwealtli. .Mucli is due Mr. Braun's 
discretion and excellent management, as well 
as to his devotion to the interests of th'-; 
great corporation he represents. ■ 

JOHN CHARLES BERT R A N D, 
wliose life from infancy has been passed in 
Superior, Douglas county, and who since at- 
taining his majority has been active in both 
commercial and civic affairs, is a native of 
Aurora, 111., born Oct. 6, 1856. 

On the paternal side Mr. Bertrand de- 
scends from Achille G. Bertrand, a native 
of Canada, whose ancestors came from 
France and settled near Montreal. The 
father of Achille was a merchant, who con- 
ducted a general store near that city and died 
at the age of sixty years. His wife was 
]x>rn in Boston. JNlassachusetts. 

When a young man, Achille G. Bertrand 
came to the United States and located at 
Aurora, 111., where for a number of years he 
conducted a shoe store and custom shop. In 
June, 1857, he took passage on the ill-fated 
Lady Elgin, bound from Chicago for Su- 
perior, bringing with him a stock of shoes. 
It may be mentioned that in 1859 the Lady 
Elgin was wrecked off Evanston, and that 
of her several hundred ])assengers only a few 
were saved. Arriving in Superior, Mr. Ber- 
trand established himself in the shoe busi- 
ness, which he continued for a nuinber of 
years, with a fair measure of success. He 
attained to some local prominence, and for 
some years was town treasurer. In political 
principles lie was a "war Democrat." He 
took up a claim of two acres in "Upper- 
town," now Central Park, and by purchase 
acquired other land. His log house occu- 
pied a site on Bay street, between H and G 
avenues, and this primitive home was suc- 
ceeded a few years later by a frame house, 
wliicli is still standing there. 

Mr. Bertrand was united in marriage 
with Miss Marie Landry, a native of Can- 
ada, though their nuptials were celebrated in 
Aurora. She was of French descent, her 
])arents having settled in Aurora when she 
was but thirteen years of age. The demise 
of hcitli f.ii'cr nr! uKither ncrnrrcd there, 



the former at about the age of sixty, and the 
latter at over eighty. Achille G. Bertrand 
and his wife became the parents of seven 
children : Achille H., a well known business 
man of Superior ; John G., of this sketch ; 
George Emil. a prominent architect of Min- 
neapolis, who has designed some of the finest 
buildings of that city; Isabella M., now Mrs. 
Edgar Defauld, of Seattle, Wash.; Marie 
Antoinette, wife of Dr. A. G. Fee, of Super- 
ior ; Philip A., of Peoria, 111. ; and Florence 
Agnes, who died in Superior at the age of 
twenty years. Achille G. Bertrand died in 
1887 at the age of lifty-nine years. His 
wife died in 1888 at the age of fifty-six 
years. Both were consistent and devoted 
members of the Catholic church, and Mr. 
Bertrand took an active part in the organi- 
zation of the first church of that denomina- 
tion in Superior. 

John C. Bertrand's boyhood was spent in 
Superior, and he received his education in 
the public schools. At the age of seventeen 
he became employed in a sawmill, and by dil- 
igent attendance upon his duties in time be- 
came head sawyer of the Kimball mill. In 
1880 he entere(l the employ of the Northern 
Pacific Railroad in a position that had to do 
with the selection and purchase of the mater- 
ial used by the company. He was succes- 
sively located at Superior, Brainerd, St. 
Paul and Red Lake Falls. After ten years 
of arduous service for the Northern Pacific, 
he returned to Superior to assume charge of 
the properties of the Empire Building Com- 
pany and the Vermont Investment Company, 
which corporations have large holdings in 
Superior, and with whose interests he has 
since been identified. He also conducts a 
general real estate and fire insurance bus- 
iness. 

Although Mr. Bertrand's life has been a 
busy one. he has accepted from time to time 
official positions. He was elected city asses- 
sor in 1889. has served six years in the city 
council, and at the present time is a member 
of that body, representing the second ward. 
During his incumliency he has been an advo- 
cate of reform. He has also been a member 
I if the board of review, and is poor commis- 



288 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



sioner of Douglas county, by appointment of 
the county board of supervisors. Mr. Ber- 
trand's oliicial services to the city and county 
have resulted in considerable saving to the 
taxpayers. He is independent in politics and 
gives unqualified support to whatever men 
and measures he deems worthy. 

Mr. Bertrand was united in marriage to 
Miss Hattie May Coburn, a daughter of 
Richard G. and Charlotte (McManus) Co- 
burn, who were among the worthy pioneers 
of Superior. Mr. and Mrs. Bertrand have 
two sons, John Coburn and Richard Achille. 
The family is connected with the Episcopal 
church, and Mr. Bertrand is identified with 
the Independent Order of Foresters. 

GUY M. BURNHAAI, editor of the 
Ashland Press, and one of the most capable 
and progressive journalists in Northern 
Wisconsin, is a scion of one of those old 
New England families whose posterity and 
influence may be found in almost every part 
of the United States. His first ancestor on 
this continent was Deacon John Burnham, 
who came from England on the good ship 
"Angel Gabriel," being a fellow passenger 
w-ith Richard Mather, one of the progen- 
itors of the famous magistrate, Cotton 
Mather. The vessel was wrecked ofi" the 
coast of Maine, but most of the passengers 
were saved. Deacon John Burnham set- 
tled at Essex, Mass.. where he became a 
useful and influential citizen. He served in 
the Pequot war, and a number of his de- 
scendants participated in the Revolution 
and other Colonial wars. Members of the 
Burnham family intermarried with the 
Choate and Andrews families, and their 
posterity became scattered throughout New 
England, and later branches of the family 
located at different points in the Mississippi 
Valley and other portions of the West. 
Most of the inhabitants of the village of Es- 
sex still trace their lineage to Deacon John 
Burnham. 

Guy M. Burnham was born at Aurora, 
111., March 21, i860, son of Julius C. and 
Julia A. (Baird) Burnham, the latter now 
a resident of Laporte City, Iowa. Julius 



C. Burnham was a native of Vermor.t. and 
a grandson of Josiah Burnham, one of the 
Revolutionary veterans. Julius C. Burn- 
ham removed to Illinois at an early age, and 
became a wholesale dealer in boots and shoes 
at Aurora. In 1849 he made an overland 
trip to California, and spent several years 
in that State, bringing home some speci- 
mens of gold which are still in the posses- 
sion of his son, Guy M. Elis later life was 
passed at Laporte City, Iowa, where his 
death occurred in 18S5, when he was aged 
sixty years. 

At the age of eighteen years Guy M. 
Burnham went to Cedar Falls, Iowa, where 
he attended the State Normal School. He 
taught at intervals in that State and in Min- 
nesota, and graduated at the State Agri- 
cultural College at Ames, Iowa, in 1883, 
with the degree of B. S. In 1889 he went 
to Chicago and taught short hand in a busi- 
ness college, also doing more or less short 
hand work for the Inter Ocean and other 
newspapers. Since 1891 he has been con- 
nected with the Ashland Press, having had 
the chief editorial management of that jour- 
nal for several years past. The paper was es- 
tablished as a weekly by Sam S. Fifield, in 
1872. In 1887 the Daily Press was estab- 
lished by Joe M. Chappel, noW editor of the 
National Magacine, published at Boston. 
Fmm the start the Press has been one of 
the most popular and influential newspap- 
ers in the Upper Lake region and its repu- 
tation is well sustained under its present 
management. Mr. Burnham has also con- 
tributed a number of articles to the Nation- 
al Magazi)ie, including a very interesting- 
paper on the "Montana Feud," published in 
1900. He has always exerted a marked in- 
fluence in public affairs, and has been chair- 
man of the Republican County Committee 
since 1897. For about the same period he 
has served as deputy United States collector 
of customs for the port of Ashland. 

In 1886 Guy M. Burnham was married 
to Luella George of Iowa Falls, Iowa. They 
have one child, Luellin Guy, born August 
26, 1902. 

Mr. and Mrs. Burnham are connected 




GUY M, BURNHAM 



COMMEiMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



289 



with the Methodist Church, and with tiie 
Vaughn Choral Club, an organizatiun of 
considerable local renown, of which Mr. 
Burnham has been director for a num- 
ber of years past. Fraternally he is identi- 
fied with the Masonic Order, in which he is 
worshipful master; the Knights of Pythias; 
and the Benevolent Protective Order of 
b:iks. 

DELANO SMITH. It is but natural 
that this enterprisin,g and successful man 
should be a leader in all that conduces to the 
progress and prosperity of Superior, for not 
only has he had the advantage of close asso- 
ciation with his father in gigantic business 
enterprises of New York City, but he is 
gifted witii the great natural abilities that 
Iiave made his ancestors for centuries promi- 
nent in the country's development. 

Melville C. and Or.sena S. (Fowler) 
Smith, his parents, represent families that 
have been conspicuous in New England and 
the "Empire State" from their earliest settle- 
ment. On the paternal side his descent is 
traced directly from Philip de la Noye, who 
was born in 1602 in Leyden, Holland, of 
French Huguenot parents. As he grew up 
lie became strongly influenced by the teach- 
ings of the Pilgrims at Leyden and joined 
the Colonists who came to Plymouth, ^lass., 
on the ship "Fortune" in 1621. A few years 
later he became one of the original settlers 
of Duxbury. His son, Lieut. Jonathan de la 
Noye, acquired his title by distinguished ser- 
vice in King Philip's war, and was one of 
the original proprietors of Dartmouth, now 
F'airhaven. Their descendants, among whom 
are many who have been conspicuous in civil 
and military affairs, have quite generally 
contracted the name to Delano. 

Melville C. Smith was born in Herkimer 
county, N. Y.. and died in New York City, 
Jan. 12, 1898, aged sixty-five years. Fle 
served as a member of the State Senate and 
filled many responsible positions in business 
and in public life. His most notable work, 
however, was in connection with the Under- 
.ground Railroad in New \'ork. This idea 
originated with him. and to its ])romotion he 



devoted the best years of his life, but luifor- 
tunately he did not live to enjoy its final frui- 
tion, as his death occurred a short time be- 
fore the franchise was granted. Beginning 
in 1865, he succeeded in interesting many 
prominent men in the city, including Presi- 
dent C. A. Arthur, Levi'P. Morton, C. M. 
Bliss and Seth Low, and at last, in 1888, had 
a company organized, of which he was gen- 
eral manager and financier, with a pledged 
capital of $25,000,000. A visit of Mr. 
Smith in 1853 to JNIinneapolis, then a \'illage 
of 500 people, resulted in arousing his inter- 
est in that place, and he invested largely in 
real estate, some of which is still owned by 
his family. In 1856 he became interested in 
the original town site of Superior, though he 
never saw the place till 1890. His brother, 
Delano T. Smith, a resident of Minnesota, 
was an early member of the legislature of 
that State, and also filled important positions 
under the United States government. 

The wife of Melville C. Smith is still liv- 
ing in Brooklyn. She was born in Philadel- 
phia, the daughter of Prof. O. S. Fowder, the 
famous founder of the science of phrenology 
and publisher of the Phrenological Journal 
and other publications. Pier mother, Eliza 
(Bre\-ort) Fowler, was a descendant of the 
famous Brevort family of New Amsterdam. 

Delano Smith, the only child of JNIelville 
C. and Orsena S. Smith, was born in New 
York City, Feb. 27, 1861. He was gradu- 
ated from Cornell Universit)', class of 
"83, with the degree of B. S. His law stud- 
ies were pursued at the Harvard Law School 
and in Marshalltown, Iowa. For ten years 
he was associated with his father in promot- 
ing the Arcade Railroad in New York Cit\-, 
the charter for which included a scheme for 
the use of pneumatic tubes. Since 1896 he 
has resided in Superior, giving his chief at- 
tention to improving the property which he 
inherited from his father. This includes one 
tract of several acres near the very heart of 
the citv. One of his subdivisions is known 
as MeKille Place. He has lent himself 
heartily to the promotion of various enter- 
prises calculated to upbuild and advance the 
best interests of the cit\'. and is vice-presi- 



290 



COMMEAIORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



dent of the "One Hundred Thousand Club," 
and president of the Commercial Club. He 
is on the board of trade of Superior and is 
president of the Peerless Mining Co., which 
is developing some rich silver mines near 
Austin, Nev. In pcjlitics he is a Republican 
in principle, but has never been a seeker of 
official honors. 

Mr. Smith's wife, to whom he was mar- 
ried Oct. 13, 1886, was Miss May A. Stone, 
daughter of Charles W. and Alice E. (Wil- 
liams) Stone. Mrs. Smith was born in Mar- 
shalltown, Iowa. She is a graduate of the 
Xortlnvestern University, Evanston, 111., 
and has given much time to the study of 
music, being considered one of the finest so- 
prano singers at the Head of the Lakes. For 
several years she was engaged as chorister 
of Pilgrim Congregational church, West Su- 
perior, with which both she and her husband 
are connected. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have 
one daughter, Florence Adelaide, and two 
sons, Clayton and Wilton. The family 
take a prominent part in the social life 
of the city. Mr. Smith is a fraternity man, 
lielonging to Cornell Chapter, Alpha Delta 
Phi. 

JOHN CAMPER, one of the progres- 
sive men of Taylor county, \Ms., residing on 
a farm in the town of Browning, was born 
in Chur, Switzerland, Feb. 11, i860, a son 
of William Camper and his wife, Notina 
( Dannuser) Camper, the latter of whom is 
still living and makes her home in Switzer- 
land. William Camper was engaged in the 
mercantile business at Chur for a time and 
his wife conducted a hospital there for some 
years. John Dannuser, father of Mrs. No- 
tina Camper, was a farmer. 

John Camper received his education in 
the excellent school of his native village and 
in Zurich University, where he pursued a 
classical course. In 1883 he came to the 
United States, and after spending a short 
time in Chicago, went to Sauk county. Wis., 
?nd v.'Orked on a farm. Finding this occupa- 
tion congenial to his taste, in the fall he went 
to Medford, Wis., and purchased a piece of 
land which he improved according to his 



ability. He has also gi\-en a great deal of 
time to a real estate business and to abstract- 
ing. His excellent education and his active 
interest in public affairs soon made him a 
potent factor in matters of general interest. 
He served as school clerk and also as town 
clerk. In 1892 he became clerk of the court 
and served two terms. He held a position 
under the sheriff for two years, and was then 
elected register of deeds, an office he held 
two terms. In the spring of 1904 Mr. Cam- 
per was made chairman of the town of 
Browning. His political faith is that of the 
Democratic party, but he is not strictly par- 
tisan in local affairs. 

On May 2, 1888, Mr. Camper was mar- 
ried to Louise Lindow, who has borne him 
six children, Alma, Clara, Lena, Ida, Alvi- 
na and Minna. Mr. Camper enjoys the re- 
spect and esteem of the best people of Tay- 
lor county, and his family are popular so- 
cially. 

C. S. NELSON, a successful merchant 
and banker of Spooner, Washburn county, 
is a native of Denmark, where he was born 
Xo\-. 8, 1863, and where he passed the first 
few years of his life. He came to America 
in 1 87 1 with his parents, S. C. and Anna 
Nelson, who settled with their eight children 
on land bought by Mr. Nelson, and on which 
he still lives, near St. Croix Falls. 

C. S. Nelson remained on the farm until 
he was fourteen years of age, his only 
schooling consisting of two short winter 
terms. At fourteen he began working for 
himself, doing whatever work he could find. 
In 1888 or 1889 he came to Spooner and 
opened a meat market, which he carried on 
for several years, and then went into a gen- 
eral merchandise business, carrying a large 
stock of goods. He now occupies a double 
store and keeps the two floors well stocked 
with seasonable goods, also doing a general 
banking business, having established a bank 
in the spring of 1901. In politics he is a 
Republican. Fie served several years as 
treasurer of the town of Spooner, as chair- 
man of the town one year, and was elected 
chairman of the county board in the spring 



COMME.MORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



291 



of 190.'. Mr. Nelson is one of the successful 
men of the county, one who from small be- 
ginnings has built up a trade scarcely second 
to any in the locality. He has two children, 
namely : Clara Luella and Harry Raymond. 

MARK HESSEY, a successful and ex- 
emplary citizen of Iron River, Bayfield Co., 
Wis., was born in Toronto, Ontario, March 
14, 1858, son of Robert and Margaret (Par- 
sons) Hessey. His paternal grandparents, 
James and Ann Hessey, came from Hull, 
England, in 184b, and settled on a farm 
near Toronto, where the balance of their 
lives w'as spent. 

Robert Hessey was about ten years old 
when the family emigrated to America. 
About fifteen years later he came to Wiscon- 
sin, and. after living for a time in Oshkosh, 
in 1869 settled at Manawa, Waupaca county. 
For some years he was engaged in logging 
to a considerable extent, but now gives his 
chief attention to the management of his 
farm. He has led a quiet, industrious and 
useful life and has ne\er- been engaged in 
any legal controversy. He and his wife are 
identified with the Baptist church. Of their 
twelve children Mark and one daughter are 
the only survivors. They were bereft of 
most of the others during an epidemic of 
black diphtheria, though all the family had 
previously enjoyed excellent health. 

Mark Hessey attended the public schools 
of Manawa, and from early life has been en- 
gaged in logging and timber cruising. In 
1 89 1 he came to Bayfield county, and in 
company with W. H. Hatton bought a tract 
of pine timber on the site of the present vil- 
lage of Iron River, which tiiey at once began 
to cut and manufacture into lumber. As the 
village began to grow al)out this time, he 
soon began to make investments in real es- 
tate and to improve his property. He was 
interested in the construction of one of tiie 
most substantial brick blocks in the town and 
in a number of other buildings. Mr. Hessey 
met with a severe loss in the fire of July, 
1892, whicii destroyed most of the town, but 
he was not discouraged and continued to 
make improvements as fast as his means 



would permit. He platted Hessey's addition 
to the village and erected a number of build- 
ings theretjn, as well as his own modern res- 
idence. Besides his investments in Iron 
River and vicinity Mr. Hessey now owns a 
valuable tract of timber land in the State of 
Washington. He has always done consider- 
able logging and lumbering, but now de- 
votes most of his time to cruising and esti- 
mating timber, his experience in this line, to- 
gether with his well known integrity and 
familiarity with the lands in the locality, 
causing his judgment to be frequently sought 
concerning the values thereof. A successful 
employer of labor for many years, he de- 
plores the irresponsibility of the average la- 
borer of the present day, which he attributes 
chiefly to the wide prevalence of drinking 
habits among the woodsmen. He has al- 
ways been an advocate of temperance, and in 
this and other respects sets an example wor- 
thy the emulation of his employes and oth- 
ers with whom he comes in contact. He be- 
lieves that with the opportunities afiforded 
in this country, there is no good reason why 
every able-bodied man should not become the 
owner of a home. 

While a Republican in principle Mr. Hes- 
sey has never been a seeker of political fa- 
vors. He has been a delegate to several 
county conventions and served four years as 
assessor of the town of Iron River. All pub- 
lic charges accepted by him have been dis- 
charged with the same promptness and rec- 
titude which he displays in his private busi- 
ness, and he enjoys the confidence and good 
will of his associates. 

In 1893 Mr. Hessey was married to Miss 
-Mice L. Favell. daughter of James T. Fa- 
vell. of Royalton, Wis. Mrs. Hessey is a 
talented woman and heartily co-operates 
with her husband in trying to promote and 
cultivate the best instincts of the community. 

JOHN J. VOEMASTEK. Rib Lake. 
Taylor Co.. Wis., with its intelligent popula- 
tion of 12.000. and located in a rich mineral 
and agricultural section, has become weH 
known over the State through the oilumns 
of its leading newspaper, the Rib Lake Her- 



292 



COMME^IORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



aid. wliich is a1)ly managed and edited by 
John J. Voemastek, a prominent newspaper 
man and influential citizen. 

Mr. Voemastek was born March 25, 
1877, at Vienna, Austria, a son of Joseph 
and Anna (Eremias) Voemastek, whom he 
accompanied to America in 1886. He had 
enjoyed three years of schooHng in the pubhc 
schools of that country, and then became a 
student at Shawano, Wis., where his father 
located for a short time. Later, when the 
family removed to Bessemer, Mich., he con- 
cluded his education there, at the age of 
eighteen years, leaving the high school two 
months before graduation. He then entered 
the office of the Bessemer Herald, where he 
continued for two years, mastering the de- 
tails of the printing business sufficiently to 
enter into a partnership with F. B. Hanel in 
establishing a newspaper at Rib Lake. 

From the very beginning the business 
has prospered and Mr. Voemastek has entire 
charge of the editorial department. The first 
issue of the Herald was on Dec. 10, 1897, a 
quarto in size, of six columns. The prospec- 
tus promised that the journal should be de- 
voted to the interests of Rib Lake first and 
that its political complexion should be Re- 
publican in national affairs, but independent 
in local matters. This promise has been so 
well fulfilled that the paper has grown yearly 
in strength and influence and has been the 
means of bringing many industries and much 
capital to the city. Probably no office in this 
part of the State is better equipped with mod- 
ern machinery. 

Since locating at Rib Lake Mr. Voemas- 
tek has been very prominent in all move- 
ments for the development of this section 
and he has been called upon to serve in a 
number of public capacities. For two years 
he was a justice of the peace, and in 1902 
was chosen to fill a vacancy as town clerk. 
When the village was incorporated he was 
made one of the trustees, serving for a period 
of two years. As a stanch member of the 
Republican party he exerts a wide influence 
with his able and convincing pen, and in 
1902 he was elected a delegate to the State 
gubernatorial convention. 



On Jan. 6, 1900, Mr. Voemastek was- 
married to Miss Emma Marsh, a resident of 
Colby, Wis. Fraternally he is associated 
with Lake View Lodge, No. 227, I. O. O. 
F. ; Peerless Tent, No. 36, K. O. T. M. ; and. 
Rib Lake Camp, No. 890, IModern Wood- 
men of America. 

Mr. Voemastek belongs to that enterpris- 
ing class of men who never cease to be stu- 
dents, their manifold acquirements but mak- 
ing stronger their zest for still greater know- 
ledge. Had he not devoted his life to jour- 
nalism, it is possible that he would have suc- 
ceeded admirably as an electrical engineer. 
To satisfy a natural leaning in this direction 
he took a special course in electrical engi- 
neering with the Scranton School of Corre- 
s^Kindence. He was an apt pupil, and as op- 
portunities offer he pursues his experiments 
on lines of his own invention. Brilliant, per- 
severing, intellectual, he has a bright future 
ahead in his chosen profession, while his 
pleasing personality and affable manner 
bring to him a wide circle of warm friends to. 
make happy his private life. 

B. N. PADDOCK, president of the 
Board of Public Works in Superior, has- 
been a resident of the city since 1890, and 
has been closely identified with its growth, 
and development. 

Mr. Paddock has passed by far the great- 
er part of his life in Wisconsin, as his father 
settled in Baraboo when the son was only 
about three years old. The father, George 
Paddock, was a native of the State of New 
York, but in early manhood went West, lo- 
cating first in Milwaukee, Wis., then in 
Lake county. 111., and finally in Baraboo,, 
Sauk county, Wisconsin. 

B. N. Paddock was born wdiile the fam- 
ily was living in Lake county. 111., but was 
reared on a farm at Baraboo. He received 
his education in the public schools of the lat- 
ter place, and very early in life began learn- 
ing the chair-making and furniture business. 
For many years he was the superintendent 
of the Baraboo Manufacturing Company, 
but when the plant owned by that company 
was destroyed by fire, Mr. Paddock went to- 



CO.M.Mi:-MORATI\'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



293 



-St. I'aul, Minn., and engaged there in the 
wholesale seed business with F. X. Lang. 
Later he retired from this concern and made 
a. business trip to Alaska. On his return from 
that country he located in Superior and was 
engaged in the real estate business for some 
time. Succeeding that he was connected 
w^ith the Webster Manufacturing Company 
at South Superior for five years and later 
with the Duplex Manufacturing Company. 
Mr. Paddock was married in 1874 to 
]\Iiss Catherine Hoskins, of Baraboo. To 
this union have been bom four children, 
three sons and a daughter : Eva, Earl, Ben- 
jamin and Sherman. The family home is 
one of the most delightful in the city and is 
located in a pleasant part of South Superior. 
Li iiis political affiliations Mr. Paddock was 
at first a Republican, but the trend of events 
in later years has brought him into the ranks 
■of the Democratic party. In 1900 he was 
made president of the Board of Puljlic 
Works, a position which he has filled most 
efficiently. He was one of the incorporators 
and vice-president of the South Superior 
Building and Loan Association, and in var- 
ious ways has proved himself a most pro- 
gressive and public-spirited citizen. Mr. 
Paddock is prominent in fraternal circles and 
is a member of the orders of the Red Men 
and the Foresters. 

WILLL\M R. NORTON, one of the 
veterans of the Civil war and an industrious 
and prosperous citizen of West Superior, 
Douglas county, was born in Stanstead, Dis- 
trict of St. Francis, Canada East, July 9, 
1849, his parents being Elon and Sarah 
(Corey) Norton, the former a native of 
New Haven, Vermont. 

The Nortons are of English descent. 
Issaciiar Norton, father of Elon, fought in 
the Revolutionary war. He was a black- 
smith by trade and became the owner of a 
farm near Barnston. Elon Norton learned 
the trade of millwright and bridge builder 
and followed that business in Canada. He 
migrated to Lawrence, Mass., from there 
went, about 1855. ^'^' Royaiton, W^aupaca 
Co., Wis., and in 1888 moved to Mitchell, 



S. D., where he died Jan. 7, 1881, at the age 
of eighty-one. He was a strong advocate of 
Republican principles and filled several local 
offices. He was a member of the Universal- 
ist church. Mrs. Sarah (Corey) Norton 
lived nearly eight years after her husband's 
death, and died when eighty-two years old. 
Her native place was Lisbon, N. H., where 
her father, John Corey, was a shoemaker; 
he was of English descent, and his wife, 
whose maiden name was Daley, came of 
Welsh lineage. Elon and Sarah Norton 
were the parents of the following children : 
(i) Issachar died in St. Paul, Minn.; (2) 
Solon lives near Mitchell, S. D. ; (3) Mary 
Lorna is Mrs. George H. Burnham, of An- 
dover, Mass.; (4) Sarah A. lives with her 
brother at Superior ; ( 5 ) Candace C. is Mrs. 
John Burton, of New FLiven, Conn.; (6) 
Lewis P. served in Company A. 2d W. V. L, 
till the close of the war, during which time 
he was twice wounded, and he died soon 
after in Louisiana; (7) Alice L. is Mrs. 
Henry Gardinier, of Sioux Falls, S. D. ; 
(8) John N. served in Company B, 44th W. 
V. L, and he now lives in Thorp, Wis. ; (9) 
William R. is the subject of this biography; 
(10) Ella V. is Mrs. John Owen, of Cold- 
water, Missouri. 

William R. Norton spent most of his 
boyhood on a farm in the woods of Waupaca 
county, Wis. He had very little schooling- 
and learned the carpenter's trade with iiis 
father. In March, 1865, he enlisted in the 
6th W. V. I., Company D, and served about 
six months, marching over a large part of 
Virginia. After the war Mr. Norton en- 
gaged in lumbering, and in 1878 took up a 
homestead claim about five miles from the 
town site of Mitchell, S. D. The town was 
started about two years later and many of 
the first buildings were erected by Mr. Nor- 
ton. Later he lived in Sioux Falls and in 
St. Paul, Minn., and since 1892 has been a 
resident of West Superior. His business is 
that of contractor, builder and mover, and 
he em])loys from two to ten hands. 

Mr. Norton's sister. Sarah A., also took 
up a claim in Dakota, on which she lived for 
several vears. She is now with her brother. 



294 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



nciUiiT liavins^- niarried, ami tlicir lionic is 
(UK- iif (|uiet taste and refinement. Mr. Nor- 
ton is a member of Alonzo Palmer Post. 
G. A. R., No. 170, Department of Wiscon- 
sin. He has always been a Republican in 
politics, but is not an office seeker. J Ic is 
noted for his industrious habits and his in- 
tci^rity of character. 

JOHN BRANDT, a retired contractor 
and l)uilder, is one of the successful Scandi- 
navian-American residents of Dnluth. Ik- 
was born in Sweden, Dec. 18, iS4_', son id' 
Andrew and Hannah (Johnson) Brandt. 
Andrew Brandt spent thirty-three years td' 
his life in the Swedish army, and after leav- 
ing the service .settled down to farming. His 
wife died in 1846, but he lived until 1888, 
dying in his eighty-sixth year. Only two of 
their si.\ children are now living, Jolm l)eing 
the ne.xt to the youngest. 

John Brandt was educated in Swctlen 
and there learned the trade of carpenter. He 
came to tlie United States in 1869, his first 
stopping place being Chicago, whence he 
came in the same summer to Duluth, arriv- 
ing there July 7. For a few years he worked 
at his trade and then began taking building 
contracts. In 1875 he returned to Sweden, 
where for fi\'e years he and his brother were 
engaged in building and contracting. Com- 
ing back to the United States in 1880, he 
settled in Minneapolis, doing contracting 
there until J 891, when he came again to Du- 
luth and continued in the same business 
until 1896, the year in which he retired from 
active life. Among the larger buildings 
erected by Mr. Brandt are the St. Louis 
County Poor House and the German 
Lutheran church. 

On Niiv. 17. 1877, Mr. Prandt niarried 
Jennie Ohman, daughter of Nels and Chris- 
tiana Oilman, both natives of Sweden. Nels 
Ohman, whose business was that of wagon 
making, died in his native country in 1888, 
at the age of seventy-si.x. His wife lived to 
be over ninety, and died in 1902. Of their 
five cliildren three are living, Mrs. Brandt 
l)eing next to the oldest. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Brandt ha\-c been born the following chil- 



dren: Xcls and Hjalmer, both deceased;, 
lljaliner, a student in the University of 
Plaho ; and Olga, deceased. Mrs. Brandt has 
business capacity as well as her husband, and 
is a successful milliner in Duluth. They at- 
tend the Unitarian church, and Mr. lirandt 
is a Republican in politics. He is a member 
of the Old Settlers" Club of Duluth and Su- 
perior, and fraternally is connected with the 
.\. V. ik A. .M., Blue Lodge, No. 79, of Du- 
luth, and St. John's Chapter, of Minneap- 



ARCHIBALD McKAY. Among the 
many able lawyers of whom Superior can 
boast, .Vrchibald McKay, e.x-city attorney, is- 
l)rominent. Born in Goderich, Ontario, Nov. 
22. 1862, he belongs to an old Scotch family 
which came from the Highlands to Nova 
Scotia in the latter part of the eighteenth 
century. 

Davitl McKay, .son oi the first immigrant 
and grandfather of Archibald, moved from 
Nova Scotia to Goderich and spent the bal- 
ance of his life there on a farm. His .son, 
William McKay, was a building contractor 
in Ontario until about 1880, when he pushed 
westward to Castleton, N. D., there to fol- 
low the same business. He owns a fann 
there, and now. a man of three score years 
and ten, is living in comfort and retirement. 
His wife, Mary (Dickson) McKay, many 
years deceased, was a native of Roxburgh- 
shire, Scotland, but not long after her birth 
was brought to Ontario by her parents. Her 
father. Archibald Dickson, was a pioneer of 
West Ontario, and his son James, a farmers- 
becoming prominent in the growing com- 
munity, took an acti\-e jiart in public affairs. 
He was a member of the Canadian Parlia- 
ment and was a confidential friend of Sir 
John MacDonald during the period of the 
formation of the confederation of Canadian 
provinces. He was offered the position id" 
Postmaster General of Canada, but declin- 
ed it. 

\\ illiani and Marv McKav liad two sons, 
David, a resident of Duluth; and Archibald. 
The latter studied in the Toronto Law 
Schoiil and was called to the Bar in 1884, 



COMMEAIORATl\ !•: BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



295 



but tu fulfill the requirements of the law was 
obliged to work another year in a law office. 
After this preliminary year, which was spent 
at Winnipeg, he practiced for six years at 
Emerson. During his residence in that place 
he served as both city and county attorney 
and was elected mayor of the city, in iSyo 
he removed to Superior, then just opening 
up, and lias suice that time practiced there. 
-Mr. McKay is a stanch Reiniblican and some- 
times delivers public addresses on the issues 
of the day. In 1900 he was elected city at- 
torney, and while in that office much of his 
time was engaged in conducting the defense 
in the suits brought against the city for col- 
lection of special bonded indebtedness. Mr. 
McKay, is a member of the I). I'. O. li. and 
of the Masonic fraternity. 

WILLIAM B. KINNE, secretary and 
treasurer of the Shell Lake Mercantile Com- 
pany, was born at Point Wolfe, New Bruns- 
wick, March 22, 1874, iiis parents being 
John and Mary (Duhan) Kinne, natives of 
the same locality. (Grandfather James Kinne 
was probably of Scotch or Irish lineage. 

John Kinne, a millwright and filer by 
trade, was for some years foreman of a saw- 
mill at Point Wolfe. In 1881 he came to 
Shell Lake, where he was employed on con- 
struction work on one of the mills, after its 
completion Ijecoming head filer. He died in 
August, 1890, at the age of si.xty-six. His 
wife died in 1897, when fifty-one years old. 
Her parents were born in New Brunswick, 
of Irish descent. John and Mary ( Duhan ) 
Kinne had the following children: I,. |., 
now railway claim agent at Seattle, Wash. ; 
Laura, who died at the age of fourteen ; 
William B. ; and Bedford, of Spokane. John 
Kinne had first married a Miss Cleveland, 
by whom he had three children : Rainsford, 
captain of a vessel of the White Star Line 
plying between New York City and Ant- 
werp; Florence. Mrs. George L. Cott, of 
Shell Lake; and Margarita (deceased), the 
first wife of George L. Cott. 

William B. Kinne came with his |)arents 
to Shell Lake and there attended the public 
school, completing the course when he was 



eighteen. In 189O he entered the employ of 
the Shell Lake Lumber Company, working 
in their store three years, and then becoming 
cashier and |)aymaster of the firm, a position 
he held until the company ceased to e.xist, in 
January, 1904, and which occupied most of 
his time and attention during that peri(xl. In 
March; 1902, he became one of the incorpo- 
rators of the Shell Lake Mercantile Com- 
pany, of which he is secretary and treasurer, 
and now devotes his chief attention to its in- 
terests. He has served his town for one year 
as secretary of the local school board. 

In March, 1896, Mr. Kinne married Isa- 
bclle Hoar, a native of New Brunswick, 
daughter of Stephen S. Hoar, of Shell Lake. 
Two children have come to this union, Har- 
<jld and Helen. The family enjoys the best 
social advantages of the town. 

BENNETT BARRON JACKSON, B. 
A., su])erintendent of schools in Superior. 
Douglas county, was Ixirn in Belleville, Dane 
Co., Wis., Nov. 6, 1867. He is a son of 
George and Julia ( Barron) Jackson, the 
former a native of Nf)rway, who came to 
this country in 1840 when a mere lad. The 
Jackson family located on a farm in the town 
of Primrose, Dane county, and the father 
died soon after. 

George Jackson, father of Bennett Bar- 
ron, grew uj) on the Primrose farm. He be- 
came a member of Company I, 43d W. V. I., 
which he heli)ed to recruit and of which he 
was commissioned ca])tain, and he served 
alxnit eighteen months in the Civil war un- 
der Gen. Thf)mas. .After this he traveled 
many years in the interests of a hardware 
and agricultural imi)lement hou.se. His home 
is now in Chicagcj. Mrs. Julia (Barron) 
Jackson was born near Troy, N. Y. She 
comes of an English family, one branch of 
which settled in Virginia, and another in 
Massachusetts in Colonial days. Mrs. Jack- 
son is descended through her father, Moses 
Barron, from the Massachusetts branch of 
the family. Her mother was a Miss Har- 
rington. Mr. and Mrs. Moses Barron set- 
tlefl at Waukesha. Wis., about 1853. and 
there Mr. Barron pursued his calling of car- 



296 



CO-MMEAIORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



penter. His son, Henry D. Barron. A\as a 
member of the State Legislature for many 
years, and became a circuit judge in nortliern 
Wisconsin ; Barron county was named in his 
honor. 

Bennett Barron Jackson received his early 
education in Boscobel, Wis., whence he went 
to Beloit College, graduating in the Ancient 
Classical course with the class of 1890. He 
began teaching in the Beloit high school ; 
was subsequently in the Hillside Home 
School, in Iowa county, Wis. ; was principal 
of city schools four years at Bayfield, Wis. ; 
spent another four years as superintendent 
of schools at Ashland; was principal of the 
school at Hudson, Wis., for a year ; and since 
1900 has been superintendent of schools of 
Superior. A manual training department 
with ample apparatus, has been added to the 
schools under Mr. Jackson's supervision, and 
he has in every way maintained the high 
standard always characteristic of the schools 
of Superior. Mr. Jackson is a member of 
the executive committee of the State Teach- 
ers' Association, and active in various local 
educational societies. Fraternally he is a 
]yIason. 

PATRICK DWA'ER. supervisor of the 
First ward of Hudson, Wis., and one of the 
most prominent men politically in St. Croix 
county, was born March 17, 1832, in 
County Tipperary, Ireland, son of Michael 
and Johanna (Ryan) Dwyer, natives, re- 
spectively, of Counties Tipperary and Lim- 
erick, Ireland. They were farmers and livetl 
and died in Ireland, devout members of the 
Catholic Church. Four children were born 
to the marriage of these parents: Patrick; 
Johanna, wlio lives at Syracuse, N. Y. ; 
Mary, unmarried, who lives with Patrick; 
John. 

Patrick Dwyer was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of liis native land, and lived at 
home until he was twenty-three years of age, 
when he started to join relatives and friends 
in America. For fifty-two days he was on 
the ocean, and landed in New York City, 
from whence the ambitious young Irish lad 
went to Syracuse, N. Y. and worked for 



three years as a laborer. iVt that time he 
found a favorable opening at Independence, 
Ky., and made it his home for a time, when 
he removed to Cumminsville, Ohio, and 
thetice after a short period, to Davenport, 
Iowa. His next removal was to Winona, 
Wis., but shortly thereafter, he took up 160 
acres, and bought 160 acres more of w^ild 
land in Watseka county, Minn., and in addi- 
tion to placing his land under cultivation, 
he worked for the ,go\'emment among the 
Winnebago Indians for about two years, 
helping to build mills, houses and doing 
teaming. 

In the fall of i860, Mr. Dwyer came to 
Hudson, Wis., and worked at farming, in 
the pinery, and later for Samuel Worth 
in his warehouse, continuing the latter con- 
nection for a year, when he began buying 
wheat. This he continued for some time, 
when he and H. and L. Bartlett started a 
general store, and operated it for two years, 
the Messrs. Bartlett leaving the firm at 
the end of that time and Mr. Dwyer en- 
gaging" in partnership with R. A. Dore, 
and later with Richard Joyce, and he con- 
tinued in this line some time. 

Mr. Dwyer purchased 200 acres of land 
nine miles east of Hudson, in the town of 
Richmond, which he has developed into a 
fine farm, and has 160 acres of it in a high 
state of cultivation. Mr. Dwyer now rents 
this farm, and realizes a handsome income 
from his investment. 

On July 31, 1863, Mr. Dwyer was mar- 
ried to Bridget Ryan, of County Limerick, 
Ireland. The children born to them are as 
follows: John Edward, born July 20, 1864, 
died 1865; Francis ]\Tichael, born Sept. 29, 
1866, died in 1886; Francis William, born 
July 23. 1868, is a carpenter and printer, 
and lives at home ; Charles Patrick, born Dec. 
II, 1870, was in the Spanish- American war 
and served in Cuba, but is now at home; 
Dennis, born June 11, 1873, died in Febru- 
ary, 1901 ; George James, torn March 24, 
1875, 'S a druggist at El Pa.so. Texas; Jo- 
seph R., born June 28, 1877, died Feb. 22, 
18-Q; Mary Agnes, born April 10, 1885, is 
at St. Paul, Minnesota. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



297 



For many years Mr. Dwyer has been one 
of the most active Democrats of St. Croix 
county, and for fifteen years has represented 
the first ward of Hudson in the council. 
For two terms he was deputy sheriff, and has 
always been an able, conscientious public 
official, and is a general favorite through- 
out the county. He and his entire family are 
devout Catholics, and are connected with 
St. Patrick's Church of Hudson. Starting 
his life in a new country, poor and unknown, 
the success Mr. Dwyer has attained is very 
remarkable, and it is certainly due to 
perseverance, industry and true grit. He is 
a man who makes and retains friends easilv, 
and is very popular. 

PETER DAXIELSOX, postmaster at 
Medford, Taylor county, was born in Wau- 
paca county. Wis., Nov. 20, 1863, son of 
Christian and Albertina (Bronson) Daniel- 
son, natives of Christiania, Norway. 

Christian Danielson and his wife came 
to the United States in 1863. locating on a 
farm in Waupaca county. Wis. In 1874 he 
removed to Medford, and opened a general 
store, which he carried on about five years, 
and also engage in logging to a considerable 
extent. Soon after coming to Medford he 
took up a homestead adjacent to that village, 
in which he spent the last years of his life, 
dying in 1897, at the age of seventy-two. 
He was a stanch Republican in politics, and 
in religion v.as a member of the Scandina- 
vian Lutheran Church. His wife died in 
1876. The mother of Christian Danielson 
came to Wisconsm to live with her son, and 
died in Waupaca county at an advanced age. 
One of her sons. Christopher, served in the 
Civil war, and is now living in Waupaca 
•county. Christian Danielson and bis wife 
had five sons and two daughters, namely : 
Carl G., a farmer in Assiniboia. Canada; 
Peter; Oscar, an engineer and macliinist of 
Medf(jrd; Mrs. C. A. WrxKlward, nf Med- 
ford : Joseph, of North Dakota : John, a well 
driller of Medford; and Elizabeth, of Med- 
ford. 

Peter Danielson attended the public 
i^chools at Medford until 1879. when he be- 



gan to learn the printer's trade, in the office 
of the Star A'c-a'S, then in charge of Edgar T. 
Wheelock. In January, 1895, Mr. Daniel- 
son bought out his employer, and published 
the paper until November, 1901, when he 
sold out to J. H. Waggoner. Previously he 
had, in the fall of 1884, taken charge of the 
Pioneer,, oi Glidden, the first paper in that 
place, and published it successfully for about 
a year, when he sold out. In September, 
1898. Mr. Danielson bought out the Aledford 
Sentinel, and consolidated it with the Sfar- 
Neii'S. It was revived later as the Sentinel- 
Republican and then again consolidated with 
the Star-Nezvs. 

Mr. Danielson was married, in 1894, to 
Nettie J. Hobbs, daughter of Mrs. E. A. 
Hobbs, of Medford. Mrs. Danielson was 
born in New York State. She is the mother 
of two children, Ina and Edgar. 

Mr. Danielson has ahvaj's been active in 
the local councils of the Republican party, 
and has served a number of years as chair- 
man of the county committee. In July, 
igo2, he received the appointment of post- 
master for Medford, and is now filling the 
duties of that office, for which he is well 
qualified. Fraternally he belongs to the 
M. W. A., the K. O. T. M., and the 
Equitable Fraternal Union. Mr. Daniel- 
son has been very successful as a journal- 
ist, and is well adaptetl for such work, as 
he has the ability to make his paper a good 
one. interesting and influential, while his 
energy and practical business methods insure 
him success on the financial side. 

ALEXANDER ROGERS MILLS, one 
of the well known business men of West 
Superior. Douglas county, was born at Man- 
chester, Jackson Co., Wis., Sept. il. 1861, 
his parents being Hugh Brooks and Mary 
M. (Rogers) Mills. 

Grandfather Thomas B. Mills, a native 
of New York State, came to Wisconsin in 
the earlv fifties; be engaged in farming and 
conrlucted a store at Manchester, where he 
lived until over seventy years of age. His 
son, Hugh Brooks Mills, a native of St. 
Lawrence countv, N. Y.. came to Wisconsin 



2C,8 



CCMAIEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



in 1846 and until 1S49 ^^'<^s engaged in lum- 
bering on the Wolf river. He then located 
in Jackson county, building a sawmill in tlie 
town of Manchester, which he operated until 
it burned, several years later. Afterward he 
built a mill at Millston (that village being 
named for him), and carried it on until his 
death, which occurred in March, 1891, when 
he was over seventy-three years of age. Mr. 
Mills was also interested in the Jackson 
County Bank at Black River Falls, of which 
he was one of the incorporators, and for 
some years president ; he was also a stock- 
holder in the First National Bank of the 
same place; and interested himself to some 
extent in real estate and agriculture. In 
politics he was a Republican and was a mem- 
ber of the Assembly in 1876. Mrs. Mary M. 
(Rogers) Mills still lives at Black River 
Falls, aged sixty-four years. She was born 
in New York State, daughter of Dennis 
Rogers, who came to the United States from 
Ireland in early life, and settled later on a 
farm in LaCrosse county, Wis. He died at 
Sleepy Eye, Minn., when over eighty years 
old. 

Alexander Rogers Mills graduated from 
the high school at Black River Falls, and in 
1 88 1 went to Ashland, where he took charge 
of the lumber yard of the Superior Lumber 
Co. Two years later he went to Lesueur, 
Minn., dealing in lumber there until 1885, 
when he moved to Platteville, Wis., and 
operated retail luml:)er yards there and at 
Belmont, Wis. Still later Mr. Mills opened 
a system of lumber yards in connection with 
Bradley Bros., of Milwaukee, on the line of 
tha Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
road, between Manila and Sioux City, Iowa ; 
he then went to Tomahawk, Wis., where 
Bradley Bros, built the first sawmill. Sever- 
ing his connection with this firm in the spring 
of 1891, he organized the Mills & LeClaire 
Lumber Co., and has since done a wholesale 
business as a lumber dealer and manu- 
facturer, with headquarters at West Su- 
perior. He has also operated mills at dif- 
ferent points, and deals considerably in lum- 
ber and pine lands and is interested in other 
real estate and copper lands in northern Wis- 
consin. 



In 18S3 Mr. :Mills married Ida K. Spaf- 
ford, who was born in Janesville, Wis., 
daughter of John I. and Helen Spafford, of 
Chicago. To this union have been born four 
children: Spafford, Hugh R.. Hellen .M. 
and Donald. Mr. Mills is a Republican ; 
he has served four years as a member of the 
city council, having been its president for 
two years. Fraternally he is a Mason, mem- 
ber of the local lodge and chapter, and of the 
local commandery, K. T. ; he also belongs to 
the Elks and to the Woodmen of America. 

GEORGE W. HARMON, a prominent 
real estate dealer of Spooner, Washburn 
County, is one of the oldest settlers in that 
locality. He is a son of Jonas W. and Susan 
(McDowell) Harmon, natives, respectively 
of Pennsylvania and Ohio. About 1872 
Jonas W. Harmon settled in a portion of 
Chippewa county. Wis., now included in 
Sawyer county, where he followed the oc- 
cupation of lumberman throughout his ac- 
tive life. He died Oct. 20, 1901, at the age 
of sixty-five. Mrs. Susan Harmon died near 
Beaver Dam, Wis., Oct. 20, 1865, at the age 
of twenty-five years, and Mr. Harmon mar- 
ried for his second wife Jennette Lathrop, 
who is living in Spooner with George W. 
Harmon. 

George W. Harmon was born Feb. 22, 
1 86 1, in Dodge county. Wis., where he 
passed the first six years of his life. He 
then moved with his parents to Winnebago 
county. Wis., where he received his early 
education in the public school. Later he 
was a student for one term in the Eau Claire 
high school, the remainder of his education 
being obtained by study at home, and obser- 
vation. As a boy he helped to build the first 
school house in Sawyer county. As a youth 
he was greatly interested in surveying, and 
for years was emplo}'ed in locating lines, 
becoming an expert at this lousiness, gaining 
a good technical knowledge of the subject, 
and being often called upon for a decision 
in the matter of disputed lines and bound- 
aries. In the fall of 1894 he was appointed 
by Secretary Hoke Smith to a position in 
the United States Interior Department, as 
surveyor and examiner of lands, remaining 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRArHICAL Rl-XOkiJ 



299- 



in tliat office five years. This work gave Mr. 
Harmon a wide experience and extensive 
knowledge of the nature of the soil and topo- 
graphy of the region from Eau Claire to 
the lakes — embracing the land districts of 
Eau Claire. Ashland and Warsaw. As a 
young man he had learned the trade of car- 
penter, and also served an apprenticeship at 
bridge-building, with Winston Urothers, at 
Minneapolis. Settling in Spooner in 1885, 
he occupied himself at carpentry for nine 
years, building more than half of the houses 
constructed in the town during that period. 
In the summer of 1899 he opened a real es- 
tate office in Spooner, and since then has 
given that business his undivided attention. 
He has probably sold more land, and located 
more settlers, is W'ashbum county than any 
other person, his wide knowledge of the 
county enabling him to do this successfully. 
Perhaps no other man could have succeeded 
in locating the regularly organized and in- 
corporated colony which he settled at Sa- 
rona, Washburn county, selling them 3.200 
acres of land. On June 15, 1901, Mr. Har- 
mon was one of the organizers of the Spoon- 
er State Bank, and one of its original direc- 
tors, as well as builder and owner of the 
bank building, a brick structure erected es- 
pecially for that purpose. He has taken a 
great interest in building up Spooner, mak- 
ing the official survey and ]ilat of the incor- 
porated village in 1901. He also platted and 
mapped Washburn county in 1896. making 
revisions on these maps in 1902 and 1904. 
He owns considerable land in Washburn 
county, and is one of the stockholders in the 
Starks, Levis Land Co.. of Madison. Wis., 
which at one time owned 21,000 acres in 
\\'ashburn and Barron counties, and 16,000 
acres in Bayfield county. 

On Dec. 25, 1881. Mr. Harmon married 
Charlotte Thompson, daughter of John W. 
Thompson, of Eau Claire, and they have 
nine children, namely: Carl, Kate, Jonas, 
Alphonso, Matilda, Charlotte, George, 
Henry and Lacey. Fraternally Mr. Harmon 
is connected with Spooner Lodge. No. 260, 
A. F. & A. M.; Triumph Lodge, No. 152. I. 
O. O. F. ; Spooner Lodge, No. 126, A. O. 



U. W.; and the M. W. A. In politics he 
is a Republican and probably exerts more 
influence in local affairs than any other citi- 
zen of Spooner. Though away from home 
at the time, he was elected the first assessor 
of the town, and has filled that office several 
terms. He has also served as county sur- 
veyor, but he is most distinguished by the 
active and disinterested efforts he has made 
to advance the interests and progress of the 
public schools of the village. For a number 
of years he has been a member of the 
school board, and has contributed freely of 
his time and substance toward securing the 
establishment of a free high school. 

JAMES L. ARMSTRONG, the pioneer 
representative of the life insurance business 
at \\'est Superior, Douglas county, was 
born in Canandaigua, N. Y., Oct. 16, 1843, 
his parents being John B. and Mary Eliza- 
beth (Carey) Armstrong, natives respective- 
ly of Schenectady and Troy. New York. 

The Armstrong clan flourished in Scot- 
land in the fifth century, the name originat- 
ing in the exploit of one of the early mem- 
bers of the family, who rescued a feudal lord 
from an accident and replaced him on his 
horse, for which service he was rewarded 
by a grant of land. Members of this family 
settled in \^ermont in colonial days. John 
B. Armstrong, being left an orphan when a 
child, was bound out to a Quaker farmer 
of Schenectady, named Hollenbeck. At the 
age of sixteen he went to .-Xlljany and 
learned the blacksmith's trade, and in 1849 
settled in Kalamazoo, Mich., where for many 
years he kei)t a blacksmith's shop, and where 
iie died at the age of eighty-six. From the 
organization of tlie Republican party he was 
one of its stanch adherents. Mrs. ]\Iary 
Elizabeth (Carey) Armstrong, who was of 
Irish descent on her father's side, died in 
18^9. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Arm- 
strong were as follows : Israel ; Charles : 
Judson L.. known later as James L. ; Gertrude 
Katherine : Mary Elizabeth ; and Rosa, Mrs. 
Samuel Bloom, of Marcellus. Cass Co., 
Mich. Bv a former marriage Mr. Arm- 
strong was the father of a son and a daugh- 



300 



COIMMEINIORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ter, Benjamin and Ann ]\Iaria. Rosa and 
James L. are the only survivors of this 
family. 

Judson L. Armstrong- enlisted Sept. i6, 
1861, in Company G, nth M. V. I., and 
served in the State troops until December, 
1861, when at White Pigeon, Mich., he was 
mustered into the United States service, be- 
ing enrolled as James L. Armstrong ; he was 
mustered out at Sturgis, Mich., Sept. 16, 
1864. He was in the 3d division, 14th army 
corps. Army of the Tennessee, and served 
under Gens. Thomas, Rosecrans and Grant, 
taking part in the engagements of Bowling 
Green, Ky., Stone River and Cliickamauga, 
where he received a wound in the right 
hand, while the Texas Rangers were trying 
to break the Union infantry line. He was 
also in a number of minor engagertients. 
During the winter of 1861-62, while at 
Bardstown, Ky., his regiment suffered 
greatly from measles and small-pox ; during 
their stay at Chattanooga there was an in- 
sufficiency of food and they lived for some 
time on parched corn. On the way home in 
1864 the nth Michigan and an Indiana 
regiment were obliged to change cars at 
Dayton, Ohio; as the citizens of this place, 
where there was much disloyalty, refused 
the troops provisions, the men, who had not 
been paid for thirteen months, proceeded to 
help themselves to food and tobacco. They 
also broke up a Democratic campaign meet- 
ing, which was being addressed by Senator 
Valandingham, and carried off a cannon 
used for campaign purposes, taking it to 
Sturgis, where it is still preserved as a 
trophy. The regiment was charged with 
rioting and was detained fifteen days at 
Sturgis, before being discharged and paid 
off, which was accomplished after some live- 
ly correspondence between the war depart- 
ment and the colonel commanding the regi- 
ment. The citizens of Sturgis showed the 
regiment great hospitality, and furnished 
them wagon transportation to their homes. 

In August, 1870, Mr. Armstrong went 
to Eau Claire, Wis., and was employed as 
a teamster for logging camps and in other 
branches of the lumber business. Later he 



was engaged for several years in the fire 
insurance business at Chippewa Falls. Since 
1886 he has lived in West Superior, having 
been among the sixteen families who spent 
the winter of 1886-87 ^t that place, and one 
of those who assisted in securing the town 
site. Mr. Armstrong, who since coming to 
West Superior has conducted a district 
agency for the Washington Life Insurance 
Co., of New York, is the oldest representa- 
tive of that business in the place. 

Mr. Armstrong married Dec. 16, 1884, 
Hannah McGuire, of Chippewa Falls, Wis., 
born in the Province of Quebec, Canada, 
and a daughter of James McGuire, a lum- 
berman, who died at Eau Claire. Mr. and 
Mrs. Armstrong have one living child, Lil- 
lian. Mr. Armstrong is a member of 
Alonzo Palmer Post, G. A. R. 

E. W. HILL, one of the highly esteemed 
citizens of northern Wisconsin, prominently 
identified with Rusk county interests, was 
born March 11, 1857, in Bond county. 111., 
a son of D. W. and Rebecca (Donald) Hill. 

The father of our subject was born in 
Kentucky and the mother in North Caro- 
lina, both families moving as early settlers 
into the State of Illinois, and settling in 
Bond county about 1830. D. W. Hill was a 
farmer there until 1872, when he moved to 
Pierce county. Wis., making it his perman- 
ent home and dying there on his farm in 
1901. He served in the Civil War enlisting 
in 1863, in the Third Illinois Cavalry, and 
continued until the close of the war mostly 
in the far South, but at last was sent to 
Gen. Kearney's command in the Northwest 
to operate against the hostile Indians ; there 
they remained until discharged in the fall 
of 1865. The mother of our subject died 
in Bond county at the age of thirty-three 
years. The Donald family came originally 
from Scotland, its founder l^eing William 
Donald, great-grandfather of E. W. Hill, 
who settled in North Carolina. Capt. T. C. 
Donald, prominent in the Blackhawk War, 
was a brother to Mrs. Hill. 

E. W. Hill was born on a farm in Bond 
county and obtained his preliminary educa- 



CO]\IMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



301 



tion in the common schools, graduating from 
the high school in his eighteenth year. At 
the age of nineteen he began teaching and 
continued three years in the public schools of 
Pierce and Pepin counties, Wis. After his 
marriage in 1881, he began clerking in a 
mercantile establishment in Maiden Rock, 
and remained there with two firms, for six 
years. 

In 1888 Mr. Hill went to Rice Lake and 
with W. H. Wilson, established a general 
store which they conducted together one 
year, when Mr. Hill disposed of his inter- 
est, and came to the Weyerhauser Lumber 
Company, in 1889, accepting the position 
of auditor. He continued with this com- 
pany until it was dissolved si.x years later, 
and then became manager of the company's 
store at Apollonia, in which he was previous- 
ly interested. This business was continued 
until May, 1902, when, in partnership wnth 
C. L. Kellogg, he bought out the Apollonia 
Store Co., continuing the business under the 
title of the New Store Company, until its dis- 
continuance in the summer of 1904. With 
I\Ir. Kellogg Mr. Hill is also interested in 
carrying on an extensive logging and lumber- 
ing business, principally in hard woods. 
They operate camps and mills in Hawkins 
and Huffman's S])ur and during the logging 
season, employ seventy men. Mr. Hill is 
a man of good business ability and fore- 
sight ; aside from his business projects, he 
has been engaged in other enterprises, in 
1900 purchasing the weekly Budget, which 
was established by F. E. Monroe. After 
two years ;Mr. Hill sold the plant and good 
will, and later became interested in the Rc- 
Z'iczi'. 

Mr. Hill has always taken a public- 
spirited citizen's attitude and has faithfully 
promoted all the movements for the develop- 
ment of his section along legitimate lines. 
Politically he has also been active, and has 
frequently filled local offices and been a dele- 
gate to conventions of his party. With the 
exception of two years, he has been assist- 
ant po.stmaster at Apollonia ever since an 
office was estal)lished there. 

Fraternally Mr. Hill is a Mason and is 



a member of Rice Lake Lodge, No. 234; 
Pekagma Chapter, No. 69; and Tancred 
Commandery, Knights Templar, No. 27. 
He also belongs to Apollonia Lodge, No. 
259, I. O. O. F. ; Royal Purple Encamp- 
ment, No. ^/, Ladysmith; and the Modern 
Woodmen of America, at Apollonia. He 
has had much to do with creating interest in 
these organizations, believing them to have- 
their value in binding men together and in- 
ducing work on the same lines. The lodges 
are all in flourishing condition, remarkably 
so, considering their youth. 

In 1 88 1 Mr. Hill was married to Miss 
Ella Harrison, of Pierce county, and they 
have had five children born to them : El- 
mer, Roy, Guy, Joseph and Max, only the 
three first named surviving. Mr. Hill is 
a respected man in his locality, one who pos- 
sesses just those qualities necessary to suc- 
cess. In addition he has the social attributes 
which make him personally popular and he 
numbers as friends the greater part of the 
community. 

JOEL A. HICKERSON, a retired 
business man of Grantsburg, Wis., and 
founder of the Hickerson Roller Mills, is a 
well-known capitalist of the city, having 
large real estate holdings and being inter- 
ested in various business concerns. 

He was born in Putnam County, Ohio, 
April 2, 1835, son of Joseph Hickerson, a 
native of Marjdand, and grandson of Sam- 
uel Hickerson, who died aged 102 years. 

Lemuel Hickerson, of England, the 
great-grandfather of our subject, served in 
the Revolutionary War, after which he re- 
turned to England, where he died. Samuel 
Hickerson. the grandfather, went to the 
Eastern part of Ohio, and during the 
Blackhawk War moved to Putnam county, 
.^.t this time there were only thirteen men 
in Putnam and Hancock counties, between 
the ages of eighteen and forty-five years that 
could get together to train for the militia. 
Samuel Hickerson followed farming in Put- 
nam county all his life and there died. He 

married Sophia , and she also died in 

Putnam count\', the mother of these chil- 



302 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ciren : Samuel, Joseph, Lemuel, Elkam, So- 
phia, Parthenia and Betsey. 

Joseph Hickerson took up land in Put- 
nam county, where the village of Gilboa now 
stands. There he cleared a farm, which he 
later sold, removing three miles west, where 
he purchased i6o acres of timber land. This 
land he also cleared, with the assistance of 
his boys, and made a fine home, part of 
which is still owned by a member of the 
Hickerson family. He was a steady, hard 
warking man, and made a success of his 
undertakings. To sell his wheat he was 
compelled to travel 140 miles to Sandusky, 
Ohio, receiving forty cents per bushel, tak- 
ing part of the price in trade. He made 
the trip with horses and wagon. He was a 
justice of the peace and constable, and poli- 
tically was a Democrat. Religiously he was 
a member of the M. E. Church. In 1853 
the family came to Wisconsin, settling at 
River Falls, where Mr. Hickerson died in 
1854, aged sixty-eight years, while his wife 
survived him until Jan. 9, 1891, when she 
died at the home of her son, Eli Hickerson. 
Mrs. Hickerson was born in Virginia, of 
Holland stock. She was ninety-nine years 
old at the time of her death, yet up to a 
short time prior to that event was in the best 
of health and in the full retention of her 
faculties. She and her husband had these 
children : Nimrock, who died in Califor- 
nia, was a lumberman and carpenter, and 
went to California in 1870; Samuel, liv- 
ing near River Falls, is nearly ninety years 
of age; Eli is a farmer of Menton, Minn.; 
Scott lives in Putnam county, Ohio ; John, 
who died in Findlay, Ohio, was a farmer; 
Martin is a farmer of Belmore, Ohio ; Joel 
A. is our subject: Perry is in the livery busi- 
ness in Grantsburg; and Newton, of Grants- 
burg, is clerk of the Court of Burnett county. 

Joel A. Hickerson received but limited 
schooling, attending but three months a year 
in the old log school house, which was fitted 
with puncheon seats. He Ii^•ed at home until 
sixteen years of age, when he went to White 
count}', Ind., working on a farm for one 
season. He then returned home, and in 
1853 went ^^^est with his parents. They 



tpok eight horses and twenty head of cat- 
tle, driving all the way to River Falls, a long 
rough trip, which took two months. Mr. 
Hickerson's brother, Eli, had gone ahead to 
purchase the land upon which the family 
settled. Joel A. Hickerson worked in the 
\\oods for some time, and then took up a 
homestead in Burnett county, one and one- 
half miles southwest of Grantsburg, upon 
which he settled in 1861. In 1862, at Sun- 
rise, Minn., he enlisted in Company C, 7th 
Minn. V. I., his enlistment being dated 
Sept. 1 6th. 

Mr. Flickerson's regiment went at once 
to Fort Ripley, Minn., where his company 
was fitted with the old Harper's Ferry mus- 
kets and with but two rounds of cartridges 
each. They remained at Fort Ripley about 
one month, and then went to Mankato, 
Minn., where they spent the winter. In the 
spring of the following year, Mr. Hicker- 
son's company was detailed to hang thirty- 
eight Indians, who had murdered several 
white men. Mr. Hickerson took active part 
in this work, placing the rope around six 
of the Indians' necks himself. He also helped 
to take some Indians to Davenport, la. On 
an Indian expedition with General Sibley, 
Mr. Hickerson participated in a running 
fight, in which fifty-two Indians were killed. 
The regiment then went to St. Louis, later 
to Vicksburg, Memphis and New Orleans, 
and participated in the battles of Lagrange 
and Holly Springs ; Talahucha ; Hurricane 
Creek ; Tupelo, Miss. ; Mobile Bay ; and was 
in a skirmish at Fish river. They succeeded 
in capturing Spanish Fort, after thirteen 
days and nights, and then crossed over and 
attacked Fort Blakely, which was also cap- 
tured. Thence they went west to Mont- 
gomerj-, and Selma. Ala., where the regi- 
ment spent the summer. They then went to 
Vicksburg, and came back by boat to St. 
Paul, Minn., marching to Fort Snelling, 
where Mr. Hickerson was discharged Sept. 
19, 1865. Mr. Hickerson had numerous 
close calls, and was wounded a number of 
times. At Spanish Fort he was shot in the 
right shoulder, and cut across the same 
shoiddcr twice; was shot through the second 



CO.MMK.MORATIX E UIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



303 



linger of the left hand at Tupelo, and was 
wounded by a bayonet tlirust through the 
right foot at Holly Springs. His record 
while in the army is an excellent one, and is 
one which any man might be pnnul to 
have. 

On returning from the war Mr. Ilick- 
erson returned to Burnett count}', where the 
government had held his claim. He took 
up farm work, and erected a log house 16 x 
24, one and one-half stories high, which he 
later sold to A. Skog. Up to that time they 
had no American flag in the county, and the 
women of the neighborhood made one to 
be raised July 4, 1866. On that day, while 
celel)rating, Mr. Hickerson had a close call 
from being killed by a powder explosion. 
After selling the farm 'Sir. Hickerson started 
lumbering, and he and his brother, Nimrock, 
built the first sawmill in Burnett county; 
the mill was run by water-power, and had 
a circular saw. In this business the Hick- 
erson Brothers continued for some time, 
also engaging in running logs to Stillwater, 
Minn. After selling the saw mill Mr. Hick- 
erson purchased a plat of ground in Grants- 
burg, the present site of Larsen Brothers' 
place, and erected a store building, there be- 
ing only one other store there, and that a 
small one, at that time. Mr. Hickerson con- 
tinued in this business for about fifteen years. 
He was the builder of the Hickerson Roll- 
ing Mills, and still holds a one-fourth inter- 
est in them : is a stockholder in the First 
Bank of Grantsburg; an organizer and 
stockholder of the Grantsburg Starch Co. ; 
owns stock and is one of the organizers of 
the Hamline Bank of Hamline, Minn.: and 
owns the Hickerson Store buildings and the 
Masonic Lodge hall u]) stairs. He built his 
jiresent residence in Grantsburg in 1888. 

Mr. Hickerson was married, in 1869, to 
May Anrlerson, of Norway, and to this mar- 
riage were bonn seven children, namely : 
Alice married A. M. Anderson, a general 
merchant of Grantsburg: Harry, clerk for, 
Luther Jensen, married Ida Olson; Milton 
is a land <jwner of Spokane, Wash. ; Isa- 
l)el!c married L. R. Roberts, assistant cash- 
ier (if the Bank of Grantsburg; Raymond 



died aged five years ; Roy is attending school 
and Blanche is also attending school. Mr. 
Hickerson is an honored comrade of W. S. 
Rosecrans Post, No. 49, G. A. R., of 
(irantsburg. Wis., of which post he is ad- 
jutant. 

JOHN BERTRAM ARNOLD is a well 
known attorney and business man of West 
Superior, Douglas county. He was born in 
Stanley, County York, New Brunswick, 
May 22, 1866, son of Allen A. and Martha 
(McAloon) Arnold, natives respectively of 
Marysville and Stanley, New Brunswick. 

Grandfather Amos A. Arnold and his 
wife, Mary Gilmore, were both born in 
Marysville. Amos A. Arnold became a 
werdthy lumberman on the Nashwaak river 
in New Brunswick, dying in County York, 
at the advanced age of ninety-eight. He re- 
called distinctly many family traditions, one 
of which claimed for the original Arnold 
direct descent from Henry IV. Grandmoth- 
er Arnold's father, Joseph Gilmore, a native 
of Glasgow, Scotland, was a member of the 
42(1 Highland regiment, the famous Black 
Watch; he came to America during the 
Revolutionary War and did service in Geor- 
gia, settling later in New Brunswick. John 
Arnold, father of Amos A., a captain in the 
British army, was also in active service in 
America during the Revolutionary war; 
his regiment was in the South, opposed to 
Gen. Greene, and reached Yorktown the day 
after the surrender of Cornwallis. Soon 
after the close of the war, John Arnold mar- 
ried in Philadelphia, Anna Burleigh, a na- 
tive of Burleigh, N. C. and a little later 
settled in New Brunswick. His brothers, 
Edwin, Arthur and Egl)ert. all came to 
America and were soldiers in the British 
army. 

Allen A. Arnold, son of Amos A., be- 
came a lumberman and a cix'il engineer. In 
1868 he came to Wisconsin, where he built 
most of the lumber dams on the Wisconsin, 
Chippewa. St. Croi.x and Menominee rivers ; 
he now lives in retirement at .\lbany. Ore., 
at the age of sixty years. Mrs. Martha 
( McAIoon) Arnold died at Eau Claire. \\'is., 



304 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



in 1877, when but thirty-three years of age, 
leaving tliree sons, John B., Ernest A. antl 
Norville B., all members of the law and real 
estate firm of Arnold & Arnold, of West 
Superior. Mrs. Arnold was brought up in 
the Roman Catholic faith. Her father, 
James McAloon, was a native of County 
Limerick, Ireland, and is still hving (1904J 
at over 100 years of age, in Stanley, New 
Brunswick. The mother, Margaret (El- 
liott) McAloon, was born in Londonderry, 
Ireland, of Scotch-English-Irish descent, 
her parents being James and Martha (Mc- 
Shane) Elliott. James Elliott's mother was 
]\Iartha Cromwell, great-granddaughter of 
Oliver Cromwell ; on his father's side James 
Elliott is descended from John Elliott, wh(j 
was executed on account of his opposition to 
Charles I, and whose descendants, being 
Catholics, were banished by Cromwell to the 
North of Ireland. 

The early education of John Bertram 
Arnold was obtained in the public schools 
of Eau Claire and Merrill, Wis. ; later he 
took a scientific course at the University of 
Mninesota, in Minneapolis, and studied law 
in the office of Stafiford & Connor, at Chip- 
pewa Falls, Wis. In December, 1889, he 
was admitted to the bar and at once began 
practicing law in West Superior, where he 
had located in 1S87. For the first 
two years he was clerk of the vil- 
lage police court, and since that time 
has been in general practice. The firm of 
Arnold & Arnold was among the origina- 
tors of the copper prospecting in Douglas 
county in 1893, and one of the incorporators 
of the Superior & Boston Copper Alining 
Company, of the St. Croix Consolidated 
Copper Mining Co., and of the Chippewa 
and the Percival Copper Mining Companies. 
Since May i, 1903, Mr. Arnold has been 
a member of the law firm of Davis & Arnold, 
at Duluth. 

On Sept. 6, 1898, Mr. Arnold was mar- 
ried to Metta L. Jones, a native of Neenah, 
Wis., daughter of A. and Mary (Furman) 
Jones, of Campbell, Minn. Mrs. Arnold is 
a graduate of the Chippewa Falls high 
school. One child, John B., has come to this 



union. ]Mr. Arnold is a j\Iason, a member 
of the I. O. O. F., the K. P., and the I. O. 
F. He has always been an active Republi- 
can, a delegate to many local. State and Con- 
gressional conventions. 

FRANK DESMOND, a prominent cit- 
izen of the village of South Range, Douglas 
county, is one of the oldest members of the 
county board of supervisors. He is a native 
of Maine, born in Springfield, March 23, 
1853, a son of Timothy and Mary (Finn) 
Desmond. 

Timothy Desmond was born in County 
Cork, Ireland, and came to the United 
States while a young man. After coming 
to Maine he settled on a farm, being also 
engaged to some extent in lumbering. In 
the fall of 1855 he went to \\'right county, 
]\l:nn., where he took up a preemption 
claim. This he gradually developed into a 
fine farm, and spent the balance of his life 
there, passing away when eighty-four years 
old. His widow, who survived him for 
a few years, died when seventy-five. She 
was born in County Fermanagh, Ireland. 
Both were members of the Catholic Church 
and helped to organize St. Timothy's 
Church in Wright county. Twelve chil- 
dren, seven of them sons, were " born 
to Timothy and Mary Desmond, as follows : 
Timothy, Jr., of ]\Iaple Lake, Minn. ; James 
(deceased) of Buffalo, Minn.; Daniel, of 
^Minneapolis; William, (deceased), of the 
same city ; Zachariah, who died in \\'right 
county; George, of Minneapolis; Frank; 
Eliza, who married J. M. Baldwin, of Min- 
neapolis ; Lucy, now Mrs. William Knight, 
of Jilonticello, Minn.; Ellen, (deceased) 
wife of William Hawn, of Wright county; 
^largaret, (deceased) wife of A. E. Phil- 
brook, of Superior; and Maria, married to 
D. E. Slipp, of Brainerd, Minn. 

Frank Desmond spent the most of his 
boyhood in Wright county, where he at- 
tended the public schools, usually for three 
months in the year, helping his father on 
the farm for the rest of the time. When 
twenty-one years old he left home and se- 
cured emplo}-ment on the river and in the 



COMME.MORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



3^5 



lumber regions, remaining in Minnesota 
until 1 882, when he located at Superior. 
For several years he continued to work at 
lumbering but in the year 1884 he settled 
at South Range, where he has since resided. 
He was employed for some time in the saw 
mill of K. G. Staples. At intervals Mr. 
Desmond has invested in real estate until 
he now has 260 acres of land, from which 
he has cut and marketed the timber, togeth- 
er with forty acres adjacent to the village 
of South Range, and fourteen acres en- 
closed and under cultivation. He has raised 
successfully all kinds of grain and veget- 
ables except maize. In 1902 he planted two 
acres of sugar beets for a factory in Min- 
neapolis, as an experiment in the culture 
of that crop in Douglas county. Since 1892 
Mr. Desmond has represented the town of 
Superior on the county board and is now the 
oldest member of the l»dy in continual ser- 
vice. He has served on the committees on 
finance, sheriffs and courts, roads and 
bridges, and the county poor. 

Mr. Desmond has always been a Dem- 
ocrat in principle but is too intelligently in- 
terested in public affairs to be a partisan. 
He enjoys the confidence and good will of 
all his associates, regardless of party affilia- 
tions. 

Mrs. Frank Desmond was a Miss Mar- 
garet L. Cunningham, daugiiter of Patrick 
and Ann Cunningham, of Wrigiit county, 
Minn. She was married to Mr. Desmond 
Xov. 24, 1 89 1, and has borne him three 
children, Morris Edwarfl. Waiter Eustace, 
and Anna Marie. The family are promi- 
nentlv connected with St. Francis' Catholic 
Church of Superior. 

JOHN' E. BARTLETT. The pioneers 
of the civilization of the great Xorthwest 
cannot be given too great praise for their 
privations and sufferings ; their contests with 
the primeval forests and savage beasts, made 
possible the wonderful prosperity of today, 
which, viewing it in the light of the past, 
appears like some marvelous transformation 
scene. Yet the change from a wilderness 
to the condition which exists today, is but 



tlie gradual and logical development of the 
seeds of civilization sown many years ago, 
the harvest of which we are enjoying. 
Among those names connected with the 
early history of the country is that of Bart- 
lett, and the founder of this name at Hud- 
son is John E. Bartlett, v>ho was born at 
Jamestown, X. Y., Feb. 20, 1831, and who 
located at Hudson in 1855. 

John E. Bartlett was a son of John Bart- 
lett, of New Hampshire. When twent}'- 
four years of age, the father left New 
Hampshire and went to Essex county, 
X. Y., where he operated a flouring mill until 
1 83 1, at which time he went west to Greene 
county, 111., and bought a 200-acre farm of 
wild prairie land. There were numerous 
Indians in the neighborhood, and there was 
a hard struggle to get things properly started 
but these hardy pioneers persevered and 
John Bartlett became one of the leading men 
of that locality. At the time of his death, 
which occurred in 1848, when he was sixty- 
four years of age, he was a very wealthy 
man. His wife passed away in 1855, aged 
sixty-five years. In politics, he was equally 
prominent as a Whig, and held numerous 
town offices. He was known as a whole- 
souled man, genial and kindhearted, and was 
familiarly called "Uncle John." Ten chil- 
dren were born to him by his first wife: 
Bryant, deceased, lived in Illinois, whence 
he went to Clark county, Mo., wliere he prac- 
ticed law, was extensively engaged in real 
estate transactions and railroad construction, 
becoming a wealthy and highly respected 
man. Xathaniel, who married Emma Ew- 
ing, was a carpenter and joiner, and an old 
settler of Hudson, where he died in 1901. 
Lorenzo B. lives at Keokuk. Iowa, and is a 
practicing physician of note. Minerva, de- 
ceased, hiarried Henry Dickerson. Melissa 
died when young. John E. is mentioned be- 
low. William died in infancy. William (2) 
diefl at the age of seventeen years. Melinda 
is now deceased. The tenth child was 
Charles. Mr. Bartlett married (.second) 
Xellie Warren, of Oiiio, and she bore him 
two children. 

John E. Bartlett attended school, and 



?o6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



•walked three and onedialf miles to do so, 
something few children of this day would 
be willing to do. Although his advantages 
were limited, he made the most of them, and 
when he was seventeen, he knew much more 
then the general run of boys of his neighbor- 
hood. Aliout that time, in 1847, he went to 
Nauvoo, 111., to live with an uncle, George 
C. Edmunds, who was a judge and promin- 
ent attorney for many years. After a year 
or two, during which time the ambitious lad 
was allowed to attend school, and also learn 
the trade of a plasterer, he went to Ottawa, 
111., and remained two years. His next loca- 
tion was at Keokuk, Iowa, where for two 
years he worked at his trade. While here, 
March 23, 1854, he married Catherine Ken- 
nedy, a native of Queens County, Ireland, 
who was brought to the United States when 
twelve years of age. The Kennedy family 
settled at Keokuk, Iowa, her parents being 
Michael and Elizabeth (Condon) Kennedy, 
both of Queens County, Ireland. When the 
Civil war Ijroke out, Mr. Kennedy enlisted 
in Company F, ist Kans. V. I., and was 
killed in 1862 at Baton Rouge. His widow 
died Dec. 27, 1888, aged ninety-six years, 
at the home of Mr. Bartlett. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bartlett have had the following children : 
Alice married Edward M. Knott, and they 
live at Hudson ; Laura died at the age of 
twenty-two years; Clara married John 
Drummond, a wholesale pork packer of Eau 
Claire, Wis. ; Frank, of Spokane, Wash., is a 
surveyor; Kate died at the age of eight 
months ; Katie Maude is a music teacher and 
stenographer; John died at the age of seven 
months. 

In 1855, Mr. Bartlett. as before stated, 
came to Hudson, Wis., and has since made 
it his home. Many entertaining stories does 
he tell of incidents which occurred here 
when this was little more than a wild prairie. 
He has himself shot deer within the city 
limits, and had many dealings with the In- 
dians. A man of his trade naturally found 
plenty of work in the new village, and he 
has labored hard and faithfully for fifty- 
seven years. Although advanced in years, 
a sober, temperate life, and frugal habits 



have preserved him from ill health, and he is-. 
proud of his vigor and acti\'ity. In politics- 
he is a Democrat, and he has held many of 
the town offices, always proving an efficient 
])ublic official. Fraternally he is a Good 
Templar, and takes a prominent part in that 
organization. Kind hearted, genial in man- 
ner, well informed and fluent of speech, he 
is a very pleasant companion, and his recol- 
lections of early days ought to be preserved 
in enduring form, for they really form a 
part of our unwritten histor}'. These old 
pioneers are yearly passing away, and with 
them go many tales of those days, when 
Wisconsin was a territory; Illinois, little bet- 
ter than a wilderness, while railroads across 
the continent, telephones, electric cars, and 
the thousand and one conveniences of our 
every day life, still rested in the hands of 
the future. 

PETER MILLS, Sr., now living in re- 
tirement at Shell Lake, Washburn county, 
was born May 3, 1836, at Penn Yan, Yates 
Co., N. Y. His parents, Peter and Mary 
(Mosher) Mills, were both natives of New 
York State, and his grandfather. Thomas 
Mills, was a native of Ireland. 

Peter Mills, father of Peter Mills, Sr., 
came to Wisconsin in 1848, and was one of 
the first pioneers of Stevens Point, where he 
was extensively engaged in logging and in 
the timber business. He died at Pine River, 
Wis., at the age of eighty-two. He was a 
member of the Methodist Church. Mrs. 
Mary (Mosher) Mills died when her son 
Peter was but three days old. Her father, 
Asa Mosher, was a miller at Penn Yan. 
Her mother, Rachel (Brown) Mosher, lived 
to be eighty-nine years old, and her maternal 
grandmother lived to be over a hundred. 
The second husband of this long-lived wo- 
man was a Mr. Ryder, who had l)een aide- 
de-camp to Gen. Putnam during the Revo- 
lutionary war. 

Peter Mills, Sr., was reared by his ma- 
ternal grandmother, Mrs. Rachel (Brown) 
Mosher, until he was twelve years old. He 
then went to New York and engaged in boat- 
ing on the Hudson river and Erie canal, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



307- 



eventually becoming- proprietor of a line of 
boats plying- between Buffalo and Xew York 
City. In 1S79 be went to Clinton, Iowa, 
wbere be was en-iployed as a sealer and 
grader of lumber until 1882, wben be lo- 
cated at Sbell Lake. Tbere be became fore- 
man of tbe Sbell Lake Lumber Co., and con- 
tinued in tbe employ of tbe company until 
Dec. 31, 1892. wben be resigned. He 
served two years — 1S93-1894 — as sberiff of 
W'asbburn county, baving been elected as 
an independent candidate. He tben went to 
Boulder, Colo., wbere be erected a brick 
store building wbicb be still owns. He bas 
done considerable business in W'asbburn 
county lands. 

Mr. Mills married April 14, 1858. Eliza 
Randall, of Penn Yan, X. Y., wbo died July 
20. 1863, at tbe age of twenty-six. Sbe 
left one cbild, wbicb died in infancy. In 
Marcb, 1865, Mr. Mills married (second) 
Elizabetb ]\Ianley, also of Penn Yan, wbo 
died in September, 1884, aged tbirty-nine. 
Sbe was tbe motber of five cbildren, as fol- 
lows : George, w bo was accidentally sbot 
at Clinton, Iowa, in August, 1879. ^nd died 
at the age of fifteen ; Ella C, wbo is tbe wife 
of O. Wang, a prominent business man of 
Shell Lake: Cbauncey, a music teacher at 
Sbell Lake; Lizzie, wbo is Mrs. C. E. Love, 
of Xevada : and Peter, wbo is a telegraph 
operator at Itasca, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Mills is a member of Sbell Lake 
Lodge, Xo. 221, A. E. & A. M. Politically 
he has almost without exception supported 
the Republican party, but bas never but once 
been a candidate for office. During the 
Civil war be enlisted for 100 days" service 
in the 58th X. Y. N. G., and was employed 
on detached duty, guarding cars used in 
transporting troops and supplies between El- 
mira, X'. Y., and the headquarters of tbe 
Army of the Potomac in Virginia. 

JOHX E. JOXES, editor and publisher 
of the Washburn Tidics, Washburn, Wis., is 
a citizen whose long experience in newspaper 
work and wide knowledge of men and af- 
fairs, make him peculiarly fitted for his pres- 
ent influential position, and Wisconsin may 



be proud to claim him as her son. He was 
born at Bloomer, Chippewa county, Jan. 25, 
1872, son of George L. and Jennie (Jack- 
son) Jones. 

George W. Jones, the grandfather of 
John E., was one of tbe earliest pioneers of 
tbe State, and located in tbe lead regions 
about tbe time of tbe Black Hawk war. 
W ben the Civil war broke out be and two 
sons, George L. and David, enlisted in Com- 
pany K, 30tb Wis, V. L, serving faithful- 
ly, though not called intu any of tbe more 
severe engagements. 

George L. Jones was born in Gram 
county. Wis., in January, 1833. After serv- 
ing in tbe Civil war, be went to Chippewa 
county, and in 1880 be began tbe publica- 
tion of tbe Bloomer Work man, and five 
years later moved to Chippewa Falls, and 
issued the ll'orknum tbere with both daily 
and weekly editions until 1890, when it was 
merged into tbe Chippewa Independent. At 
that time Mr. Jones went to Sbell Lake, 
Wis., w-bere in company with bis son, J. 
E., be bought tbe Sbell Lake Watchman. 
in 1899 be sold out this paper and definitely 
retired from newspaper work, since that 
time residing- on a farm in Burnett 
county. Mr. Jones was always a public-spir- 
ited citizen, and like most men in bis posi- 
tion exerted a niarketl infiuence on tbe sen- 
timent of bis community, an infiuence us- 
ually cast on tbe side of tbe Republican par- 
ty. He married 2^Iiss Jennie Jackson, whose 
death occurred at Bloomer in 1883. 

From an early day John E. Jones was 
associated with his father in business, ac- 
quiring an experience wbicb made it ik).s- 
sible for him to fill tbe position of city 
editor of tbe Chippewa I-'alls Workman when 
only seventeen years of age. At Sbell Lake 
he w'as partner with his father, and after 
five years be went to Wasblmrn, wbere be 
started in for himself, establishing the 
Times, which has been a success from the 
beginning. A Republican. Mr. Jones has 
from bis arrival in the county taken an 
active part in political affairs, and has been 
a delegate to a large number of Republican 
county. State, congressional and legislative 



3o8 



COMMEMORATIVE BlOGRAPtllCAL RECORD 



conventiuns. For two years he was sec- 
retary of the congressional committee; in 
1896 he was chairman of the county com- 
mittee, and managed the campaign of that 
year so ably that the largest Republican ma- 
jority was given that had ever been polled 
up to that time. From 1895 to 1S97 Mr. 
Jones was deputy clerk of the Circuit court, 
and in the latter year was made book- 
keeper of the State Assembly. In August of 
the same year he was appointed postmaster 
at Washburn, one of the youngest appoin- 
tees in the State for so important a posi- 
tion. 

Aside from his strictly political services 
to the city and county, Mr. Jones has been 
connected with other matters of public in- 
terest. In 1895 li^ was a delegate to the 
International Deep Water Ways Commis- 
sion at Cleveland, and in 1899 was appoint- 
ed by Judge Parish a member of the com- 
mission to revise the assessment of Price 
county. For four years he was a member 
of the Washburn public library board and 
for half that time was its president. In 
his profession proper he naturally takes a 
])rominent part, was at one time vice-presi- 
dent of the Wisconsin Press Association, 
and was a leading spirit in the organization 
of the Northern Wisconsin Press Associa- 
tion, of which he was elected the first presi- 
dent in 1900. 

On Feb. 6, 1897, Mr. Jones was married 
to Miss Estelle C. Curtis, daughter of W. 
Ij. Curtis, formerly a prominent merchant 
of Shell Lake, Wis., but now of Seattle, 
Wash. Their home is the center of much 
hospitality, and they are among the most 
popular members of the younger social cir- 
cles of Washburn. 

WILLIAM E. CULLIGAN, a well- 
known citizen of the town of Superior, 
Douglas county, is a native of the State of 
Maine, and was born in East Machias, Jan. 
2j. 1858, a son of Thomas and Alice 
(Hughitt) Culligan. The former was a na- 
tive of County Clare, Ireland, and the lat- 
ter of County Cavan. 

Thomas Culligan came to the L'nited 



States when a young man and was hrst em- 
ployed for several years by a large lumber 
hrm in Maine. About 1865 he went to Ga- 
lena, 111., and worked both in the lead mines 
and elsewhere. His death occurred in Iowa 
in 1873, and his wife, who survived him 
until 1892, rounded out her three score years 
and ten. Out of their family of six sons 
and six ilaughters, all but one grew to ma- 
turity, but onlv the two brothers, William 
E. and James, are living in the region near 
the Head of the Lakes. 

William E. Culligan attended the public 
schools of Galena, 111., and Morris. Iowa. On 
reaching his majority he left home with his 
brother James, and the two ha\-e been inter- 
ested in lumbering and logging most oi the 
time ever since. One of their first contracts 
was the getting out of ties on the Kettle 
river, in Minnesota; in 1887 they went to 
Superior and took contracts for ties and pav- 
ing timber, and have gotten out more or less 
timber annually ever since. In 1893 they 
bought laud near Black River Falls, Doug- 
las county, where they built a home and have 
maile their permanent residence. The land 
contains some fine hardwood timber, and 
some of the most valuable copper bearing 
rock to be found on the Douglas range. Up 
to 1900 the brothers had done more toward 
the development of the copper range than 
any other individuals. Samples of ore from 
the Culligan mines show a large percentage 
of copper, silver and gold. The Culligans 
own nearly 300 acres on this range, besides 
a consitlerable amount of real estate else- 
where. 

^Villiam E. Culligan, like his brother, 
was reared in the Catholic faith. In his po- 
litical associations he has always been a 
Democrat, although he sometimes votes in- 
dependently. He is chairman of the town 
Democratic committee. Since 1895 he has 
been assessor of the town of Superior, being 
reelected each year. Mr. Culligan has become 
an expert in estimating logs and standing 
timber, and as there is much timlier all 
through that region, his long experience in 
that line has made him a most valuable man 
in the conimunitv- 



COMMEMORATIX'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



3C^'> 



The Culligan home is noted for its pic- 
turesc|iie environment and the hospitahty of 
its inmates. It stands on an elevated site in 
the midst of a beautiful natural grove, ad- 
jacent to springs of the i)urest water, while 
only a short distance away are the magnifi- 
cent falls of the Black River, one of the 
greatest natural beauties among the many to 
be found in Wisconsin. As yet it is one of 
the least known, but owing to its proximity 
to the cities of Duluth and Superior, it is un- 
doubtedly destined in time to become a very 
popular resort. 

The fall of 1894 was an epoch in the his- 
tory of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, 
when the tremendous forest fires consumed 
the town of Hinkley and other places, besides 
consuming thousands of acres of timber. 
During that terrible season the Culligans 
fought fires almost constantly for several 
weeks, fortunately with success, and their 
home and timber lands were both .saved. 

WILLIAM A. McGO.YAGLE. Sub- 
stantial success is seldom won at a bound. 
Only after a long, hard struggle with per- 
sistent and conscientious effort through trials 
comes the success that is worth the win- 
ning. William A. McGonagle, an influen- 
tial citizen of Duluth, has earned by his own 
intrinsic worth the high position he holds 
to-day. He comes of good old Irish stock, 
his ancestors having emigrated alx)ut a cen- 
tury ago to the State of Pennsylvania. 

Mr. McGonagle was born at Consho- 
hocken, Montgomery Co., Pa., March 28, 
1 86 1, son of Joseph and Agnes McGonagle. 
In the public schools of his native town he 
laid the foundation for the education that 
was to help him in his life work. Graduat- 
ing in June, 1876, from the high school, he 
then made preparations for a university ca- 
reer, and in Septemljer, 1877. matriculated 
at the University of Pennsylvania, and was 
graduated from that institution in June. 
i88r. as a Bachelor of Science in Civil En- 
gineering. He had chosen his career, and at 
once set about to put his Ix)ok learned 
knowledge to practical use. In July, fol- 
lowing his gra(luati(jn from the university, he 



entered the service of the Xorthcrn Pacific 
Railway Company, at Brainerd, Minn., as 
draftsman in the chief engineer's office. But 
one short month later he was promoted to 
the position of transitman on the location 
of the Little Palls and Dakota Branch, with 
headquarters at Sauk Centre, and the fol- 
lowing December he was made assistant en- 
gineer, with headquarters at Little Falls. 
l-"aithfully and well he discharged the duties 
of these responsible positions, so well, in- 
deed, that he became known outside the com- 
pany for which he was working, and in De- 
cember, 1882, he resigned to accept service 
with the Duluth & Iron Range Railway Co.. 
as assistant engineer, with headquarters at 
Two Harbors, Minn., a position he retained 
until 1889, when he became superintendent 
of bridges and buildings for the same road. 
In 1 90 1, in appreciation of his ability, he 
was promoted to be assistant chief engineer, 
but in July, 1902, he resigned to become as- 
sistant to the president of the Duluth, Mis- 
sabe & Northern Railroad Co. In Februarv 
1903, he was elected first vice-president of 
the same road, and reelected again in 1904 
— truly a remarkable record for a man of 
his years. Mr. McGonagle has, liesides his 
ability and attainments, a natural love for 
his work. He is energetic and possessed of 
wonderful power of application. 

Fraternally Mr. Mc(ionagle is a Mason 
of the thirty-third degree, and belongs to all 
the Masonic bodies in Duluth. being past 
master of Palestine Lodge, No. 79, A. F. 
& A. M. ; past commander of Duluth Com- 
mandery. No. 18, Knights Templar; and at 
present is grand master of the Grand Lodge 
A, F. & A. M., of the State of Minnesota. 
In April, 1903, he was elected president of 
the Commercial Club of l^uluth, and con- 
tinues in that office to the presait time. No 
man in Duluth stands higher in the estima- 
tion of the good people of the city. 

CARLSON BROTHERS, the well- 
known tin and metal workers, and dealers 
in bicycles and sundries, at Superior, come of 
stanch Norwegian stock. The brothers. 
George A. and Anthon. were born near 



310 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Christiania, Xor\\a\-. where the faniil_\- had 
long made its home. 

John Carlson or John C. Ostbye, as he 
was known after his marriage, was a pros- 
perous farmer near Christiania, and during 
his active life filled a number of local of- 
fices, and was an influential citizen. He died 
in June, 1904, at an advanced age. His wife, 
Julia Ostbye, died in 1884. aged about forty- 
four years. Siie came of a family that had 
lived near Christiania for several genera- 
tions, and inherited about sixty acres of 
land — a very large farm in that country — 
which her husband owned at the time of his 
death. They had five sons and one daugh- 
ter, namely : Carl, George A., Anthon, 
August, Julius and Sophia, of whom George 
A., Anthon and Julius came to the New 
\\'orld, the others living in their native Nor- 
way. Julius came to this country in 1903, ar- 
riving in Superior in December of that year. 

George A. Carlson was born Nov. 9, 
1865. At the age of fifteen he came to Eau 
Claire, Wis., and joined his uncles, Chris, 
Anton and Sigwert Carlson, who were deal- 
ing in hardware at that place; the two last 
named now reside in Superior. Mr. Carlson 
spent nine years in their establishment, be- 
coming thoroughly familiar with the tin 
and hardware business, and in the fall of 
1890 he came to West Superior, the next 
year, in company with his brother, Anthon, 
opening a tin shop which they still conduct. 
They also do all kinds of metal and furnace 
work, and since 1899 have made a specialty 
of dealing in bicycles ; they carry on the inost 
extensive bicycle repair business in the city. 
The trade of Carlson Brothers has steadily 
increased from the Ijeginning, and they en- 
joy an excellent reputation for fine work- 
manship. Their business integrity has never 
been questioned, and they are looked upon as 
substantial, well-to-do business men. 

In 1896 George A. Carlson entered a 
homestead claim of 160 acres of land in Cook 
county, Minn., where he spends his leisure 
time, and he has impro\-cd this land to some 
extent. 

Anthon Carlson, the junior member 
oi the firm, was born April 2, 1868. and 
came to the United States sixteen vears later. 



He learned the tinsmith business at Eau 
Claire, and in 1889 went to Tacoma, Wash., 
where he spent two years w'orking at his 
trade. Then he came to West Superior and 
entered into partnership with his brother, 
as above stated. 

On Dec. 27, 1899, Anthon Carlson was 
married to Anna Jacobson, daughter of Otto 
and Carrie Jacobson, of Chetek, Wis. They 
are members of the Norwegian Lutheran 
Church. Fraternally Mr. Carlson is affili- 
ated with Superior Lodge, No. 338, I. O. 
O. F., and with Golden Rule Encampment. 

HERMANN M. KOEHLER, one of the 
enterprising real estate dealers of Medford, 
Taylor county, is one of the young business 
men of the city, and has worked his way 
to his present position by rapid strides. He 
is a native of Wisconsin, born in Hamburg, 
Marathon county. May i, 1872, his parents 
being Gothilf and Emilie (Thews) Koehler. 

Gothilf Koehler was born in Pomerania, 
Germany, and spent the first half of his life 
in that country. He was a shepherd and 
coachman there on a large estate. He also 
served in the German army and was drafted 
into the war of 1848. About 1856 he came 
to America, settled first in Waushara coun- 
ty. Wis., and two years later in Marathon 
county, where he took up a farm and im- 
proved it. Three times married, Mr. Koeh- 
ler became the father of twenty-two children. 
Of those born to his first wife, Johanna 
Sager, only three are living: Frank, of 
Hamburg, W' is. ; Gustav, of Merrill, Wis. ; 
and August, of Ramona, S. D. The second 
wife, a sister of the present Mrs. Koehler, 
left no children. To the third union eleven 
children were born, of whom only the fol- 
lowing outgrew childhood : Frederich, who 
died Jan. 9, 1896, at the age of fourteen; 
John, of Wausau, Wis. ; Emilie, wife of 
Napoleon Derosia, of Merrill; Hulda, Mrs. 
William Thiede, of Hamburg; Hermann 
M. ; Bertha, who married Otto Baumann, 
of Merrill; and Walter, of that same place. 
Gothilf Koehler died Aug. 5, 1900, just 
twenty days before his eighty-first birthday. 
He belonged to the Lutheran church. His 
widow, who still survives and resides in 



COMiMEiMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



3^1 



Alcrrill, was burn near the \illage of 
Schneidenuihl, i'osen, Germany, and came 
tu W'ausliara county, Wis., with her parents. 

Hermann Al. Koehler was given a good 
education in the public schools and remained 
at home assisting on the farm until he was 
twenty-live years of age. He then went 
to Phillips and began to deal in real estate 
there, but in iSyy transferred his location 
to Medford, where he has since been in bus- 
iness. He deals principally in farm and 
timber lands, is the agent for the Wisconsin 
Central Railroad Company's lands, and has 
also Ixjught and sold considerable property 
for himself, while he still retains a half in- 
terest in the homestead. 

The marriage of ]\Ii". Koehler took ])lace 
Sept. 2, 1903, when he was united to Ella 
M. Kerble, daughter of Jacob and Bertha 
(Zeidlcr) Kerble, now of Aierrill, Wis., btit 
residing in Dodge county at the time Mrs. 
Koehler was born. Mr. Koehler is a Re- 
IHiblican in his political sympathies. Relig- 
iously he belongs to the Lutheran church. He 
is an energetic, progressive business man 
and has commanded the respect of all by his 
enterprising and clear-cut methods. 

HEXRY LEWIS CHASE, an enter- 
prising and successful business man of W^est 
Superior, Douglas county, was born in Sag- 
inaw. Mich., July 17, 1857, his parents be- 
ing Cyrus and Mary (Atchison) Chase, na- 
tives of Canada. 

The ancestors of Cyrus Chase came 
from England to Massachusetts with the ear- 
liest settlers and members of the family 
were among the "minute men" of Massa- 
chusetts and Vermont. Salmon P. Chase 
sprang of this stock, and also Dr. Chase, 
whose famous receipt l)ook is a household 
treasure in so many families. 

Early in the nineteenth century grand- 
father Benjamin Chase moved from Con- 
cord, Mass.. to Whitetisii. near Kingston, 
Out., wliere he passed the remainder of his 
life on a farm, dying when over ninety 
years old. His wife. Sarah (Parker) 
Chase, lived to be nearly as old. Cyrus 
•Chase followed the occupations of farmer 



and lumberman. In 1849 '^^ started over- 
land for California, but after his partner 
was shot by United States revenue officers 
while smuggling tea into the country (an 
enterprise with which Mr. Chase had noth- 
ing to do), the California project was aban- 
dnnetl Mr. Chase then went to Saginaw, 
where he engaged in logging and farming, 
dying diere in May, 1889, at the age of 
sixty-eight. His educational advantages 
were limited, but he was a capable and suc- 
cessful business man. In politics he was a 
Republican. Mrs. Mary (Atchison) Chase 
still lives in Kachville, Mich., aged seventy- 
eight years. Her parents came from the 
north of Ireland and settled at \\'est])ort. 
Ont., at an early day. 

Henry Lewis Chase attended the public 
schools and taught for several years, later 
taking a course in the State Agricultural 
College at Lansing. He then became man- 
ager of a lumber firm at Bay City, and in 
1890 went to Stillwater, Minn., where he 
bought a steamboat and operated it on the 
Mississippi river between Stillwater and 
Dubuque for about two years. Coming t^ 
the Head of the Lakes he was fc^r two years 
foreman of a sawmill at Bayfield, Wis., 
then a stockholder and superintendent of 
the Russell, Miller Milling Co. at West Su- 
])erior for three years, after which he be- 
came a partner of W. H. Knox in the log- 
ging and lumbering business, operating a 
sawmill at Duluth. Since 1900 he has been 
manager of the Cornplanter's Oil Co., hav- 
ing charge of points at the Head of the 
Lakes and tributary territory. About six 
carloads of illuminating and lubricating oil 
are distributed monthly frem this point, 
and a number of men and teams are em- 
ployed in Superior and Duluth in the local 
trade. Mr. Chase still does quite an exten- 
sive business in timber lands. ha\ing sold in 
1901 about 30,000 acres in Wisconsin; he 
owns a fine residence in Duluth and consid- 
erable other property. Mr. Chase was the 
original promoter of the Chase. \\'hite Fur- 
nace Co. (now the H. L. Chase Furnace 
Co. ) . of Superior ; he is the inventor of a 
patent force draft furnace, which is now 



312 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



being manufactured at West Superior and 
£.t other places, these furnaces being used in 
most of the mills at Superior. At one time 
Mr. Chase was a dealer in flour, feed and 
hay, and later was a traveling purchasing 
agent for Stone, Ordean, Wells Co., a 
wholesale house of Duluth. He also organ- 
ized the Red Star Supply Co., dealing in 
oils, but sold out to accept his present posi- 
tion. 

On Dec. 31, 1879 Mr. Chase married 
Julia D. Larkin, who was born in Detroit, 
daughter of John C. and Mary (Countess) 
Larkin, of Saginaw, Mich. Three children 
have been born to this union, Rena M., 
Bertha E. and Fred H. Mrs. Chase's fath- 
er, John C. Larkin, was a native of De- 
troit ; he was a machinist and was employed 
in Saginaw for about thirty-five years. He 
now lives at West Superior, at the age of 
sixty-seven. His father, William Larkin, 
came to this country from Ireland. Mrs. 
Mary (Countess) Larkin, a native of Lon- 
don, England, died in Bay City, Mich., in 
1899, when sixty-two years of age. Mr. 
Chase is a member of Terminal Lodge, I. 
O. O. F. He has been a lifelong Republi- 
can and takes an active interest in local pol- 
itics. Twice he has been a delegate to the 
Deep Water Ways Con\ention at Detroit 
The family is connected with the Episcopal 
Church. 

L. M. KNUTSON, of Barron county 
and former treasurer of the town of 
Stanfold, dates his settlement in this part 
of Wisconsin from 1875. At that time Bar- 
ron was little more than a logging camp, 
with store, blacksmith shops and a few other 
log structures. Cumberland had not a rep- 
utable wagon road, and the present, closely 
populated Rice Lake, had but two buildings 
north of the l)ridge. The only way to reach 
different neighborhoods through the county 
was over the logging camp roads, which 
were of fearful construction. 

Mr. Knutson became one of the earliest 
permanent settlers of the northern half of the 
county. He was born at Vik, Norway, Nov. 
23, i860, and was reared there on a farm. 



attending the schools until he was twelve 
years old. In 1872 he accompanied his par- 
ents and- family to America. The father 
had wisely made a trip previously, and had 
selected a location at Stillwater, Minn. 
Here our subject again attended school,, 
where he remained until the family in 1875 
removed to Barron county and settled on a 
homestead three miles from Cumberland. 
The latter was then but a small settlement in 
the woods to which there had, as yet, been 
no road constructed. Here the father put 
up a log cabin of the usual type built by the 
Scandinavians, the logs being hewed and 
fitted. Supplies were obtainable only from 
Clayton and Rice Lake, the heavy carrying 
all having to be done in winter, when the 
ground was frozen. 

The parents of Mr. Knutson, Martin and 
Anne (Halverson) Knutson, were bom, 
reared and married at Vik, Norway, and 
through life they retained many of the habits- 
and characteristics of their native land. The- 
Wisconsin homestead became their perma- 
nent home, and the father developing the 
original farm as rapidly as constant industry 
could accomplish it, became a man of 
prominence in the affairs of his locality. In 
religious faith he was a Lutheran, and both 
he and his wife were active promoters of 
this religious body at Cuml)erland, and were 
instrumental in having the first church striK- 
ture erected in the neighborhood, a building 
still standing. In his public spirited efforts, 
Mr. Knutson was supported by his neighbors, 
Hans Hilstad and Oluf Rolla, and by Rev. 
N. B. Alson, the first clergyman, who is now 
a resident of Washburn, Wis. Mr. Knutson 
was impressed with the crying needs of this- 
locality, one of these being the immediate 
demand for highways and he did much to 
assist in providing safe and convenient roads, 
and he was always ready to take part in any 
public spirited work. Particularly was he 
interested in education and felt that the 
school and church should go hand in 
hand. He served most acceptably as 
town treasurer, and was a man of 
the strictest integrity. His life may be 
considered to have been unusually successful. 



CO\LMEMORATl\'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



313- 



his enterprises succeeding and his children 
growing up to be useful men and women. He 
died April 9, 1903. aged seventy-eight years; 
his wife passed away in August, 1901, aged 
seventy-two years. They were both buried 
in the cemetery adjoining the church, three 
miles east of Cumberlan<l. Their chil- 
dren were : Johanna, ne\er came to /\mer- 
ica : Helmer resides on a farm in Cum- 
berland; Mary lives at St. Raul, Minn.; 
Louis M., is the subject proper of this sketch ; 
Lena and Syver are both of Cumberland, 
where the latter is a farmer. 

Louis ^L Knutson remained with his ])ar- 
ents on the homestead near Cum!)erland, for 
several years, and during tliis time had an 
opportunity to study theTndian in his native 
environs, and became acquainted with a num- 
ber of them, including Chief Catlip. Alore 
than once he found entertainment attending 
their pow-wows, and can speak of much 
friendliness from tliem. Mr. Knutson started 
life on his own account in a logging camp, 
and worked at logging for several years. In 
1880 he was employedi by Gundersen & Kall- 
ender, railroad contractors, and had charge 
of their store at Cable, on their Ashland 
branch ; while serving as storekeeper, he was 
appointed postmaster, under the administra- 
tion of the late President Ciarheld. After 
leaving Cable Mr. Knutson returned to Bar- 
ron county, and with the exception of one 
year passed at Tacoma and Seattle, Wash., 
made a ])ermanent home there. He settled on 
his farm in 188S, one of the best in Stan fold 
township. 

Mr. Knutson was identilied with the 
township officially from the time of its pres- 
ent existing organization, having been 
elected its first treasurer and serving six 
terms in that office. Like his father, he 
takes a deep interest in educational affairs 
and has i)een active in his advocacy of the 
movements designed to advance the cause 
to higher standards. For a number of years 
he has lieen scIkxiI clerk. In iK)litics he is 
a Republican and has served as a member 
of the Republican county committee and 
has Ijeen a party delegate to some of the 
conventions. 



Since 1 S94 Mr. Knutson has been inter- 
ested in bee culture, starting his colony with 
a wild swarm captured in the woods. By 
study and care he developed a flourishing 
apiary, having 130 swarms, and disposing 
annually of from 4,000 to 8,000 pounds of 
fine honey, which finds a ready market. 1 le 
considers this a valuable industry for this 
section and his example has been followed 
by others. The successful results in his case 
have been brought about by close attention 
and the same care given to any other line of 
business. 

Mr. Knutson married Miss Jennie M. 
Hart, who was born in Barron county, and 
they have reared a family of seven children, 
namely: Austin M., Louis E., Jessie H.. 
Robert L., Dora J., Benjamin and Clarence 
R. Mr. Knutson and his family attend the 
Presbyterian Church of which they are lib- 
eral supporters. He is one of the real repre- 
sentatives of the class of citizens who have 
made northern Wisconsin the most important 
part of the State, a class which has not only 
contributefl to its agricultural development, 
hut to its steady advancement in education 
and morrdity. 

JOHX T. MURPHY, president of the 
Evening Telegram Company, has been a 
leading citizen of Superior, Douglas county, 
for some years past and is identified with im- 
portant interests of that city. Mr. Murphy 
was horn in Deerfield, ALass., September 7. 
1 86 1, a son of Daniel and Abigail (Guiney) 
Murphy. The father, who was a native of 
Cork, Ireland, came to the LTnited States in 
youth and was for many years a railroad con- 
tractor. He spent some time on the construc- 
tion of the famous Hoosac tunnel and was 
interested in other extensive engineering en- 
terpri.ses. M the age of seventy-four he died 
at North Adams, Mass., after having lived 
in retirement many years. Mr. Murphy's 
mother, who is now aged sixty-five years, is 
still living in Massachusetts. 

John T. Mur])hy was educated at North 
.\daiiis. Mass., in the public schools and 
Drurv Academy. At an early age he turned 
his attention to journalism, becoming fanii- 



oH 



COISLMEMORATR'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



liar with that profession in Boston, which 
was then as now one of the foremost Hterary 
seats in America. In 1886 he went to Kansas 
City and dealt in real estate tor a time Init 
returned to his native State and became man- 
ager of the North Adams Transcript. He 
was connected with the Boston Globe and 
other metropolitan journals, and for a time 
was identified with the New England Associ- 
ated Press. In 18S8 he located in Superior, 
where he invested to some extent in real 
estate and other speculations. In connection 
with \V. E. Haskell, manager of the New 
York Journal, he founded the Evoihig Tclc- 
grant,\N\i\\ which he has since been identified. 
The establishment subsequently became the 
property of the Land & River Improvement 
Company, but in 1896 Mr. Murphy organ- 
ized a new corporation known as the Evcuing 
Telegram Company, by which the paper has 
since been published. Mr. Murphy is presi- 
dent of the company, and it is largely due to 
him that the paper is one of the leading pub- 
lications of the State. In recent years he 
has devoted much of his time to other inter- 
ests. He is president of the Berk.shire Realty 
Company, which deals in real estate at 
Superior, and is also interested to some ex- 
tent in copper and iron lands. 

In i8qo Mr. Murphy was married to 
Miss Margaret Hyland. a native of Ft. Ed- 
ward, N. Y. who departed this life two years 
later, at the age of twenty-two years. His 
second marriage occurred in April, igoi. the 
bride being Miss Elizabeth M. Flynn of 
North Adams, Mass. Mr. Murphy is con- 
nected with numerous social organizations. 
As an individual as well as in his editorial 
capacity he has been a steadfast supporter of 
Republican principles, and exerts a marked 
influence in the local councils of the partv. 
In 1900 he was one of the delegates from 
AA^isconsin to the National con\-ention at 
Philadelphia. He has never held iniblic of- 
fice of any sort. 

CAPT. THOMAS F. BELL, one of tlie 
most popular and highly respected residents 
of Duluth. St. Louis Co., Minn., was bom 
at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.. Jan. 10, 1835, a 



son of Dr. William and Jemima (Armitin- 
.ger) Bell. Dr. Bell was liorn at ]\lontreal, 
Canada, and his wife in ^lichigan. 

(I) Grandfather \\'illiam Bell was 
quarter-master sergeant in the English army, 
and also was postmaster at a fort for several 
years. 

(II) Dr. AA'illiam liell was educated 
for the priesthood, but later studied law and 
was admitted to the bar, but not feeling satis- 
fied with his profession, he learned the trade 
of a cooper. After this he went to England 
and entered Queen Elizabeth college, where 
for five years he studied faithfully, and then 
went home for six months. Returning he 
studied for two years more, when he returned 
to Canada and became a physician in the 
English army. After several years, he went 
west to Sault Ste. Marie, where he resumed 
his practice. Still later, he went to St. Clair. 
Mich., where he also remained for 
several years. The roving spirit of this 
talented man was not satisfied, and he 
removed to Canada, li\-in,g on a farm 
there for a couple of vears but at 
the same time following his profession. 
and finally he located permanentlv at Port 
Huron, where both he and his wife, passed 
away. In politics he was a stanch Democrat, 
and was verv well known throughout Mich- 
igan in his day. 

The children born to Dr. \\'illiam and 
Jemima Bell were : George, livin.g at Lud- 
dington, Mich., formerly a sailor, but now a 
retired contractor ; Henry, deceased, a sailor, 
as was also Alexander, deceased ; Thomas F. : 
Flora : Kate, of Saginaw, Mich. ; James, de- 
ceased, a sailor; Victoria, deceased: Charles, 
a sailor of Saginaw, Michigan. 

Capt. Bell was not given a very good edu- 
cation, and when he was permitted to attend 
school, he had to walk five miles. AVlien 
only ten years of age, he began to follow the 
lakes, and was on various boats, with dif- 
ferent captains. Durin.g his busy life he has 
not only served in the subordinate positions, 
but has been master and captain for over 
twenty-five years, and has sailed on all the 
lakes except Superior. He lived at Saginaw, 
]\lich.. for abmit a ([uarter of a century but 



COMMK.MORATIX'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



315 



since i8<)4 he has resided either in Duluth 
or Superior. 

Tlie first marriasje of Capt. lieU was tn 
Mary Galloway, of Detroit. Midi., wiin ched 
leaving- him one child. .Annie. This daugh- 
ter married Daniel McDonald, of Su])erior, 
Mich., and they have one ciiild. — -Ethel. The 
second wife of Capt. Rell hore the maiden 
name of Mary Ann Sayers and lived in 
Saginaw. Mich. 

Captain Bell has followed the calling of 
a sailor all his life, and can relate many 
thrilling e.xperiences relative to his numerous 
\oyages. He is well preserved, with a pleas- 
ant, genial manner, which makes and retains 
him numerous friends throughout the lake 
region. 

CAIA'IX A. \\'h:ADE, ])ro])rietor of 
the "\\'«eks .\venue Hotel." in West Super- 
ior, Douglas county, is a native of Xew 
Brunswick, of Irish ancestrv originallv. 

The paternal grandfather. John Weade. 
was a farmer and lumherman who passed his 
whole life at Eredericton. Xew Brunswick. 
His son, James \\'eade. was horn there and 
is now over ei.ghty-eight years of age. living 
in the same place in the hest health. His 
wife was Eleanor Brannen. and she also is 
still living, at ahout the same age as her hus- 
band. Her father was William Brannen. a 
school teacher for many years in the \-icinity 
of Eredericton, and her grandfather was a 
Major Brannen of the English army. 

Calvin A. Weade was liorn.like his father, 
in Eredericton, Sept. c. 1844. I'ntil he was 
sixteen he attended the public schools, and 
then went to Bangor, Maine, and was em- 
ployed in lumbering there until the war broke 
out. In Septemlier 1861, he enlisted in 
Company I, 8th M. \'. I., serving until the 
close of the war. Eor some fifteen years 
after the war Mr. XN'eade remained in the 
East, but in i88r went to Elk River. Minn., 
where he engaged in logging, and for the next 
ten years difl more or less contracting. In 
iSqf he settled in Superior and for several 
years kept the "Xew Eal-'aycttc Hotel." but 
-ince i8<)S has been managing the "Weeks 
\veiuie Hotel," which has accommodations 



for thirt\- guests and is a most ])opular hos- 
telry. In connection with this hotel Mr. 
Weade conducts a grocery store. 

In 1873 occurred the marriage of Calvin 
.•'\. \\'eade and Josephine Blackwell. the lat- 
ter a daughter of Odell and Caroline (Camp- 
bell ) Blackwell, of Greenbush, Maine, and 
to this marriage were born two children : 
Ered A., connected with the Youghiogheny 
& Lehigh Coal Co.. at Superior: and Edith 
Ella, now Mrs. A. A. Peck, of Superior. 

Odell Blackwell. the father of Mrs. 
Weade, w^as a native of North Wayne, Ken- 
nebec Co.. Maine, born in 1812, of mixed 
English and Irish ancestry. Eor a number 
of years he kept the ".American House" at 
Greenbush. Maine, and then in 1880 migrated 
to the West and settled at Elk River. Minn., 
where the last two years of his life were 
spent. His wife. Caroline, was born at Brad- 
ley. Maine, in 182=;. and died in Minneapolis, 
Eeb. 8. i8q6. She was the daughter of 
Ilenry and Temperance (Blackman) Camp- 
bell, and the granddaughter of Charles 
Campbell. The last named came from Glas- 
gow. Scotland, to this country. Plenry 
Campbell built the "American House" at 
Greenbush. He took a prominent part in 
politics and was a member of the Maine 
Legislature for some vears. his views being 
those of the Whig party. AI)out 1840. with 
his son, George W., he went to California. 
via Cape Horn, and died a year later in that 
far western State. 

Cah'in A. Weade is essentially a man 
who does his own thinking hence it is not 
surprising to find him in the ranks of neither 
of the great political parties, but an inde- 
pendent. He preserves the memories of his 
army life by his membership in the G. .\. R.. 
and is also affiliated with the Mystic 
Workers. 

GUY ARTHUR E ATOX is one of the 
most enterprising among the younger busi- 
ness men of Duluth. The story of his career 
is most interesting, for although his life has 
been a l)usv one from the most material 
standpoint, it has been filled with incidents of 
adventure and varied with the experiences 



3i6 



CO:\IMEMORATIYE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



of travel in lands practically unknown to 
white men. He was born Oct. 27, 1871, in 
Red Oak, Iowa, son of Webster and Frances 
(Ames) Eaton, and comes of one of the old- 
est families of America, whose past and pres- 
ent generations include many men of promi- 
nence in civil and military affairs. 

The first of the name on this side of the 
Atlantic, Francis Eaton, came over in the 
"Mayflower" and among his posterity was 
President Eaton of Yale College. Several 
other branches of the family located in New 
England in the early days, and all have done 
credit to the name. Jonas Eaton, the direct 
ancestor of Guy Arthur Eaton, settled at 
Reading, Mass., near Boston. Ebenezer 
Eaton, great-great-grandfather of Guy Ar- 
thur, served in the Continental army during 
the Revolution, and another of his ancestors, 
named Squires, also took a proininent part in 
that struggle. Col. Willard Gould Eaton, 
who commanded the 13th M. V. I. during 
the Civil war, was a relative of Webster 
Eaton, and a son of Joel and Sarah (Siblev) 
Eaton, the latter a relative of Hiram Sibley, 
the famous seedsman of Rochester, New- 
York. 

Webster Eaton was born in Monroe 
county, N. Y. During the Civil war he 
served in the ist New York Light Artillery, 
taking part in every engagement in the Army 
of the Potomac, and came through without 
injury, though he received a sunstroke while 
in the service. Soon after the war, he mar- 
ried and moved to Iowa, starting new'spapers 
in Quincy, Hamburg and Red Oak, and en- 
joyed the distinction of being among the 
first journalists in that State. During 
President Grant's administration he was ap- 
pointed register and receiver of the land of- 
fice at Bloomington, Neb., with which State 
he has ever since been identified. In time 
he resumed his profession, starting the Coi- 
tral Nebraska Press, at Kearney, which he 
published for seven years. Later he settled 
at Lincoln, where he founded the IJncoln 
Globe, and served as postmaster of that city 
under President McKinley. He has always 
been an active worker in the Republican 
party, having been a member of the Repub- 



lican State Central Committee for years, and 
takes a lively interest in State and National 
politics. He is still a resident of Lincoln. 

Guy Arthur Eaton attended public school 
at Lincoln, Neb., until about 1884. when he 
went with his parents to Minnesota, where 
his father was special agent of the United 
States land office. He attended school at 
St. Cloud, Minn., and thence accompanied 
his father to Nova Scotia, where they were 
interested in mining and remained for eigh- 
teen months. Following this experience he 
attended Claverack (X. Y.) College, from 
which institution he was graduated in the 
engineering course when nineteen years old. 
Then he was again at Lincoln. Neb., for a 
time, in i8go locating at Tower. Minn. .where 
he engaged in prospecting and surveying" 
in company with his lirother, W. A. Eaton. 
Having been appointed United States deputy 
surveyor, he surveyed much government land 
on Vermillion Range and in the Rainy Lake 
Region, spending several years on the ranges 
in St. Louis county. In 1895 the Eaton 
lirothers went to Central America as part of 
the engineering force of President Barrios. 
of Guatemala, to assist in surveying the line 
of the Guatemala Northern Railroad. Later 
they coasted along the Caribbean sea. Dur- 
ing their stay in Central America they en- 
listed inider Gen. Bogranz, the leader of a 
revolution in Flonduras. but as the General 
was poisoned, the affair was abandoned. 

Guy A. Eaton ex'entually found it neces- 
sary to return North because of ill health, 
after a long siege in hospital, during which 
he was not expected to recover. He came 
to New York via Cuba, and on to Minne- 
sota, and his first work after his return was 
the charge of the lumber business of Hon. 
C. B. Buck-man. at Little Falls. Minn. Then 
for two years he was county surveyor of 
Wright county, this State, declining a sec- 
ond term in that position, and the next year 
was engaged in buying timlier land for the 
Shevlin-Carpenter Co., of Minneapolis. In 
April, 1900, he settled in Duluth, where he 
has since been in business as a member of the 
firm of Eaton Bros., dealers in pine and iron 
lands. The brothers, though young men-. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPEIICAL RECORD 



317 



were among' llie pioneer surveyors of north- 
ern Minnesota, and as such liave an intimate 
knowledge of its resources which wouhl have 
been scarcely possible under other circum- 
stances. At times tliey have Hved as long 
as eight months without seeing a white man 
outside of the members of their party. Dur- 
ing one memorable trip they traveled forty- 
two days on snowshoes, camping every night. 

Like his father, Mr. Eaton has an inborn 
taste for political affairs, and he takes an 
active interest in the workings of the Repub- 
lican party, at present serving as chairman 
of the 8th Congressional District Committee, 
which position he has held since 1902. He 
was largely instrumental in the election of 
J. Adam Bede to Congress. He had charge 
of the city committee in the municipal cam- 
paign of IQ04. He is second vice-president 
of the Commercial Club, one of the leading 
social organizations of the city and a power 
in local commercial and civic affairs. He 
took an active part in the organization of the 
Minnesota Naval Reserves, in which he 
holds the rank of lieutenant commander. 
i-"raternally, he is identihed with various or- 
ders, more particularly the Masons (Scottish 
Rite), is senior warden of the Blue Lodge, 
senior warden of K. T. D. Commandery and 
master of the twenty-seventh degree. Duluth 
Consistory. 

Mr. Eaton was married, in March, 1898, 
to Miss Jessie Burton, of Minneapolis, and 
they have had one son, W'illiam. 

X. G. DL'RGIX, a prosperous real estate 
dealer, and prominent citizen of Glen Mora, 
Rusk Co., Wis., was born in I\Lanitowoc, 
Wis., in 1848, a son of G. W. and Lydia L. 
(Gnofirich) Durgin, tiie former of whom 
was born in New Hampshire, and the latter 
in New York. The Durgin family is of 
Irish ancestry, and the (ioodrich of Scntch 
origin. 

G. \\'. Durgin was an early settler of 
Wisconsin. He crossed tlie plains to Cali- 
fornia, in 1852, and while he was there his 
wife died in Wisconsin. He returned home 
in 1830. and in i8rx3, he once more went 
west, this time to Washington : he died at 



Vancouver, B. C. Our subject, with a sister, 
was reared by tlieir uncle, George Goodrich, 
of Monroe, Green Co., Wis., a prominent 
and wealthy farmer. 

In the home of Mr. Goodrich,. X. G. 
Durgin was educated, and taught to farm. 
Before he was twenty-one, he went West 
to California, via the Isthmus of Panama, 
but after reaching his destination he re- 
mained only a few weeks, going on to Wash- 
ington, where he remained until 1870. At 
that time, he went up the Columbia river to 
Oregon, and became employed as herder, 
traveling in this business over some 2,800 
miles. Returning to Wisconsin in the fall 
of 1870, he settled at Monroe. 

In 1 87 1 Mr. Durgin settled in Green 
county on a large dairy farm, which he con- 
ducted successfully for five years. In 1877, 
he removed to Butler county. Neb., buying 
land of a homesteader. This he developed, 
and lived upon until 1882. He then sold 
the land and returned to Monroe, Wis., 
where he bought eighty acres. There he 
lived until the fall of 1900, when he sold 
his land and came to Rusk county, locating 
at Glen Flora. Here he bought 600 acres 
of timber property, and invested $3,000 in 
village property. In this delightful locality, 
he has since resided, devoting himself to the 
development of his property, and the ad- 
vancement of the village, in which he takes 
a great interest. He has been a stanch 
advocate of good roads, and the general 
development of the place. Always a Repub- 
lican, he is one of the leaders of his party in 
Rusk county, and has served very acceptably 
as delegate to county, assembly and con- 
gressional conventions. Mr. Durgin is an 
enterprising and successful man : a gentle- 
man of excellent judgment, well informed 
on general topics and the local affairs of 
county and state. Fraternally he is a mem- 
ber of the A. O. U. W. and the Maccabees. 

In 1 87 1 !\Tr. Durgin married Miss Bell 
McKnight, and they became the parents of 
three children, two of whom are living, both 
residents of Glen Flora, George A. and 
Arthur N. Both young men served .in 
Company H, ist Wis. V. I., in the Spanish- 



3i8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



American war. Their term of service was 
spent at Jacksonville, Fla., they not being- 
sent to the front. They were honorably 
discharged Oct. 26, 1898. These young- 
men were members of the State militia, 
George having served nine years and Arthur 
six years, including the time they were en- 
rolled in the volunteer army. They are sons 
of which any father may well l)e proud, and 
George is well versed in military tactics. 
The family is numbered among the leading- 
ones of Glen Flora, and the name of Durgin 
is one that is highly respected throughout 
Rusk county. 

JAMES ]■'. TOSTEVTX, Jr., of the 
firm of \Villian-i Penn & Co., cut stone deal- 
ers and contractors, at West Superior, 
Douglas county, is a nati\-e of London, Eng- 
land, born June 5, 1S45. His parents, 
James F. and Sybilla (Smallridge) Tostevin, 
were respectively natives of the island of 
Guernsey and the city of London. In 1847 
the elder Tostevin immigrated with his fam- 
ily to the United States, and engaged in the 
stone businesss at Buffalo, N. Y. Eight 
years later they located at St. Paul, Minn., 
where the father still carries on business, 
though he has reached the advanced age of 
eighty years. His father, a builder by oc- 
cupation, was killed in the island of Guernsey 
by falling from a scaffold on a building 
which he was constructing. The great-grand- 
father was also in his day a builder, as well 
as a fisherman. 

At an early age James F. Tostevin, Jr., 
became imbued with the spirit of American 
patriotism, and before attaining the age of 
se\enteen years he determined to offer his 
services in defense of his adopted country. 
He enlisted March 28, 1862, and was en- 
rolled as a member of Company K, 4th Minn. 
V. I. Joining the western army under Grant 
his regiment took part in the battle of Cor- 
inth and the long and tedious siege of Vicks- 
burg, forming a part of the first brigade of 
the Union forces which entered that city 
after its capitulation. He afterward took 
part in Sherman's Atlanta campaign, l)ut 
at the fall of that city he was serving under 



Gen. Corse in the defense of Altoona. The 
4th Alinnesota regiment won great credit 
for the valiant part which it took in this en- 
counter. An immense quantity of supplies 
for Sherman's army was stored at that point, 
and much depended upon the preservation of 
these stores by the little band under Gen. 
Corse, which was besieged by the Confed- 
erate army. Sherman's signal from the top 
of Kenesaw Mountain, "Hold the fort for I 
am coming," and Gen. Corse's characteris- 
tic reply, conveyed in the same manner, ha^•e 
become matters of history. Mr. Tostevin 
also took part in Sherman's famous "March 
to the Sea," being detailed as a forager, in 
which capacity he continued until the army 
reached Raleigh, N. C. While thus engaged 
he was accustomed to ride from thirty to 
seventy miles a day. and had many narrow 
escapes from capture by the Confederate 
cavalry, his clothes being several times rid- 
dled with bullets. His term of service hav- 
ing expired in Raleigh, he was discharged 
there. April 28, 1865, and returned home. 
After the war Air. Tostevin joined his 
father at St. Paul in the manufacture of 
building stone. In 1872 he went to Frontenac. 
in the same State, where he successfully 
dealt in cut stone for seven years, and after- 
w-ard continued in the same line of business. 
at Minneapolis and at Dresbach, Minn. In 
1889 he located at West Superior and 
opened the leading establishment in his line 
of business at that place. The firm, which at 
the beginning- was Tostevin & Moore, later 
became the Superior Cut Stone Co., and in 
1896 consolidated with the firm of William 
Penn & Co., which had previously been its 
chief competitor, and the business of the 
concern has become one of the most import- 
ant industries at the Head of the Lakes. 
Large quantities of Portage Entry and Lake 
Superior brownstone are brought here, man- 
ufactured and distributed. All kinds of de- 
signs for building purposes are made, much 
of the product being used in Superior and 
Duluth, while the balance is marketed in 
several different States. Sixty men are em- 
ployed in the shops of this concern and niore 
than 300,000 cubic feet of stone were hnndled 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



319 



during- tlic first nine months of tlie year 
1901. 

Mr. Tostevin was married, Sept. 30, 
1869, to Miss Henrietta C. Foreman, daugh- 
ter of Wilham H. Foreman, of St. Paul, 
Minn. They have eight Hving children, 
Clarabel having died at the age of nearly 
seven years ; Lura is now Mrs. H. A. Haley, 
of Chicago; Madge is the wife of William 
A. Otis, of Superior; Jessie is Mrs. J. F. 
McArthur, of Milwaukee; and Ruby is 
Mrs. Sidney H. Buchanan, Superior. Those 
at home are Ruth, Leslie William and Jay 
Francis (twin.;) and Florence. The family 
is connected with the Cumming Avenue M. 
E. Church, of which Mr. Tostevin is a trus- 
tee. Fraternally he is affiliated with the G. 
A. R., the Masons, the I. O. O. F., and the 
A. O. U. W. He is a past master of Su- 
perior Lodge, Xo. 236, A. F. & A. M., 
and past commander of the posts at Dres- 
bach and West Superior. He has been a 
lifelong Republican, though he entertains 
decided Prohibition sentiments. While liv- 
ing at Froutenac he served as justice of the 
peace, and filled the position of chairman of 
the board of supervisors at Dresbach, but 
since coming to Superior, he has held aluof 
from official responsibilities. 

HISTORY OF BRL'CE, Rusk Co., 
Wis. The prosperous village of Bruce was 
founded in Xoveniber, 1884, and that so 
few years should have elapsed since is won- 
derful compared with its remarkable growth. 
The earliest settlers, men of keen foresight 
and indominatable perseverance, could 
scarcely have had prevision to e(|ual the pres- 
ent facts. When the great "Soo" line reached 
this point, J. E. Stanley, John O'Brien, 
Thomas Kelly, William Reeves. D. P. Bar- 
hydt, C. P. Pinkham and C. P. Dolan, de- 
cided to establish homes here in the pine for- 
est. They were the first settlers. Soon their 
wants were catered to by \). W. Blackburn, 
Messrs. P>ronsky & Cummins and Messrs. 
Wheeler & Carter, who established stores. 
The latter house still continues in business 
although the firm style has been changed to 
\\'heelcr & Stanley. 



The name nf Bruce was given to the new 
town, in honor of A. C. Bruce, a former 
well known lumber capitalist of this section, 
but now a resident of St. Paul, Minn. From 
the first the village attracted a fine class of 
settlers — those who came here for homes 
and not for speculation. Thus its prosperitv 
has been gradual but sure and today almost 
tnery line of trade is represented and pros- 
pering. Scarcely had the first homes been 
established here when a school was openetl 
with Mrs. Mary O'Brien in charge, who 
cheerfully assumed its responsibilities under 
very discouraging conditions at first. The 
school is now State graded and of the first 
class. The present building is a modern 
structure, six teachers are employed, and in 
point of comfort and educational utility can- 
not be excelled in Rusk county. In 1904, 
$5,000 was expended in improving the buikl- 
ing.^^ 

That religious denominations have edi- 
fices of their own, testifies forcibly to the 
morality of the people. The Methodist 
Episcopal, the Congregational and the Cath- 
olic each draw their own congregations reg- 
ularly and exert a mighty influence for good. 
Business is carried on in Bnice accord- 
ing to modern methods, the presence of en- 
terprising men being shown on every hand. 
The railroad alone does a business at Bruce 
of $150,000, annually, and 100 carloads of 
lumber i)r(Klucts are shipped monthly. The 
Arpin Hartlwood Lumber Company's mill 
was established at Atlanta, one mile north 
of Bruce, in 1900. The Beldenville Lum- 
ber and Veneer Company's mill began oper- 
ations in 190 1. It is situated one-half mile 
east of Bruce. The former gives employ- 
ment to 500 men ; the latter to about 300. 
Both companies operate logging railroads 
which extend into their timber districts, al- 
together some forty miles. 

Bruce soon realized the need of a news- 
paper and this want was met by A. W. Mc- 
Cormack. who established the weekly A^ctvs- 
Lettrr. Oct. 18, 1900. It is a six column 
quarto, independent in politics, and with 
plenty of home news, just the literar\' me- 
dium suited to the i^ize of the town. The- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



fraternal orders are also well represented, 
and have eomfortable inul appropriate halls 
and meeting places. They include the 
Knights of Pjthias, ^laccabees, Woodmen, 
Grand .\rmy of the Republic, Woman's Re- 
lief Corps, Royal Neighbors, Mystic Work- 
ers and the Modern Brotherhood of Amer- 
ica. In 1903 a creamery was establishcil 
which is conducted on the co-operati\e plan. 
It is a well ec^uipped plant, cost $4,500 ano 
was started up with sixty subscribers. 

A postoffice was established in 1884, 
with W. A. Clark, the first agent of the 
"Soo" as first postmaster, with an office in 
the depot. In 1902 Bruce was incorporated, 
with a population of 900 and with environ- 
ments of 1,500. Its phenomenal growth has 
surprised the oldest settlers, but as it is 
healthy and can be well provided for, it is 
welcome. The postoffice is now in the third 
class, the stamp sale amounting to $j,ooo 
annually, and a free rural route service de- 
livers mail to 107 families. This has been 
but recently established and is the first and 

, only one in Rusk county. 

The first bank to be organized in Bruce 
was in January, 1902, and was known as the 
Bank of Bruce, a private institution, with 
a capital stock of $5,000, the stockholders 
being W. A. Blackburn, of Brace, J. C. 
Stubbs, of Weverhauser, and J. A. Corbet, 
L. E. McGill a'nd O. E. Pederson, of Lady- 
smith, the latter being its first president and 
the former its cashier. It continued in busi- 
ness until November the same year, when 
it was absorbed by the Lumberman's State 
Bank, with a capital of $25,000; the bank 
has prospered ever since its opening and 
now has deposits of $60,000. 

Bruce has many attractions as a place 

■ of both business and residence. It is ad- 
jacent to a fine farming country, watered by 
the beautiful Chippewa river which fiows 
within a half mile of the town, and it re- 
mains for some large capitalist and enter- 
prising promoter to be the first to see a for- 
tune in the utilization of the power in its 
rapids a little distance to the eastward. ' The 
good people of Bruce love their little town, 
are proud of her achievements and are 



guarding her morals and educating her 
young. 

It is safe to say the soil of Rusk county 
is unexcelled by any other county in the 
State, and to say Northern Wisconsin is 
the banner grass country of the United 
States is not putting it too strong, for here, 
as nowhere else, clover and timothy run out 
obnoxious weeds. This is even true of the 
public roads. Not only grasses do well 
ui)on the clayey loam, but all the cereals, 
s.ive Indian corn, grow thrifty here and reg- 
ularly mature. The dairy possibilities of 
Northern Wisconsin are already seen to be 
immeasurable. It is only a question of time 
when this favored section of Wisconsin will 
be one of the greatest and most successful 
dairy regions of the United States. The 
country is rapidly settling up, the cheap lantls 
and the advantages of soil and market being 
the inducement which is bringing in thou- 
sanils of families who in a few years will be- 
come sole owners of good homes. 

HARRY BROUSSEAU was for a 
number of years identified with the Superior 
Ship Building Company, at Superior, hav- 
ing for some time been superintendent of 
the engineering department. He was born 
Oct. 8, 1867, in Quebec, son of Nelson and 
Sarah (Raisin) Brousseau, the former a 
native of Bangor, Maine. ^ 

Great-grandfather Brousseau came to 
America from France in 1794, but returned 
to Paris, where his son Mitchell was born. 
Mitchell Brousseau came to this country in 
earlv life and lived in Maine for a time and 
then in Canada. He served for a while in 
the British army, and later drew a pension. 
His home was near Quebec, where he lived 
to be ninety-four years of age. His wife, 
Mary Dorey, was born in a suburb of Que- 
bec, of French parentage, and died at the 
age of seventy-two. 

Nelson Brousseau, son of Mitchell, was 
twelve years of age when he moved with 
his jiarents from ]Maine to Quebec. In 
1878 he moved to Marciuette, Mich., and 
some time later to Newberry, in that State, 
where he still makes his home, being now 




MR. AND MRS. HARRY BROUSSEAL' 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



sixtv-two years oi age. Xelst)ii Brousseau 
is a successful business man. He was a car- 
penter by trade, and wiiile in Canada had 
also engaged in the logging industry, and 
since locating at Newberry lie has been 
boring artesian wells. He served as consta- 
ble for fifteen years, and also as deputy 
sheriff of Luce county. Since coming U) 
the United States he has been a Republi- 
can in p(3litics. Mr. Brousseau married 
Sarah Raisin, who was born near Ouebec. 
of Irish parentage. Her father. Harry Rais- 
in, a farmer near Quebec, died about 1870; 
her mother, Sarah ^bioney, lived until 
1898. reaching the great age of ninety- 
eight. 

Harry Brousseau had little opportunity 
to attend school, but by diligent study at 
home hj became well informed. When he 
was thirteen years of age he began to learn 
the trade of engineer and machinist in tlie 
shops of the Xewberry Fiu'nace Comi)any. 
remaining with that firm for nine years. 
He was then for. a few months with the 
Menominee Mining Com])any. erecting 
some large mining engines. After working in 
several places he came in the fall of 1892 to 
West Superior, wliere he entered the employ 
of the .Vmerican Steel Barge Company. |)red- 
ecessor of the Superior Ship Building Com- 
pany, with which concern he was connected 
until Feb. i, 1904. The second year- he was 
there he was made foreman of the machine 
shop, and from OctoJjer. 1900. was super- 
intendent of the engineering de])artment, in 
which about 130 men are employed. Mr. 
Brous.seau spent two seasons in Montana. 
Iniilding and operating a dredging outfit for 
Capt. McDougal. of the Steel Barge Com- 
pany, and lie al.so built a saw-mill for the 
liincs Lumber Company at Orienta, Wis. 
With these exceptions lie was identified 
with tlie Superior ship yards from 1892 
until Feb. i, 1904. He is at ])resent hold- 
ing the position of superintendent of the 
Empire yards of the Standard Oil Com- 
pany, at New York, he imd his family now- 
residing at Flushing, a suburb of \e\v 
York City. 

Mr. Brousseau has rlevnted considerable 



lime U' mechanical in\'entions. :imong the 
most noteworthy of these being the sliding 
or telesct)pe hatch cover for .ships, patented 
in 1903. and now in use on a number of 
first class steamers on the Creat Lakes. In 
1891-92,' in connection with Mr. Gilbert 
Patter.son. a chief engineer on the Great 
Lakes, he patented several steam engine 
valve gears. 

On Aug. 2(), 1891, Mr. Brous.seau mar- 
ried Miss Jo.sephine Potvin. a native of Al- 
jieiia. Mich., daughter of Morrille and Har- 
riet ( Hissonelte) Potvin. of Newber- 
ry. Mr. and Mrs. Potvin were both 
l">rn in Montreal, of I'rench parentage. i\Ir. 
I'litNin. a blacksmith by trade, came to the 
United States about 1868. and now lives at 
Xewberry. Mr. and .Mrs. Brousseau have 
four children, namely: Mildred J.. Russell 
11.. Royal .\.. and (')gden M. Mr. Brous- 
seau is a member of the Modern Woodmen 
of .America, the A. O. U. W. and the Ben- 
evolent and Protective Order of l<:iks. In 
politics he has always been ;i I\e])ul)lican. 

GEORGI-: 1!. COOK, manager of 
Cook's Land Agency, with ofticcs at Cum- 
berland. Barron Co., Wis., is one of the bu.-y 
and enterprising citizens of that place. He 
is a son of Atwell J. and Mary T. (Cook) 
Cook, the latter of whom came of (jld Con- 
necticut ance.stry. of Scotch-Irish and Ger- 
man descent. Her parents later settled at 
Oswego. X. ^'. Her father. William H. 
Cook, was a Connecticut Yankee, and her 
mother. Xancy ( Rector) Cook, of Holland 
and English and Irish descent, was from 
Xew ^'ork. 

Atwell J. Cook w.is l)orn Aug. 25, 1818. 
at Vernon. Windham Co., Vt., a son of 
Ziba and Lydia (Thomas) Cook. Mis 
grandfather. Oliver Cook, was one of the 
"Green ^^)untain boys" of Revolutionarv 
fame, and was a captain under Gen. Wash- 
ington, and both his father and grandfather 
were captains in the war of 1812. Atwell 
J. was the youngest of ei.ght children and is 
the only one surviving. In 1835 his wid- 
owed mother went with her .son in Jefferson 
county, X. Y.. making the journey by o.\~ 



322 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



team, and thence went to Canada. Atwell 
Cook left Canada in 1839 and went to Syra- 
. cuse, N. Y., where he worked at his trade of 
.turner, later going to Oswego, and then to 
Fulton, where he completed his studies in 
architecture and mechanical engineering. In 
1852 he went to Dowagiac, Mich., in 1854 
.to Dubuque, Iowa, and in 1855 to Winona, 
Minn., where he Ijuilt a flouring-mill, be- 
ing a millwright. There he lived until 1859, 
when he went to Fountain City, Wis., liv- 
ing there until 1863, and thence removed to 
Whitehall, Wis., where he resided until the 
fall of 1866, with the expection of the time 
spent in serving his country during the Civil 
war. In the fall of 1866 the family moved 
to Monticello, Iowa, returning to Whitehall 
in the fall of 1868. 

In June, 1861, Mr. Cook enlisted in 
^Company H, 6th Wis. V. I., and served in 
:the Army of the Potomac, belonging to the 
famous Iron Brigade, which was held as a 
reserve force near Washington, D. C, dur- 
ing his time of actual service. On account 
of ill health he was confined in the hospital 
several months, and he contracted rheuma- 
tism in the army which has troubled him ever 
•«ince. He was discharged May 14, 1862. 

On Nov. 14, 1875, Mr. Cook arrived in 
' Cumberland and took up a homestead of 
fifty-two acres, where he engaged in farm- 
ing for a number of years. In 1901 he re- 
mo\'ed to Bayfield to make his home with a 
<laughter, ^Irs. John Hopkins, where he still 
resides. On Oct. 22, 1840. Mr. Cook mar- 
ried Mary T. Cook, and they had six chil- 
dren, namely: Atwell, who died in infancy; 
Ellen, wife of J. L. Hunter, city engineer and 
■ electrician of Cumberland ; Dora, wife of 
lohn Brinkley, of Cumberland; Ruthven, 
who died Aug. 17, 1S65; Nancy I., wife of 
John Hopkins, of Bayfield, Wis. ; and George 
B. Cook. 

Atwell B. Cook is a Democrat in political 
sentiment. He was a prominent figure in 
local affairs for a number of years, and was 
chairman of the township board when, the 
town was known as Lakeland. For several 
vears he served as justice of the peace, was 
su])ervisor two or three terms, and was alder- 



man of the Third ward, during his service 
in that capacity serving two or three terms 
as president of the city council. He was 
public-spirited, and did much for the ad- 
vancement of this section in its early years. 
He is a member of G. A. R. po.st No. 225, at 
Cumberland. He is one of the oldest mem- 
bers of the Baptist Church in the locality. 

George B. Cook attended school at White- 
hall but had no very extended educational 
opportunities. His birth took place Oct. 6, 
1861, at Fountain City, Wis., and he was 
two and a half years of age when the family 
went to Whitehall. When he was sixteen 
years of age lie went out to work on the 
railroad then being built into Cumberland, 
and from that to firing for an engine in a 
mill. At eighteen he was given charge of 
an engine, which work he continued for sev- 
eral years. 

(Dn July 26, 1885, Mr. Cook was married 
to Miss M. E. Stockman, who was born at 
Plymouth, Ind., daughter of T. J. Stock- 
man, who in 1875 located at Knapp, Wis., 
where he bought land. He lived there until 
the fall of 1887, when he removed to Adams, 
Neb., where he still lives; his wife died in 
1896. The Stockman family consisted of 
seven children, as follows : Partha ; Matilda 
E. ; Samuel ; Alice ; one that died in infancy ; 
Erastus, and Frank. The four children of 
Mr. and Mrs. Cook are: Clyde G., born 
May 30, 1886; Harry W., Sept. 4, 1889; 
Mary Elizabeth, July 27, 1891, and Carl L., 
July 8, 1894. 

After his marriage Mr. Cook worked as 
an edger and expert machine man in a saw- 
mill in the season, and in the woods in the 
winter, doing all kinds of work, scaling being 
his favorite occupation. In 1891 he went 
into the insurance business, and for one year 
was a special life insurance agent in Wis- 
consin, ^linnesota. North and South Dakota 
and northern Iowa, and then went to work 
for a Chicago firm, selling school supplies 
for two years. He had made a study of 
architecture and mechanical work and spent 
several years, from 1894 until 1901, in the 
painting business. Since then he has been 
established at Cumberland, in the land busi- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



3^3 



ness. His first connection in this line was 
•with the firm of Warner «& Andrews, of St. 
Paul, and in the following year, 1902, he 
went with A. C. Uecke in a land business, 
but eight months later, on Nov. 8, 1902, em- 
barked in business on his own account, es- 
tablishing Cook's Land Agency. His opera- 
tions cover Barron, Polk, Burnett, Sawyer 
and Washburn counties, and he has met with 
very encouraging success. 

In politics Mr. Cook is an active Repub- 
lican. He takes a lively interest in all public 
affairs and has efficiently held many of the 
local offices, having served on the election 
board, as constable and also as justice of the 
peace. I->aternally he is an Odd Fellow, 
and is connected with the Cumberland lodge. 
Mrs. Cook is a valued member of the Cum- 
berland Congregational Church. 

WILLIAM JAMES COWIE. who for 
a number of years has been a well-known 
citizen of West Superior, Douglas county, 
was born in Rock county. Wis., May i, 1859. 
His parents were Henry and Ann (Gal- 
braith) Cowie. both natives of Scotland, who 
came to the United States about 1850. 

Henry Cowie settled at first in Xorth 
Carolina, where he was overseer of a planta- 
tion for about five years. From there he 
Avent to Michigan, and from there a year or 
so later to Rock county. Wis., where he lo- 
cated on a farm near Johnstown Center. A 
few years later he moved to Dane county. 
Wis., and in 1876 went to Madison, where 
he lived in retirement until his death in 1885, 
at the age of seventy. His religious faith 
was that of the Congregational Church, and 
his political principles those of the Repub- 
lican party. Mrs. Ann (Galbraith) Cowie 
was born near Glasgow, where she was at- 
tending school when Queen Victoria was 
crowned. She died in Superior Feb. 5, 1901, 
when seventy-nine years of age. Mr. and 
Mrs. Cowie were the parents of three sons 
and two daughters, one of the latter dying 
in childhood. The other children are: Jane 
P.. Mrs. John Foley, of Superior: Henry .\., 
of the L. S. car service association, of Su- 
perior: John G. and William J., well known 
as Cowie Brothers, of West Superior. 



William J. Cowie received his early edu- 
cation in the district schools, and in 1886 
went to Madison and took a course at the 
Northwestern Business College. For three 
or four years he was employed in a store 
conducted by his brothers at Mt. Horeb, Wis. 
Then he spent a year in the shops of the Mil- 
waukee Harvester Co., at Milwaukee, and 
on the road as a traveling expert ; and four 
more years was in Edmunds county, S. D., 
a local agent for agricultural implements. In 
1890 he came to West Superior, where he 
spent a year in the hay and feed commission 
business. Mr. Cowie then became interested 
in the manufacture of sash, doors, mouldings, 
etc., and in 1892 built a factory at Twenty- 
second street and Butler avenue, where lie 
and his brother still carry on the business 
under the firm name of Cowie Bros., and 
employ as many as twenty men at some 
seasons of the year 

On April 12. 1892, Mr. Cowie married 
Elizabeth Shaw, daughter of Thomas Shaw, 
of Duluth. ^Irs. Cowie was a native of New 
luigland. where she was born July 22, 187 1 : 
she died in West Superior, April 18, 1900, 
leaving a son, Earl G.. born Feb. 25, 1893; 
and an infant son. who lived but nine months. 

In the spring of 1900 Mr. Cowie was 
elected a member of the city council from 
the Seventh ward and reelected in 1902. As 
chairman of the Finance committee, he took 
part in refunding the city's bonded debt. He 
has always been a Republican in politics. 
I'^aternally he is a Mason and a member of 
the M. W. A., Whaleback Camp. 

W. G. MALCOLM. M. D., a successful 
|)hysician and surgeon of Chetek, Barron 
Co., Wis., holds a high rank in the medical 
lirofession in that section. Pie has been ac- 
tively engaged in practice in Chetek since 
189.3. 

Dr. Malcolm is a native of Chesley, 
County of Bruce. Ontario, born April 3. 
1866. and comes of Scotch-Irish ancestors, 
of a race which has produced some of the 
most forceful elements in the cosmopolitan 
make-up of our nation. He is the eldest son 
in a family of eleven children born to Jf)hn 
and Helen (Madole) Malcolm, the former a 



324 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



native of Canada, of Scottish parentage, and 
the latter a native of Ireland. John Malcolm 
grew up on the frontier of civilization in the 
"Dominion," and when he attained to man's 
estate he became a pioneer in Bruce county. 
Ontario, where he carved a home out of 
virgin wilds, and where he vet li\-es. an hon- 
ored and respected citizen. 

In the in\-igorating work of the farm 
young Malcolm developetl a well rounded 
physique and healthful brain action. The 
public schools of the locality afforded only 
meagre opportunities for education, but he 
nevertheless acquired a well-grounded rudi- 
mentary knowledge of the English branches, 
by dint of earnest effort absorbing all the 
public school curriculum could give. Subse- 
quently, under a private teacher, he wa^ care- 
fully instructed in the branches of learning 
essential to the higher education which he 
sought, and prepared to enter college. At the 
age of twenty-three years he took matricula- 
tion examination, passed with credit, and 
was admitted to the Medical Depart- 
ment of Oueen's L'nix-ersity. Kingston, 
Ontario, this Ijeing in 1S89. Here for 
four years he perseveringly delved into 
the mysteries of Materia Medica and 
physiological research, graduating with first 
class honors. He came directly to Wiscon- 
sin to seek out a desirable location for the 
practice of his profession, and after a few 
weeks of survey chose Chetek. and the wis- 
dom of his judgment has been amply verified 
by twelve years of successful and remuner- 
ative practice. That Dr. Malcolm has a 
strong hold u]3on the people is e\-idenced by 
the fact that he has retained the confidence 
and esteem of those to whom he has min- 
istered in a professional capacity for more 
than a decade. He is examining surgeon for 
all the old line insurance companies doing 
business in Chetek. Despite his onerous pro- 
fessional work the Doctor has found time 
to enter into the .social and business life of 
the community. He has served as health 
officer two terms, and has also officiated, as 
Mayor two terms, and as alderman for one 
term. He was the principal mover in the or- 
ganization of the Chetek Maccabees Opera 



House Company, and is the president thereof. 
Fraternally he is a member of the Maccabees 
and Mystic Workers. 

Dr. Malcolm was united in marriage to 
Miss Ruth Pliillips. the accomplished daugh- 
ter of J. C. Phillips, of Chetek, the happy- 
event having been celebrated in 1893. 

LOCIS PHILIPPE L. GAILLAR- 
DET. M. D., formerly a successful practi- 
tioner of Hurley. Iron Co., Wis., but now 
residing in Chippewa Falls, is a physician of 
wide experience. He is a native of France, 
having been bom in Toulouse, Aug. 27, 1857. 
son of John and Ore (Houle) Gaillardet. 
The latter died when he was three months, 
old. John Gaillardet, a stone cutter and 
mason by trade, was a contractor in Toul- 
ouse, where he lived until i860. In that 
year he brought his family to Canada, set- 
tling in St. Gregoire. Province of Quebec. 
His death occurred in Montreal. June 6, 1890. 

When he was eight years old Louis Phil- 
ippe L. Gaillardet entered the Jesuit College 
in Montreal, where he took the full course of 
study, covering se\-en years. After gradu- 
ating from college he took a four years' med- 
ical course at the \''ictorian Uni^•ersity in 
Montreal, receiving his degree Nov. 2"], 
1878. He began his practice in Canada, 
after a time going to Chicago, and later to 
Coleman, Wis., meeting with success in. each 
place. Nov. 8, 1901, he came to Hurley 
where he built up a large practice. 

On Sept. 20. 1896. Dr. Gaillardet mar- 
ried Cecilia Chalifoux. daughter of Joseph- 
and Elizabeth Chalifoux. both residents of 
Chicago. Mrs. Chalifoux died in 1887; her 
husband still lives in Chicago, where he is 
proprietor of the oldest established under- 
taking business in the city. To Dr. and Mrs. 
Gaillardet was born one child, since deceased. 

Dr. Gaillardet was health officer of Hur- 
ley, and medical examiner for the Northwest- 
ern Life Insurance Company of Minneapolis, 
the Lady Foresters, the Ladies of the Mac- 
cabees, the Royal Neighbors of America. St. 
Michael's Polish Society, and the Italian 
Foresters of America. He is a member of 
Lodge 31. A. O. V. W., at Hurley, presi- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



<lent and medical examiner n\ St. J<ilin"s 
Society, and member and medical examiner 
of St. Jolin's Court, No. 274, Catholic Order 
•of Foresters. He is a member of the Iron 
County Medical Society (of which he is vice- 
president), of the Wisconsin State Medical 
Association and the American Medical .Asso- 
ciation. The Doctor has taken an active part 
in Republican politics for many years, his 
knowledge of French makinsf him a valuable 
orator in local campaigns. He has the re])u- 
tation of being one of the best ])ublic speakers 
in French in this country, and his services 
are in demand during every national elec- 
tion. He and his wife are both comnnmi- 
cants of the Catholic Churcli. 

BEXJAMIX W. HARPER, a contrac- 
tor and builder of Ashland, has had many 
years experience in his profession at nianv 
l)laces. He was born in Cami)bellton. Xcw 
P.runswick, Xov. 23, i860, his parents being 
William and Catherine (Young) Harper, 
the former a native of Scotland and the lat- 
ter of Ireland. William Harper came to 
America with his parents when a boy and 
settled in Xew Brunswick, where he mar- 
ried. He followed the occupation of farm- 
ing throughout his life, and dier! in Canada in 
1886. His wife lived until 1888. They were 
the parents of nine children, eight of whom 
are living, Benjamin \\'., being the youngest. 

Benjamin W. Harper attended the 
schools of X'ew Brunswick, keejiing on with 
his studies until he was twenty-one, after 
which he came to the United States, locating 
at first in Michigan, where for three years 
he was employed at railroad liridge and hou.se 
building and other carpentering. In 1885 he 
came to Ashland, where he took charge of the 
crew who built the framework for the first 
ore dock in the town. On the completion of 
this work he was employed as overseer or 
manager by J. F. Scott, a contractor and 
builder, remaining in this position five years. 
He tiien went into business for himself. He 
was sub-contractor on the Pabst and Xelson 
Blocks, and had charge of the construction 
of the Government Building at Lac I)u 
I'lambeau, as well as of .a number of dejiot 



buildings on the Wisconsin Central Railroad. 
He had charge of the rebuilding of the 
Shares Block, one of the most substantial 
business blocks in the city of Ashland, after 
its destruction by fire in the fall of 1903. At 
present he employs from five to fifteen men in 
carrying out his contracts in Ashland and 
in the surroun<ling towns, having consider- 
able business. One of his recent contracts 
included all the work except the masonry 
of the Episcopal Church of Ashland, erected 
in 1904. This contract amounted to $8,000. 
Mr. Harper \\as first married in 1889, 
the issue of this union being two boys, 
Howard E. and Bernard F. His second mar- 
riage occurred l-"eb. 3, 1904. to Miss L. 
Maude Jones, of Colorado Springs, Colo., 
who is a graduate of Ottawa University, 
Ottawa, Kans. ]\lr. Harper is a stanch sup- 
])orter of the Republican party. 

CHARLES H. GILL. One of Douglas 
county's successful business men now living 
in practical retirement in South Range, after 
a long and varied career, is Charles H. Gill, 
who, like many of those now residing in 
Wisconsin, is an Easterner by birth. His 
native town was Rossie, St. Lawrence Co.. 
XT. Y., where he was born Sept. 15. 1847, 
the son of Nathaniel and .Angenett (Dicker- 
son) Gill, of Jefferson and Oswego counties, 
N. Y., respectively. 

The first of the Gill family to come to 
this country was Daniel Gill, who left the 
Highlands of Scotland about 1770, and after 
his long voyage to the X^ew World located 
near Burlington, Vt. When the war of the 
Revolution broke out he took the part of the 
Colonists and .served in the Continental 
army. He came through the war safely and 
lived to a good old age. 

Daniel Gill (2). .son of Daniel, settled on 
Indian river between .Antwerp and Water- 
town. X'. A'., about 1800. and there lived to 
complete his allotted three score years and 
ten. He was a captain in the New A'ork 
militia and was a man of considerable influ- 
ence in the community. His wife was Han- 
nah Cogswell, daughter of a patriot who 
fought through the war for independence. 



326 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



The Cogswell family served their country 
well, for several of Mrs. Gill's uncles were 
in the Revolution, while her brother, Samuel 
Cogswell, was captain of a privateer in the 
naval service. A curious sea shell which he 
brought back from one of his voyages is 
still preserved by Mr. Charles Gill as an 
heirloom. 

Nathaniel Gill, son of Daniel (2), and 
the father of Charles H., while hardly more 
than a boy worked seven years as an appren- 
tice at the blacksmith's trade, an occupation 
he followed for some time. In his youth he 
had very little opportunity to gain an educa- 
tion, but after his marriage he attended 
school several months and with more work by 
himself he acquired a fair education. In 
1856 Mr. Gill went West to Wisconsin and 
settled in the town of Leon, Waushara 
county, where he cleared up a farm of eighty 
acres. After tw'O years there he moved to 
Auroraville, in the same county, and worked 
there as a blacksmith for some time, but he 
always retained his original farm and it was 
there that his death occurred in June, 1872, 
at the age of fifty-eight. In his religious be- 
lief he was a Universalist. Througli the 
earlier part of his life he was a Democrat, 
but after going to Wisconsin he became a 
Republican, as such serving many years as 
county judge of Waushara county, and as 
chairman of the town of Aurora. 

Mrs. Angenett D. Gill was a graduate of 
a Ladies' Seminary at Montpelier, Vt., and 
before her marriage taught school in New 
York. Her father, Dr. Daniel Dickerson, 
was a prominent physician at Redfield, near 
Sackett's Harbor, N. Y.. where he reached 
old age. He was educated in England, but 
later came to America to make his home. His 
wife, Hannah, was very skillful with her 
needle and loom, and among the family relics 
preserved by Charles Gill is a coverlid woven 
by her ; on one side is a design representing 
a park at Watertown, N. Y., in winter, while 
the opposite side shows the same scene in 
the summer. Nathaniel and Angenett Gill 
were the parents of only one child besides 
our subject, a daughter, Frances A., wlio 
married Job Wildman, and died in Aurora- 



ville, Wis., in March, 1872, at the age of 
twenty-three years; she left two children. 
Mr. Wildman was a volunteer in Company 
I, 7th Wis. V. I., and was wounded in the 
battle of Cold Harbor. 

Charles H. Gill attended the public 
schools of Auroraville and later took a course 
at Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College 
at Milwaukee. When he reached his major- 
ity he began farming at Auroraville, and 
also operated a hardwood sawmill. After 
ten years in these pursuits he removed to 
Fremont, Waupaca county, bought another 
sawmill and for six years manufactured pine 
lumber. Once his mill was burned and once 
it was blown up by a boiler explosion, but 
each time it was rebuilt. The home office 
was at Auroraville until 1885, when Mr. Gill 
removed to Warren, Waushara county ; he 
bought a farm there of 124 acres of tillable 
land, one of the best farms in the State, and 
one which is still in his possession. 

Li 1890 Mr. Gill went to South Range. 
where at first he was occupied in contracting^ 
and in timber and lumber speculation. Two 
years later he built and opened a genera! 
store which he carried on for the ten vears 
previous to his retirement from business irr 
ig02. A year before that date he built a 
store in West Superior, where his sons are 
now conducting a grocerv business. Since 
1896 Mr. Gill has been interested in the gen- 
eral commission firm of Smith, Alvord Co., 
at West Superior, a concern which handles 
all kinds of grain, feed and produce. From 
boyhood Mr. Gill has been more or less of a 
speculator and at different times he has made 
some very successful investments. 

On December 25. 1870, occurred Mr. 
Gill's marriage to Miss Sarah A. Covill, 
daughter of W'illiam and Margaret Covill, 
of Warren, Wis., who was born in 
Monterey, Waukesha county. William 
Covill came to Wisconsin from New York 
with his father, about 1843, and settled in 
Dodge county. During the Civil war he 
served in a Wisconsin regiment. Mrs. Mar- 
garet Covill was born in \Vaukesha county 
in 1832. Her parents. Stephen and Polly 
Vroman. of German descent, had gone there 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRATHICAL RECORD 



3-; 



two years previously, among the earliest set- 
tlers of the county. Mrs. Covill died in 
Warren in 187^ 

To Mr. and Mrs. Cliarles II. Cill has 
come a family of four children, all sons. 
namely : Nathaniel, in husiness at West 
Superior; John D.. connected with a grain 
commission house in the same city; Covill 
Francis, also of West Superior; Charles H.. 
Jr., a student at the Blaine high school in that 
place. John D. and Covill F. served thrnugli 
the Porto Rican campaign in Company I, 3d 
W. V. I. The family are all connected with 
the Congregational Church. 

Mr. Gill has been a lifelong Re])uhlican, 
and has spared neither his time nor strength 
in the service of the community. He was 
town treasurer in Auroraville two years and 
for another period of two years acted in the 
same capacity for the township of Superior. 
Everyone has entire confidence in his ability 
and judgment, and his influence in the com- 
munity is marked. 

HOX. OLE ERICKSON. postma.ster 
of Grantsburg, Burnett Co., Wis., and a 
prominent and influential citizen of that place 
was born in Ofvanmyra. Sweden, Nov. 25, 
1864, son of Ole and Christina Ericksnn. 
natives of the same place who came to Amer- 
ica in 1878. On locating in this country, 
Mr. Erickson, Sr., began operations on his 
farm in Isanti county, Minnesota, where he 
continued until his death in 1893. Although 
a tailor and brick mason by trade, he never 
followed those occupations in this country. 
Mrs. Erickson still survives, and is making 
her home in Princeton. Minn. She and her 
husband had these children: Ole; Heiu-y, a 
machine dealer of Princeton, Minn. ; An- 
drew, formerly in the meat business at Cam- 
bridge, Minn., and now a.ssistant cashier of 
the Cambridge State Bank ; Krick, deceased ; 
and Christina, who married Ed Clegett, 
sheriff of Mille Lacs county, Minnesota. 

Ole Erickson received a common school 
education and remained at home until 1886, 
when he purchased eighty acres of farm land 
and followed farming and lumbering in 
Isanti conntv. Minn., for about six vears. At 



the end of that time he sold out and came to 
Grantsburg, Wis., where he formed a part- 
nership with A. E. Nelson under the firm 
name of Nelson & Erickson, and carried on 
a general store for two and one-half years. 
In 1804 he sold out to Mr. Nelson, and then 
worked in the store for a time. In 1896 he- 
was elected county clerk of Burnett county.. 
Wis., for two terms, and served four years- 
in that capacity. Nov. 4, 1900, he was elected 
a member of the Legislature from Burnett 
and Polk counties, for the term of two years. 
While a member of the Legislature Mr. 
Erickson was appointed postmaster at 
Grantsburg, to serve four years and main- 
tains the finest up-to-date postoffice of its. 
size. In that office he is at present serving.. 
with credit to himself and to the entire sat- 
isfaction of the community. Durin,g his term 
the office has been raised to a Presidential - 
office and four rural delivery routes estalv 
lished, all in one year. Mr. Erickson has.: 
also assisted in re-arranging the Star route- 
service throughout the country, so that the 
people are getting daily n-iail. with thirty 
niails for Grantsburg. Re has also arranged' 
for a new postoffice building, with new fix- 
tures and furniture. A stanch Republican ir^ 
politics he has taken an active interest in- 
public matters, and was chairman of the Re- 
publican County Committee for two years.. 
Mr. Erickson assisted in organizing the 
Grantsburg State Bank, and l>ecame its first 
vice-president. The bank opened for busi- 
ness May 22, 1905, and has a capital of 
$12,300. 

In 1894 Mr. Erickson married Ilannair 
S. Anderson, of Burnett county. Wis... 
daughter of August B. and Carolina .Ander- 
son, natives of Sweden and early settlers of 
Burnett county, who are both now deceased. 
He has one daughter, Mildred Joyce. !\Tr. 
Erickson fraternizes with the I. O. O. F. 
No. 325, of Grantsburg, in the Interstate 
Park Encampment, St. Croix Falls. Wis., 
No. 28. Fie is also connected with the Mod- 
ern Woodmen No. 3223 of Grantsburg. 

JOHN .\XnERSON, a successfuF 
Scandinaviaii-.Viuerican business n-ian of 



28 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Superior, Douglas couuty. was Ixirn May jo. 
1856, in Seffle Koping. Sweden. His par- 
ents who passed tlieir lives in that locality. 
were Andrew and E\-e (.\ndersen) Mattson. 

Andrew Mattson. a cari^enter by trade, 
was employed nearly all his life on a large 
estate in Sweden. He li\ed to be seventy-two 
years old, his wife having died at the age of 
si.xty-seven. Of their seven children. Gust. 
John and Marv, Mrs. John Berg, are resi- 
dents of Superior: Carl F. lives in Norway; 
Augusta, Mrs. Lundeen. li\-es in Stockholm: 
the others are deceased. 

John Anderson attended the iniblic 
schools of his native place, and was appren- 
ticed to the carpenter's trade, which occuiia- 
tiiin lie followed for about fourteen years. 
Coming to the United States in 1881,. he 
spent a year in Texas, another vear in Minne- 
sota, and in 1883 came to Superior, there 
being at that time no buildings at \\'est Su- 
perior. Mr. Anderson worked at his trade 
for a few years and then began contracting 
in West Superior, erecting a number of 
buildings, including his own residence on 
Jiihn avenue, where he lived until December. 
1003. when he removed to his present modern 
residence on Hammond a\-enue. In the 
.spring of 1894 he bought a meat market, 
which he has since carried on. adding in beli- 
ruary. 1900, a stock of groceries and ])ro- 
visions. He now occupies three stores in a 
stil)stantial brick block on North Fifth street. 

In June 1889. Mr. .\nderson married 
Carrie Nelson, a native of Sweden, daughter 
of Nels Anderson. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson 
are members of the Scandinavian Mission 
Church, Mr. Anderson being chairman of the 
trustees of the society. He is a Re])ublic:m 
in political principle. 

JOHN HENRY PEABODY, a highly 
esteemed citizen of Superior, Douglas coun- 
ty, and a descendant of some of the must 
distinguished New England families. \v:is 
born at West Cambridge (now Arlington). 
Mass., Aug. 29, i8si. His pnrents were 
John and Nancy (Whitman) Teaboily. the 
former a native of Gloucester, Mass., and a 
lineal descendant of Fr.nncis Pc:ibod\-. who 



came to Massachusetts in iCi^^ and finally 
settled at Topsfield. 

The descendants of I^^rancis Peabody in 
direct line were : Isaac, Comet Francis, Brim- 
ley. Amos, James and John. James Peabody, 
grandfather of John Henrv, was a cousin of 
George Peabody the famous philanthroiiist. 
In earlv life James Peabodv was a fisherman 
on the Newfoundland banks, but after mov- 
ing from Gloucester, Mass., to Arlington, he 
l)ecame a provision dealer. He lived to be 
eighty-six years old. His .son John, who 
died at the age of sixty-two, was a cattle 
dealer in .\rlington. where he was a prosper- 
ous and influential citizen. Mrs. Nancy 
I Whitman) Peabody pa.ssed away in 1861 : 
her parents died when she was a child, and 
very little is known of her family history. 

John Henry Peabody attended the public 
schools, and the Bryant & Stratton Business 
College at Boston. He began his business 
career as a cattle dealer in Arlington, con- 
tinuing this occupation for about twelve 
years. In 1886 he went to Znmbrota, Minn, 
and two years later to Wabasha, where he 
built and dealt in boats for the river trade, 
building a number of steamers for rafting, 
etc. In 1 89 1 he came to Superior, where 
he has since carried on a boat building and 
leasing business, building boats for sale and 
to order, and onerating ferries between Su- 
perior and Minnesota Point, and between 
Superior and Wisconsin Point. Mr. Pea- 
l)ody's straightforward liusiness methods and 
jieaceable disposition lia\e won him the con- 
fidence and esteem of his neighbors and 
associates. 

In 1875 Mr. Peabo<ly married Lizzie 
Farw'ell, who was born in Natick. Mass., 
daughter of Royal Esterbrooks and Sarah 
(Walcott) Farwell. Mrs. Peabody's father 
was a native of Harvard, Mass., and was in 
the real estate and insurance business in 
Natick. His ]5aternal grandfather w^as a 
soldier in the Continental armv and took part 
in the battle of Bunker Hill: his maternal 
grandfather. Joel Esterbrooks. was in Capt. 
l^a\-is' company of Minute Men. of .-Xcton, 
Mass. Mrs. Peabody's grandfather Daniel 
Ivarwcll. was in the war of 1812. Both the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



329 



I'arwcll and Peabody families are su])])Osed 
to Ije of Welsh origin. To Air. and Mrs. 
Peabody bave been born a daugbter, Sarah 
Louise, who died in infancy : and a son. John 
Henry, Jr., of Superior. The latter married 
Xora Barton wlio was born in Alma. Wis., 
daughter of Stephen Barton of Scotch des- 
cent. They have one son. Royal Earwell 
Peabody. 

Mr. John 1 1. Peabody lias been idcnlihed 
with numerous fraternal organizations, lie 
is a Republican in principle, l)ut not an ac- 
li\e ])olitician, although he always takes an 
intelligent interest in public affairs. Mrs. 
Peabody is a member of the Episco])al 
Churcli. 

W. F. O'CONNOR, M. 1).. i.bysician 
and surgeon of Ladysmith, Wis., stands in 
a prominent f)lace among the professional 
men in that locality, while in his own chosen 
line of work none ranks liigher. He is a 
native of the State, liorn in Fort Howard. 
on Green Bay, in 1874, a son of John and 
Anna O'Connor, who settled in that place 
more than forty years ago. 

The boyhood of Dr. O'Connor was 
passed in Eau Claire, wliere he attended the 
public schools and was graduated from the 
high school at the age of eighteen. His inter- 
est hafl alreadv been aroused in a physician's 
work, and on leaving .sch(K)l he Ijegan at 
once reading medicine with Dr. W. D. Ne- 
ville, of Eagle River. .After completing the 
preliminary reading under the latter's direc- 
tion, the young man matriculated in the De- 
troit College of Medicine in T894, took the 
prescribed course and was graduated in iSf)7. 
Subsequently lie served as interne in St. 
Mary's Hospital in Detroit for nine months 
before making his essay as an independent 
practitioner at Cooperstown, Wis. .\fter 
eight months there. Dr. O'Connor decided to 
chrmge to Tony, whither he moved I'eb. 17. 
1898. .At that time there was one other 
physician in what is now Rusk county (then 
a part of Chipjjewa county) and but two 
others along the line of the "Soo" Railway 
between I'arron and Khinclander, sf) the field 
iiffercd a ])r(>mising (i])ening to the young 
|)hysician. 



During his six years at Tuny. Dr. 
O'Connor built up a large practice, but at 
the end of that time he was eager to put him- 
self in renewed touch with the latest medical 
research, and to that end went to Chicago in 
the spring of 1903. He entered Rush Med- 
ical College, the medical department nf the 
University of Chicago, and spent six months 
in post graduate study, devoting himself to 
microscopical work and surgery. During this 
same time he pursued a two months' course 
in Electrical Therapeutics in the Cook 
County Hospital, where he had charge of the 
X-ray de])artment for that period. In Sep- 
tember the Doctor returned to Wisconsin 
,-md in March of the following year pur- 
chased the property and practice of Dr. 
1 fudgel, and settled down to the pursuit of 
his chosen profession in Ladysmith. He hag 
a very complete and finely equipped office 
with all needed apparatus for lu's work and 
has a library replete with the best medical 
thought of the world. He is a well-known 
member of the Barron, Polk, Rusk Medical 
Society, and belongs also to the .American 
Medical .Association. 

In addition to his other practice. Dr. 
O'Connor is local surgeon for the "Soo"" 
and Wisconsin Central Railways and exam- 
iner for the principal insurance comjianies 
represented in Rusk county, and one of the 
United States board of pension examiners 
for the county. 

W^ith all the professional demands upon 
his time and attention. Dr. O'Connor has 
always found time to take part in the public 
life of his region. While living at Tony he 
held a number of local offices, which he filled 
most acceptably, and in igoi was appointed 
first registrar of deeds for the county by 
Governor LaFollette. Personally the Doctor 
is a close student, in constant touch with the 
advancerl medical thought of the day, en- 
thusiastic and most able in his profession, 
and his success has been luarked. 

\TCTOR .\. DASH, a well-known citi- 
zen and iniblic official of l^ulutb. was born 
I'eb. 28, 1853. in Philadelphia, Pa., and is 
of German descent. His great-grandfather 
came to this country from Germany l>efore 



330 



CO^IMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



the Revolutionary war, settling in Philadel- 
phia, and took part in that struggle. 

Caleb H. Dash, father of Victor A., was 
born in Pennsylvania, and was engaged in 
mercantile business throughout his active 
years, first in Philadelphia, and later at 
Bethlehem, Pa., where he died in 1899, at 
the age of seventy-two. He was a member 
of the Moravian Church. Caleb H. Dash 
married Margaret J. Smith, also a native of 
Pennsylvania, who died in 1894, aged sixty- 
five years. Her father, John Smith, was 
employed in the United States Mint at 
Philadelphia for many years, and died in 
that city at the advanced age of eighty-six. 
He was a relative of Jeremiah Black, the 
famous jurist. 

Victor A. Dash attended the public 
schools in Philadelphia, and received the last 
of his education in the high school at Beth- 
lehem, Pa., from which he was graduated 
at the age of eighteen years. He then be- 
came a clerk in a wholesale tobacco estal> 
lishment of his father, with whom he re- 
mained a number of years, but in 1878 he 
went West, locating on a farm in Osborne, 
Kan., where he resided about two years. 
In the fall of 1881 he came to Duluth, reach- 
ing that city on October loth, and his first 
employment was in the office of the Duluth 
& Winnipeg Railway Company. Later he 
was in the office of the St. Paul & Duluth 
Railway Company until 1885, after which 
he served ten years as deputy sheriff, for 
seven years of this time being under sheriff 
of St. Louis county. Since January, 1903, 
he has been deputy clerk of the courts in 
Duluth, in which office he is proving able 
and competent. He bears an excellent repu- 
tation among his fellow-workers, in fact, lie 
has commanded the esteem of his associates 
in whatever line he has been engaged. 

In 1882 ]\Ir. Dash bought forty acres 
of wild land at Spirit Lake (now in the city 
of Duluth), which he has improved from 
time to time, and the greater part is now 
under cultivation, devoted chiefly to the 
growing of small fruit. That same year he 
went to live on this tract, and at that time 
the locality was so thinly settled that, except 



for two families who lived in the immediate 
vicinity, the nearest neighbor was four miles 
away. 

In 1879 Mr. Dash married Mias Mary 
Overton, a native of Illinois, daughter of 
Lewis and Harriet Overton, of Lincoln 
county, Kan. Five children have come to 
this union : Harvey, who is assistant clerk 
of the board of education ; Toinnette ; 
Dorothy ; Walter ; and Victor. Most of the 
family attend the Christian Church. Social- 
ly Mr. Dash fraternizes with the Mason's, 
having joined the organization in 1883. 
He holds membership in Palestine Lodge, 
No. 79, Keystone Chapter, and Duluth Com- 
mandery, K. T. His political sympathy has 
always been given to the Republican party, 
in which he has been quite active. In the 
township of Oneota he served several years 
as town clerk. 

LA FAYETTE REUTER, a respected 
citizen and successful business man of^ 
Washburn, Bayfield county, is of German 
ancestry, although himself an American, 
born in IMiddleton, Dane Co., Wis., Dec. 
9> 1855. 

August Reuter, the father of La Fayette 
Renter, was a native of Hamburg, Ger- 
many. In 1847 hs brought his family to 
America, and made his home on a farm in 
Dane county. Wis., where he built a large 
windmill for grinding grain, and carried 
on both occupations successfully until the 
breaking out of the Civil War. His resi- 
dence in his adopted country had made him 
one of her most loyal citizens, and he at 
once enlisted, March 13, 1861, in Company 
I. 3d Wis. V. I. While in service he was 
shot, and he died in the hospital in 1863. His 
widow lived in Madison for many years 
after her husband's death, her own occur- 
ring Sept. 4, 1888, at the age of sixty-five. 
Her maiden name was Augusta Peters, and 
she was born near Berlin, Germany, where 
her parents lived and died. There were four 
children in the family of Mr. Reuter : Fred, 
who died at Madison, Wis., Feb. 22, 1886. 
aged thirty-five years : Otelia, the wife of 
John Lorch, of Madison ; La Fayette ; Jack- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



33' 



son. treasurer of the Northern Electric 
Mann factoring Company, of Alachson. 

La Eayette Renter attended school regu- 
larly until his father's death, but after that 
sad event was obliged to help support the 
family, and could manage to secure only a 
few brief periods for farther education. 
When he was sixteen years old he began to 
learn the grocery business at Pleasant 
Branch, and later clerked in a general store 
at Sun Prairie, where he remained for h\e 
years. In 1879 he went to Leadville, Colo., 
and spent nine months prospecting in that 
State, but he met with no success, and when 
his resources were exhausted he returned to 
Madison and secured employment in a hard- 
ware store. About two years later he bought 
a stock of groceries, and began a business of 
that kind wdiich he continued for about six 
years. In 1887 Mr. Reuter removed to 
Washburn, and there he has dealt in wall 
paper, and does paper-hanging and deconit- 
ing. He employs several assistants, and 
does the most of that work in Washburn, 
while his sales extend even to neighboring 
towns. He has erected a good two-story 
business block, and a comfortable residence, 
and has also invested in real estate to some 
extent. 

On Dec. 9, 1878, Mr. Reuter married 
(first) Rose Sweeney, daughter of John and 
Mary Sweeney, of Sun Prairie, and a 
member of the Catholic Church. She lived 
only five years after her marriage, dying at 
the early age of twenty-four, and leaving 
two children, Raymond, of Chicago, now a 
locomotive fireman on the Wisconsin Cen- 
tral Railroad ; and Jackson, a student at the 
Sun Prairie high school. On April iS, 1887, 
Mr. Reuter was married to Mary, daughter 
of John and Elizaljcth Pieh, of Pleasant 
Branch, \\'is. To this union there were also 
two children, George and La Fayette. The 
family attend the Congregational Church. 

Mr. Reuter takes a lively interest in the 
fraternal organizations to which he belongs, 
and he has filled several offices in the I. O. O. 
F. and the M. W. A.. Iioth of whom claim 
him as a member. He also belongs to the 
E. F. U., and in all relations of life he is 
personally popular and highly esteemed. 



JAMES COLLIER (deceased) was 
among the pioneers in Superior, Douglas 
county, w'here he located about the year 
1856, and where his death occurred in June. 
1890. He was born in Mountrath, County 
Queens, Ireland, in June, 1819, and when a 
young man came to New York, where he 
was employed for a time as construction 
foreman on the New York & Erie Railroad. 
.\fter a few years he went to Detroit, where 
he kept a boarding house, and later he lived 
for several years at Sault Ste. Marie. 

On coming to Superior in 1856, Mr, Col- 
lier opened a boarding house, and also dealt 
in provisions. He brought his goods from 
St. Paul by team and usually carried a load 
of fish to that city, the round trip taking 
about two weeks. He kept the "Traveler's 
Home," at Second street and Becker avenue, 
for over thirty years, and for ten years it 
was the only hotel in Superior. In addition 
to his hotel business Mr. Collier dealt in 
real estate, at one time owning nearly the 
entire site of South Superior, and he accum- 
ulated a considerable fortune. After leav- 
ing the boarding house, he built a comfort- 
able home on Third street, where his widow 
and daughter still reside. Mr. Collier was 
one of the leading members of the Catholic 
Church in Superior from the time of its or- 
ganization, and his house was always the 
home of the early missionaries, among the 
first of whom was Father Cheboul, a scion 
of a noble Austrian house, who often 
walked from Ashland in order to hold ser- 
vices in Superior. Another very welcome 
guest, who made occasional visits, was Bis- 
hop Baraga, of Marquette, Mich. Mr. Col- 
lier was a Democrat in politics, served his 
town for a number of years as supervisor, 
was school treasurer and also filled other 
public offices. 

The first marriage of Mr. Collier was 
in about 1852, to a Miss Supple, who passed 
away soon after coming to Superior. She 
left two children, both of whom died while 
young. Mr. Collier married (second) in 
i860. Kate Fay. who was Ixirn in Belleville, 
Ontario. Her parents were John and Celia 
Fay, natives of Galway, Ireland, the former 
of whom died in Canada, and the latter in 



33^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Superior. Mrs. Kate (Fay) Collier came 
to Superior to join her brothers. John and 
Patrick, both now deceased,, who werle 
among the pioneer farmers of Douglas 
county. 

Mrs. Kate (Fay) Collier has one daugh- 
ter, Celia, who is the wife of Joseph Mc- 
Kinnon, ex-chief of police of Superior. Mr. 
^IcKinnon was born in Warwick. P. Q., 
Canada, and came to Superior in 1881 ; he 
and his wife have had the following children : 
Louis, a stenographer in Superior ; Charles, 
a student at Nelson Dewey high school ; 
Kittie and Frank, at home ; and Genevieve, 
who died Oct. 16, 1891, aged eight years. 
I\Irs. McKinnon was educated in the public 
schools of Superior, and for a short time 
taught in the old "Middletown" school. 

\MLLIS W. WATKIXS, secretary 
and treasurer of the Lakeside Lumber Co., 
and a highly esteemed citizen of that town, 
was born in Clinton. Iowa, April 21, 1868. 
His parents were John and Louise (Willis) 
Watkins, the former a native of Waterville. 
N. Y., and the latter of Milwaukee. 

Grandfather John Watkins was of 
Welsh descent ; he was born in Litchfield 
Co., Ky., in November, 1800, and died in 
1863, at the age of sixty-three in Geneva, 
111. For many years he was captain of a 
vessel on the Great Lakes. His son John was 
torn in Whitesboro, N. Y., in November 
1830, and married in 1850. He went to 
Detroit, Mich., in early life, and in 1856 to 
Aurora, 111., where he became agent and 
master of transportation for the Michigan 
Central Railway Company. He enlisted in 
1862, for three months service, became ist 
lieutenant. Company E, 89th I. V. I., was on 
Gen. Sill's staff as provost marshal and was 
assistant adjutant general, ist Brigade, 3d 
Division, 14th Army Corps, under Gen. 
Rosecrans. After leaving the army he con- 
tinued his railroad work, going in 1866 to 
Clinton, Iowa, as superintendent of the 
Iowa division of the Chicago & Northwest- 
ern Road. This position he held until his 
death, which occurred Oct. 30, 1873, when 
he was forty-three years of age. It was 



the result of a railway accident near Cedar 
Rapids, Iowa. Mrs. Louise (Willis) Wat- 
kins, who is now living in Clinton, was born 
in Milwaukee in 1837. Her father, George 
S. Willis, came from Watertown, N. Y., 
and was one of the earliest settlers in Mil- 
waukee, where he kept a hotel. Later he 
moved to Kenosha. Wis., and died in Clin- 
ton, Iowa, in 1877. at the age of seventy- 
three. 

Willis W. Watkins was educated in the 
public schools of Clinton, and at seventeen 
entered the employ of the Chicago & North- 
western Railway Co., as clerk. Two years 
later he went to Barronett, Wis., where he 
was employed by the Barronett Lumber Co. 
until the fall of 1894, resigning then owing 
to the destruction of the town and mill in 
the great forest fires of that season. In the 
spring of 1895 he became timekeeper and 
lumber salesman for the Shell Lake Lum- 
ber Co., retaining the latter position to the 
present time. In February, 1902, Mr. Wat- 
kins helped to organize the Shell Lake Mer- 
cantile Co., of which he was president. This 
concern purchased the mercantile stock of 
two companies, including that of the Shell 
Lake Lumber Co., and now carries the 
largest stock of general merchandise in 
Washburn county. Mr. Watkins was one 
of the organizers of the Lakeside Lumber 
Co.. of which he is secretary and 
treasurer and he gives much of his 
personal attention to the lumber Ixisi- 
ness, his long experience and capable 
Inisiness methods being fully appreciated by 
the company. He was reared in the Episco- 
pal Church. He joined the Masons in 1892 
at Cumberland. Wis., and is now master of 
the Shell Lake Lodge; he is also a member 
of Pokagema Chapter, R. A. M., at Rice 
Lake. Mr. Watkins was married Oct. 19, 
1904, at Cumberland, Wis., to Miss Clara 
E. Miller, of that city. 

SAMUEL FRANKLIN HARRIS, 
one of the first farmers to settle in Taylor 
county, is widely known as an authority on 
horticulture, and has rendered valuable as- 
sistance along that line to the State Board. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



33^ 



It Oshkosh in lie 1 



Parkm.'in, 
U]) in 



Mr. 1 larris comes of a family of farmers, 
as his father and grandfather Ijcfore liim 
followed that occupation. His grandfather, 
Byron Harris, was the first male child born 
of English ancestry in Lewiston, Maine. 
Jairus Harris, son of Byron, married Olive 
Hurd, like him a native of that State, and 
they Ijecame the parents of four sons, Sam- 
uel F., James B., Daniel \V. and George \V., 
and one daughter, Alircey Olive, who died in 
1884. Jairus Harris came to Wisconsin in 
1868, settling in Winnebago county. In 
1875 he took up a homestead of eiglity acres 
in Taylor county and is still living there, 
aged eighty-six. His sons all came to Tay- 
lor county and all except George took home- 
steads. James B. came from Maine and 
took up a homestead in 1876, but died four 
3'ears later. Daniel W. died 
April, 1897. 

S. F. Harris was Injrn 
Maine, April 28, 1843. He g 
native State and received his education 
the public schools. In August, 1863, he en- 
listed as a private in Company E, 1st D. C. 
Cavalry, and for a year served under Col. 
L. E. Baker, the famous secret service chief. 
Mr. Harris did special service with that 
company and then, in the fall of 1864. was 
transferred to Company M, ist Maine Ca\- 
alry, with which he remained until the war 
was over. In the battle at Hatcher's Run, 
Va., he receix'ed a gunshot wound in the el- 
lx)w and from that time, Oct. 27. 1864, until 
his discharge in 1865. he was in the hospital, 
first at City Point, Va., four weeks; next in 
Emory Hospital, Washington, se\'eral 
months; then in Cuyler Hospital, in Phila- 
delphia; and at the time of his discharge, 
June 14, 1865, in that at Chestnut Hill. 
This was a long period of inactivity and was 
peculiarly trying to one who had such a 
record f(jr active service as Mr. Harris. 

After his discharge Mr. Harris returned 
to Maine, and after regaining his health 
fully, he settled down to farming there. Re- 
ports from the West promised so much bet- 
ter conditions in that section that in 1869 
he went to Wisconsin, and bought a small 
farm in Omro, Winnebago county, where he 



li\fd until 1875. hi that year he S(jld out 
anil moved to Taylor county, which was, 
iht'ii just being opened up and where he had 
entered a claim the previous year. Medford 
at that time consisted of only a few houses, 
of the most primitive type. Mr. Harris built 
a log cabin on his claim, a little later brought 
his family, and lived thus until he proved'up 
his homestead two years later. 

From 1876 till 1882 Mr. Harris was a 
resident of Oshkosh. where he represented 
Georg-e .^Ioulson, a nursery man of Roches- 
ter, X. Y. At the expiration of six years 
he returned to Medford and bought property 
m the city. He continued to represent Mr. 
Moulson and is still engaged in that work. 
In 1896 he removed to another place, an 
eighty-acre tract two miles from town which 

lad purchased some years earlier and 
wliere he now lives. He now owns 140 
acres. 

Air. Harris was married in 1870 in 
Winnebago county to Louisa O'Neill, and 
they ha\e a fanuly of seven children, Fred- 
erick L., Mary O., Lenora, Joseph B.', Clara 
P.. Ada and Irving. The first vote ever cast 
l)y Mr. Harris was for Abraham Lincoln, but 
of late years he has left the ranks of the 
Republican party and become a strong 
Prohibitionist. He belongs to no organiza- 
tions save the G. A. R., in which he is a 
member of James Shields Post. Xo. 145. 

Mr. Harris has been a student of horti- 
culture for twenty-five years and has gained 
his wealth of information on the subject 
from practical observation and experiment, 
rather than by theoretical methods. He is 
one of the best informed men in that line in 
Northern Wisconsin, and has studied es- 
pecially the trees and fruits of his (jwn State, 
with reference to their adaptation to the 
climate and .soil. 

He has found that the varieties of apples 
l)est suited to his .section of the countrv are 
the Duchess of Oldenburg. Tetof.sky. North- 
western Greening. Snow. Talman Sweet. 
Wealthy anrl \'eIlow Transparent, all hardy 
trees and bearing e.xcellent fruit. In crabs 
he finds the Transccndant. Whitney No. 20 
and the Red and Yellow Hyslop the best; 



.334 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



and in plums, the Wolf, Garden City and 
Desoto. In small fruits all do comparative- 
ly well. 

The State Board of Horticulture places 
the greatest contidence in Mr. Harris" judg- 
ment and has shown him several special 
marks of honor. In 1901 they established 
an experimental station with Mr. Harris, 
placing no trees the first year, no more 
the second and a third no were placed in 
1904, when Mr. Harris was made the ap- 
pointee of the board as manager of the ex- 
periment station. 

In 1900 Mr. Harris was one of the lead- 
ing spirits in organizing the Medford 
Creamery Association, of which he was the 
first president and is still a stockholder and 
secretary. This organization has been very 
useful in promoting the dairy interests of 
the county. 

REV. FREDERICK WILLIAM 
SCHOELLER,the pastor of the First Evan- 
gelical Church, of West Superior, Douglas 
Co., Wis., is a native of the State, and was 
born at Ilelenville, Tefferson count v. in 
1S75. 

John Frederick Schoeller, father of Rev. 
F. W., was a native of Germany, who came 
to America and was one of the early settlers 
of Farniington, Jeiiferson county. He is 
now deceased, but his wife is still living 
and resides with a daughter, near the old 
homestead. There were nine children in 
the family, only five of whom are living. 

I'rederick W. Schoeller was the young- 
est child of his parents and as a boy attended 
the public schools of his native town. In 
1893 li^ became a student at the North- 
Western College, at Naperville, 111., was 
graduated from the German course at that 
institution and began his ministry in 1896, 
when but twenty-one years of age. He was 
first settled over a church at Sharon, Wis., 
after two years there he spent one year at 
Tefferson, and then accepted the call to West 
Superior. Rev. Mr. Schoeller was married 
at Naperville to Miss Agnes Joyce and they 
have one daughter. Madelyn Gertrude. 

The church over which Rev. Mr. Schoel- 



ler is installed is not one of the oldest so- 
cieties in the place but has grown up in a 
comparatively new part of town. Previous- 
ly to May, 1897, services had been held in 
that locality, but at that time the present 
society was organized by Rev. H. A. Metz- 
inger, of Duluth, and by energetic and zeal- 
ous work it has already taken rank among 
the leading Protestant churches of the town. 
The present church building was erected in 
the fall of 1898, under the pastorate of Rev. 
J. W. Hillme, now in charge of a circuit at 
Schultz, Green Co., Wis. The parsonage 
was built in 1901. The location is a fine one 
and the church i)roperty in its entirety is 
valued at J?8,ooo. 

The Evangelical Church is much like 
the M. E. Church in its creed and church 
government, and its work is largely among 
the Germans of the city and surrounding 
country. In a new town like West Superior 
with a population necessarily of a floating 
character, the labors of a pastor are often 
trying and discouraging, but Rev. Mr. 
Schoeller has been most faithful and his 
zealous efforts are bearing fruit. The so- 
ciety is now established on a permanent basis 
with a growing membership and a flourish- 
ing Sunday-school to draw upon in the fu- 
ture. A Young People's Society was also 
organized by the pastor in July, 1901, with 
a membership of only eight, but within a 
year it had more than doubled its numbers 
and gives promise of resulting in much 
gootl. 

FRANK I.. WILKINS, now traftic 
manager anil autlilor of the Hawthorne, Ne- 
bagamon and Superior Railway, has risen 
to his present responsible position by the ex- 
ercise of those qualities of energy, persever- 
ance and interest in the work entrusted to 
him, which always make for success. He 
was born in Corning, N. Y., Oct. 13, 
1859. the son of Joseph H. and Sarah Wil- 
kins. the former a native of Maryland, but 
of Irish ancestry. 

Joseph H. Wilkins kept a general nier- 
cnntile establishment at P>av City. !\lich., 
for some x'cars. lie is an inx'entor of se\'- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



335 



eral useful articles, including a device for 
cleaning cisterns. At present he lives some- 
what retired and devotes his time chiefly to 
horticulture. Mr. Wilkins was a Whig un- 
til the fomiation of the Republican party, 
which he has since supported. Always a 
public-spirited citizen, he displayed an in- 
telligent interest in local matters, but was 
never active in politics. Mrs. Sarah Wil- 
kins was born in lilmira, X. V., and died 
in 1886. 

Frank L. Wilkins went witii his parents 
to Bay City where he attended the public 
schools and completed the high school course 
at sixteen y&'irs of age. After graduating 
he taught two years and then became a log- 
ging contractor in the vicinity of Bay City. 
This he continued for two years before en- 
tering the employ of the Green Bay & West- 
ern Railway as telegraph operator. He spent 
three years on the Green Bay and Western, 
the Wisconsin Central and the Chicago, St. 
Paul. Minneaixjlis and Omaha Railways. In 
1885 he entered the employ of the Siiell 
Lake Lumber Company, of Shell Lake, 
Wis., as bo<3kkeeper and cashier, in which 
position he continued for thirteen years. At 
the end of that time, April i, 1899, he went 
to Lake Xebaganion as traffic manager and 
auditor of the Hawthorne. Xebagamon and 
Superior Railway. He is also an auditor of 
the Xebagamon Lumber Company. 

Mr. Wilkins' marriage was solemnized 
in 1883. when he was united with Miss Hat- 
tie Homes, born in Columbus, Wis., the 
daughter of Daniel Homes, of Spencer, 
Wis. Their union has been blessed with 
three children: Lloyd, born in 1884; Ethel, 
in 1888; and Harry, in 1900. 

The family attend the Presbyterian 
Church, of which Mr. Wilkins is the presi- 
dent of the board of trustees. Mr. Wil- 
kins has always been a Republican and has 
served si.x years as clerk of the Circuit court 
of Washburn county. During his residence 
in Shell Lake he joined the Masonic fra- 
ternity, the only organization of the kind to 
which he belongs. In the fall of 1899, Mr. 
Wilkins built a new residence, on the bank 
of the lake, a modern home with ample 



grounds. He has a gas boat on the lake for 
the recreation of his family and friends. 
He has his own water works steam pump, 
yard and house being supplied by a ten barrel 
tank on the third floor. The house is heated 
with a large furnace. 

MAGLOIRE BEAUDOIN, a success- 
ful logging contractor and a useful citizen 
of Superior, Douglas county, was born in 
St. Evariste, County Beauce, Quel)ec, Oct. 
6, 1858. His parents, Cyrille and Philemon 
(Roy) Beaudoin, natives of Quebec, still 
live at St. Evariste, where the former, 
now seventy-three years of age is a suc- 
cessful farmer. 

The ancestors of Cyrille Beaudoin came 
from France among the early settlers of the 
Province of Quebec. His father, Pierre, 
who lived to be over eighty, was a life long 
farmer. The Roy family also came from 
I'Vance to Quebec at an early date. Cy- 
rille Beaudoin was the father of four sons 
and two daughters : Cyrille, a contractor 
and builder of Lowell. Mass.; Magloire; 
Joseph, of Superior: Mary, of Montreal; 
Josephine, Mrs. William A. Britton. of 
Biddeford, Maine, and Philip, now on the 
homestead farm in Quebec. 

When he was seventeen, Magloire Beau- 
doin left home and went to Michigan, where 
he spent seven years in the lumber woods 
near Grand Rapids. About 1882 he went 
to Ashland, Wis., and for three years was 
foreman of a logging crew, after which he 
obtained similar employment in Duluth, and 
spent about two years as a timber explorer. 
Since 1887 Mr. Beaudoin has resided in 
Superior, having made a business since 1891 
of filling, logging contracts, and at present 
he is employing from 75 to 150 men. For 
.several years past he has driven most of the 
logs cut on the Xcmadji river, and is now 
logging also on Poplar river. 

On June i. 1887. Mr. Bcaufloin was mar- 
ried to Mrs. Flora Barbara Black, who was 
born in Cornwall, Canada, a daughter of 
.'\nthony Sullivan. She was living at 
Cadillac, Mich., at the time of her marriage 
U) Mr. Beaudoin. Her death occurred in 



336 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



June, 1S97, wlien thirty-six years of age. 
She was the nK)ther of four children. iMag- 
loire, Joseph. Francis and Theresa. Mr. 
Beaudoin married (second), in June, 1899, 
Nora Murphy, of Superior, who was born 
in Hudson, Wis. She has one child, Mary. 
The family home is a neat and commod- 
ious cottage in Superior. The family are 
communicants of St. Francis Catholic 
church, and Mr. Beaudoin is fraternally con- 
nected with the K. C, the C. O. F.. and the 
Catholic M. B. A. In political principles 
he is a Democrat, but is independent in local 
politics. 

HENRY HANNUM, M. D. Xo man 
in Bavfield is better known than this skill- 
ful and popular physician, wlin for twentx' 
years has ministered to the sick and suffer- 
ing of the town. 

Henry Hannum was born in Stillman 
\ alley. Ogle Co., Ill, March 11, 183:;, and 
is a son of Alvin and Lydia A. (Boyce) 
Hannum. The father was born in East 
Hampton, Mass., June 22, 1821, where he 
was reared on the farm and educated in the 
public schools. In 1842 he moved to Illi; 
nois, and settled on what proved to be his 
life-long home, a farm nf 200 acres pur- 
chased from the government. On Feb. 15. 
1849, he married Lydia A. Boyce, born in 
Scipio, Cayuga Co., N. Y., July 24, 1824, 
and to them came a family of three chil- 
dren : Martha A., born May 22, 1852, who 
married William S. Hurd : Henr)- ; 
Walter, born Oct. 2, 18.^6, who 
married Maude Waite, and had four 
children. Eva, Henry W., Ruby and 
Martha A. The eldest of these, Eva, died 
in childhood, while the father passed away 
at his home in Inwood, Iowa, Aug. 27, 
1895. Alvin Hannum died Sept. 30, 1887, 
and his wife, Lydia, surviving him over a 
year, passed away peacefully, Dec. 12, 1888. 

Dr. Hannum was reared on a farm, ol)- 
tained his early education in the public 
schools, and later went to the Rock River 
Seminary, which completed his literary ed- 
ucation. In 1887 he began reading medi- 



cine in the office of Dr. Samuel Taylor, of 
Morrison, 111., the year following was ad- 
mitted to Rush Medical College at Chicago, 
the course then covering three years, and 
was graduated in 1881. The first year he 
practiced at Burr Oak, Kan., but in Novem- 
ber, 1882, went to Bayfield, where he es- 
tablished himself permanently. His profes- 
sional skill ancl his admirable per- 
sonal qualities ha\e enabled him to 
build up a large practice in Bayfield, 
and he is one of the leading ph\"- 
sicians of the city. During the first year of 
Dr. Hannum's residence in Bayfield occur- 
red his marriage with ]\Iiss Kittie E. Shel- 
don, of North Bloomfield. Ohio, solemnized 
Oct. 17, 1883. To this union were born two 
children: Leila A., born Jan. 4, 1886, de- 
ceased Aug. 24, 1887; and Frank Walter, 
bnrn July zy , 1888. 

Dr. Hannum is a physician who keeps 
himself thoroughly informed on profession- 
al topics and abreast of all the modern med- 
ical thought. He is an active member of 
various medical organizations, the Ameri- 
can Medical, the Wisconsin State, the Inter- 
County and the Ashland County Medical 
Societies. Fraternally he belongs to the 
Masons, Bayfield Lodge. Ashland Chapter 
and Commanderv ; the K. M. ; the M. 
W. A.: the K. P.. and the E. F. 
U. For all of these Dr. Hannum 
is the medical examiner. while he 
holds a similar position for several life in- 
surance companies. In his politics he is a 
Republican and, while he is no politician, 
be takes an intelligent interest in public af- 
fairs. Fie has served as health officer for 
Bayfield and LaPointe for many years, and 
he was once elected coroner, but refused to 
qualify. 

The history of the Hannum family in 
New England runs back many years. 

( I ) William Hannum came from Eng- 
land and settled in Dorchester. Mass., being 
among its very earliest settlers. During 
1636-37, in company with others he moved 
to Windsor, Conn., and in 1653 tli^re is a 
record of him as one of the first proprietors 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



337 



of Xorthaniptoii. Mass. Aiipareiitly he 
passetl the rest of his life there and died in 
1697. 

(,11) John, son of Wilhani. had a large 
family of children, and three of them lived 
to rear families of their own, from whom 
came all the Massachusetts branch of that 
family. Of these three sons. Samuel and 
\\'illiam were among the tirst settlers of 
Belchertown, Massachusetts. 

(,111) John (2), the third son of John, 
noted above, is notable as having held the 
otiice of selectman twenty years, longer 
than almost any man in the colony. 

(IV) Eleazer, son of John (2), was 
one of the first to settle in Southampton, 
Mass. He had a large family of children, 
Eleazer (2), John, Martha, Mary, Doro- 
thea, Joel, Rachel, Xaomi, Timothy, Archie, 
Sarah, Frances and Beiiona. In 1760 three 
of these were living in Southampton. I-"lea- 
zer, John, Joel ; each had a son hearing his 
name, who succeeded to his father's prop- 
erty. These sons were the ancestors of the 
present owners of the respective properties. 
Eleazer \V., grandson bf Eleazer (2), was 
made a deacon in 1833 and still holds that 
office, and his grandsons, John M. anil 
Edwin, are joint owners of the old home 
place. 

(V) Joel was the lather of thirteen 
children : Esther, who married Simon Clark ; 
Rhoda : Joel; Julius; Joel; Paul; Phoebe, 
who married Oliver Clark; Diana, the wife 
of Simon Clapp; Mercy; Submit; Lucius; 
Jeremiah, and Jerusha, who married Eli- 
jah Lloyd. 

(,V1) Julius was lx)rn at Ea.st Hamp- 
ton, Mass., Oct. 16, 1780, and married 
Martha Lyman, torn Aug. 31, 1789. Mrs. 
Martha L. llannum was a descendant of 
Richard Lyman, who came fmm England in 
1631, in the time of King Charles, and set- 
tled at Roxbury, Mass., where he lived in 
great style and had two servants, .something 
unheard of at that time. He moved to 
Plartford, Conn., in 1635, where he died 
five years later. His name is inscribed on 
a mr)nument in the old cemetePi' in Hart- 
ford which commemorates the first hun- 



dred years of the city. To Julius and Mar- 
tha Hannum were Ijorn fointeen- children, 
rive of whom died in infancy. ( i ) Victoria, 
born Dec. 10, 1810, married Marcus 
Hvimphrey, and had two children, Marcits 
Jr., deceased, and Laura; (2) Naomi, born 
Jan. 30, 18 1 2, married Joseph Bardwell, de- 
ceased, and was the mother of nine chil- 
drn ; John; Helen; Henrietta, deceased; 
Joseph; Josephine and Ida., both deceased: 
Electa; Martin L. ; and Lillie; (3) Christo- 
pher C, born July 13, 1815, married Al- 
meda Wilcox, and had two children ; Ed- 
win L., deceased; and Helen; (4) Martha, 
born May 19, 18 17, was the wife of Sam- 
uel Grimes, and both are now dead, leaving 
one daughter, Stella; (,5) Alvin ; (6) Juli- 
us, Jr., born Aug. 2^. 1825, married Ellen 
Paine, who bore him three children, Wilton, 
Eugene and Etta; (7) Lewis L., born Nov. 
16, 1827, chose ior his wife Mary Ritner, 
and bad five children, Julius, Helen, An- 
drew, Martha and Una; (8) Mary Jane, 
b(M-n iVug. 6, 1830, married Silas Humph- 
rey, by whom she had one daughter, Eva 
M.; (9) Stella, born Sept. 9, 1835, was the 
wife of Dr. S. Taylor, deceased, and was 
the mother of four children; Evaline M. ; 
Walter H., deceased; Mary, and William B. 

Julius Hannum, Sr.. moved from East 
Hampton to Brecksville in 1829, and lived 
there from the time of his arrival, Nov. i of 
that year, until his death. Dec. 7, 1853, 
His widow survived him ten years and 
passed away at the home of her son in 
Stillman Valley, III, March 24, 1863. 

}uL'\. a brother of Julius, Sr., settled in 
Washawamuck. Mass. After his death his 
sons, Paul and Julius, shared the owner- 
shi)) of his farm and each reared a large 
family; they, however, moved West many 
years ago. 

In 1904 there were but three male rep- 
resentatives of the great-grandchildren of 
Julius llannum, Sr., (the ninth generation 
from William Hannum) to )ier])etuate the 
name; Henry W... son of the late Walter E., 
Inwood, Iowa: Frank W., of Bayfield. 
Wis., son of Dr. Henry; and Edwin, of 
Avon, Ohio, son of Dr. Edwin Hannum. 



538 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



HENRY W. WHEELER enjoys the 
distinction of being the oldest surviving pio- 
neer of Duhith. During his residence of 
nearly half a century within the present lim- 
its of that city he has led a useful and exem- 
plary life and exerted no small influence in 
shaping the material and moral progress of 
the community. He springs of an old New 
England family and enjoys the further dis- 
tinction of being an original son of the Revo- 
lution. 

The paternal grandfather. \\'illiam 
\Vheeler, was engaged in the West India 
trade and carried on a shipyard at Black 
Rock, Conn., where his son John, the father 
<if Henry W., was born in 1765. When 
but sixteen )ears of age, John Wheeler en- 
listed for guard duty on Long Island Sound 
and spent several months in that service, 
most of the regular troops having been called 
away by Gen. Washington to assist in the 
siege of Yorktown. After the war he 
worked for a time in his father's shipyard 
and subsequently moved to Oneida county, 
N. Y., where he improved a fine farm. 
About 1840 he located in Washtenaw county, 
Mich., where his death occurred Feb. 13, 
1846. He was a devout adherent of the 
Congregational Church, serving as a dea- 
con in both New York and Michigan. While 
a boy, in Connecticut, he jjersonally knew 
Benedict Armild. afterward the notorious 
traitor. 

John Wheeler had three children by liis 
first wife: Deborah, George and Lydia. 
For his second wife he married Catherine 
Holberton, who became the mother of the 
subject of this sketch. She was probaljly 
born at Black Rock, and her death occurred 
at Grass Lake. Mich. .Nov. 3, 1855, 3* the 
age of seventy-seven years, eight months. 
Her father, Thomas Holberton, was living 
in Connecticut when the Continental army 
made an expedition into Canada and ]jat- 
riotically advanced .$54 in gold and silver 
in exchange for Continental currency, which 
was useless to the troops beyond the bound- 
ary line. This currency was never re- 
deemed, and on the Fourth of July, 1820, 
Mr. Holberton made a memorandum of the 



fact that he still had it in his possession, with 
the exception of three $8 bills which he had 
exchanged with Samuel Gable, who kept a 
tavern, for three mugs of flip at $8 each. 
One of these $8 bills, numbered 44,626, 
and the memorandum above mentioned, are 
still preserved as cherished family heirlooms 
by Mr. Wheeler. Mrs. Catherine ( Holber- 
ton) W'heeler was the mother of seven chil- 
dren : Monson died at Ann Arbor, Mich. ; 
Catherine died at Warsaw, N. Y., aged 
ninety-six years; John died in Leslie, Mich.; 
Mary Frances and Thomas died at Grass 
Lake, in the same State ; Susan died in New 
York. 

Henry \\'. Wheeler, who is the youngest 
and only li\-ing child of his parents, bids 
fair to excel all of his progenitors on the 
score of longevity. He was born in Oneida 
county, N. Y., March 19, 1821, and went 
thence with his parents to Michigan, assist- 
ing in the construction of the homestead 
there. In 1841 he started out to seek his 
fortune, walking most of the way to Chicago 
and thence to Galena, 111., about 400 miles in 
nil, carrying all hi^ possessions in a pack. 
Galena then rivaled Chicago as a commer- 
cial center, but he continued his journey to 
New Diggings, \\'is., then a thriving mining 
town, where he secured employment at the 
carpenter trade and put up a number of 
buildings. About 1848 he went to Neenah, 
Wis., where he made some investments in 
real estate and put up some buildings for 
himself. He also invested in a steamboat 
to navigate the Fox river, but this property 
was sacrificed to meet the debts of his part- 
ner and he lost all his savings. Mr. Wheeler 
then went to St. Paul and became engineer 
of a steamboat on the upper Mississippi, and 
afterward engineer of a sawmill, where his 
skill and industry soon enabled him to de- 
mand and receive an increase of salary. 

In 1855 Mr. Wheeler came to the Head 
of the Lakes in the interest of a syndicate 
which owned a town site at Oneota. now in- 
cluded in the city of Duluth. His first duty 
was to look over the timber on that location 
and superintend the construction of a saw- 
mill. Upon its completion he took charge 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



3^9 



•iii tlie operation of tlie mill, ami a few years 
later leased the property, which he continued 
to carry on for a number of years. In the 
meantime lie bought and sold considerable 
real estate, owning at one time or another 
most of the original town site. Besides 
other property, he still owns a farm of 125 
acres which has never been subdivided, 
though it is crossed by one of the principal 
thoroughfares of the city, and an electric 
car line passes his door. At one time he 
donated fifteen acres to the Duluth Collegi- 
ate Institute, but the property reverted to 
him, owing to the non-payment of taxes, 
and has now become valuable. A part of 
the original town site was sold by Mr. 
Wheeler at $1.25 per acre. Mr. Wheeler 
brought the first carload of Jersey cows to 
the Head of the Lakes and for some years 
gave considerable attention to agriculture 
and dairying. He has invested to some ex- 
tent in mining properties on the Mesaba 
range, and from time to time has been inter- 
ested in various business enterprises. For 
some years he was a director and treasurer 
of the Imperial Mill Company, and was 
chiefly instrumental in promoting the erec- 
tion of the warehouses of that concern at 
Buffalo, by which means a gre^t saving in 
freights was accomplished. In business af- 
fairs he has always been conservative and 
far-seeing, and is spending his declining 
years in well merited comfort and content- 
ment. 

On Xov. 25, (Thanksgiving Day). 1847. 
Mr. Wheeler was married to Sarah Caro- 
line Brewster, daughter of James R. and 
Hester (Christopher) Brewster, of New 
r^'o.^i'iSfs. ^^'i^- 'Sirs. Wheeler, who is still 
the partner of her husband's jovs and sor- 
rows, was iKirn in Broome county, X. ^'. 
She went with her parents to Byron, ill., 
about 1 84 1, and a few years later the family 
settled at New Diggings. Mr. Brewster, 
who was a painter by trade, died in St. Paul, 
Minn., June 19, 1872, in the sixty-eighth 
year of his age. His father, James Brew- 
ster, who died in Illinois, was a direct de- 
scendant of Elder William Brewster, famous 
as one of the "Mavflower" emigrants. Mrs. 



Plester Brewster v\as born in New Yjork, 
and died in St. Paul, June 3, 1865, aged 
sixty years. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler are the 
parents of ten children, and their posterity 
includes thirteen living grandchildren and 
one great-grandchild. Their children were 
as follows : Martyn, of Seattle, Wash. ; 
Emma Elizabeth, Mrs. Leonidas Merritt, 
who died in 1902 at Oneota ; Mary Etta, 
Mrs. John E. Merritt, of Oneota ; Julia 
-Augusta, of the same place; John James, of 
Seattle, Wash. ; Marry, of Biwabik, Minn. ; 
Susie, who died in childhood ; Duane, living 
in Colorado; Carrie, who died March i, 1900, 
at Duluth ; and Bert, a teacher in the same 
place. The family is connected with the 
Second Presbyterian Church of Duluth. 
Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler were among the 
signers of the application for a charter for 
the First Presbyterian Church at Superior, 
in 1855, and they are now the oldest members 
of any Protestant church at the Head of the 
Lakes. On Nov. 25, 1897, they celebrated 
their golden wedding, which was attended 
by many of their friends. On that occa- 
sion Mr. Wheeler was presented by the Old 
Settlers Association with a goldheaded cane 
made from the timbers of the schooner 
"Algonquin,"' which was one of the first 
boats to visit the Head of the Lakes and be- 
came a familiar object to the old residents. 
Mr. Wheeler helped to organize the Old 
Settlers Association, of which he is an ex- 
president, and takes a great interest in its 
annual gatherings. Through his influence 
the use of champagne or other into.xicants 
was abolished at these meetings. He has 
always been a stanch adherent of the tem- 
l)erance cause and it is chiefly due to his 
inlluence that no saloons have ever been 
;dlowed within the limits of the old village 
of Oneota. While living at St. Paul in 
185,3, he hel])ed to organize the Republican 
l)arty in Minnesota, and has ever since sup- 
ported its principles. In 1860 he reluctant- 
ly accepted a nomination for representative, 
and received every vote cast in St. Louis 
county, an honor never accorded to any 
other candidate, but was defeated by the 
vote of the other counties in the district 



340 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



where he was unknown. He served four 
years as treasurer of the county, and has 
tilled other positions of trust, including that 
of school trustee and town assessor, and has 
always enjoyed the utmost confidence of his 
fellow citizens. 

THURSTON EVERS, a popular public 
official of Washburn county, residing at 
Shell Lake, was born near Gothenburg, 
Sweden, Jan. 9, 1870. His parents were 
Ernest and Maria (Ahlberg) Evers, natives 
of Gothenburg, where the father, who for 
a number of years was employed as a com- 
mercial traveler, still lives on his farm, aged 
seventy years. His wife, who is still living, 
was a daughter of Frederick Ahlberg, a law- 
yer by profession, who served many years as 
circuit judge and mayor of the city of Skara ; 
he lived to be ninety-four years of age, and 
was always active and vigorous. 

Thurston Evers spent five years in a col- 
lege at W'ernersborg, taking the Latin 
course. He then was bookkeeper in a cream- 
ery for a time, and in 1888 came to the 
United States, spending a year in New Mex- 
ico, and going from there to Shell Lake. He 
spent one season in the logging woods, and 
then secured a position in a general store, 
spending several years in that line of work, 
with different firms. He was town clerk for 
two years, in the fall of 1896 was elected 
clerk of court, and two years later county 
treasurer, being reelected to this position in 
1900. In the fall of 1902 he was again nom- 
inated for clerk of court. He has always 
been a stanch Republican. 

In 1895 Mr. Evers married Harriet 
Lampman, who was born at St. Croix 
Falls, Wis., daughter of Freeland Lamp- 
man, now of Shell Lake. Mr. and Mrs. 
Evers attend the Methodist Church. 

WILLIAM L. HOULTON, an enter- 
prising and progressive business man, has 
been connected with the lumber business 
from his early boyhood, and laid the founda- 
tion of his present success in that early and 
detailed familiarity with the work in all its 
details. He and his brother, Charles LIoul- 



ton, constitute the firm of the Lake Superior 
Riling Company, and have built up a tlour- 
ishing trade. 

The first American Houlton came from 
England to Salem, Mass., in 1640. His de- 
scendant, Joseph Houlton, founded the town 
of Houlton, Maine, where his grandson, Ho- 
I'atio Houlton, the father of William L., was 
born. He was always interested in lumber- 
ing and about 1850 went West, settling first 
in Minneapolis, and removing a few years- 
later to Elk River, where he built a saw-mill, 
and operated it for nearly twenty years. 
Later, as a member of the Prince and Houl- 
ton Lumber Company, he operated another 
mill at St. Paul, the only large sawmill 
there. He married Melissa Harvey, who 
was born in Maine, a daughter of Rev. Na- 
thaniel Harvey. Her death occurred in Elk 
River, Minn., in 1882, at the age of forty- 
eight years. Their children were seven in 
number, of whom five are living, as follows : 
Effie L., of Los Angeles, Cal. ; Nettie L., the 
wife of J. C. DeWitt, of Phoenix, Ariz. ; 
Katie L., wife of J. C. Kendall, of Los 
Angeles, Cal.; Charles H..; and William L. 
By a second marriage Mr. Houlton was the 
father of a son, Horatio C. ^Ir. Houlton 
died in 1904, aged seventy-two years. 

William L. Houlton was born in Elk 
River, Minn., March 28, 1864, and was edu- 
cated in the public schools of that town and 
of St. Paul. From the age of fifteen he was 
employed about his father's mills in various 
capacities, thus learning the business thor- 
oughly. In 1892 he helped to organize the 
Lake Superior Piling Company, incorporated 
in the State of Minnesota. At present he and 
his brother Charles compose the firm and 
are conducting its large business. 

For several years the Company sawed 
considerable lumber at Le Clair, Douglas 
county, but have recently given their atten- 
tion to piling timber, the most of which is 
marketed in Chicago, where the main office 
is located. The concern employs from fifty 
to 200 men, and is one of the prosperous 
firms of northern Wisconsin. Several camps 
are maintained on the Brule river and the 
principal one, located at Le Clair, consists of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAl'lilCAL RECOKlJ 



341 



.a iiuinber of buiklings, supplied witli water 
by a hydraulic ram which furces water from 
a spring on the premises to all the buildings, 
including the stable, where a number of 
.teams are kept. The Company also carries 
on a general store which supplies goods to 
its employes and others in the vicinity of Le 
Clair. 

Mr. lioulton was married at Brule, Wis., 
Sept. 24, 1902, to Miss Anna ^IcGuirk, of 
Chippewa Falls. 

JACOB E. ERICKSON, a prominent 
•business man and public olilicial of Superior, 
Douglas county, was born in Vasa, Finland, 
Nov. 15, 1861, and is descended from fam- 
ilies which have been well known in that 
country for generations. 

The parents of Air. Erickson were Erick 
and Fredericka Sodergard. the last name be- 
ing taken from that of the farm on which 
their lives were passed. Erick Sodergard 
lived to be sixty-eight years old and died in 
1898; he had been a member of the county 
board at Vasa for twenty years, and was for 
eight years chairman, or director of that 
body. His cousin, Flemings, was a repre- 
sentative in the Lantdal, or legislature, of 
Finland. John Orn, father of Erick Soder- 
gard, was a prosperous farmer and lived to 
the age of sixt3'-nine ; his wife, Louise Orn, 
sprang of a prominent family of. farmers 
near Vasa. her father, Capt. Michael, 
having been an officer in the Swedish 
army during the war Ijetween that 
country and Russia in 1760. John Orn 
served in the Swedish army during 
the war between Sweden and Russia 
in 1808-09. The ancestors of John Orn 
•came from Sweden and settled on the 
western coast of Finland, probably among 
the f<3llowers of Bishop Agricola, who first 
intr(j(luced Christianity into that country. 
Erick and Fredericka Sodergard had a fam- 
ily of two sons and two daughters, as fol- 
lows : ( I ) John Erick l\abb, who succeeded 
to the Rabb farm near Vasa, has a son Isaac, 
who lives at Superior; (2) Louise, who is 
Mrs. John Sodergard, is living on the home- 
stead farm; (3) Beatta, who is Mrs. Isaac 



Bure, lives in Vasa parish, Finland; {^4) 
Jacob E. is mentioned below. 

Jacob E. Erickson received a common 
school education in his native place, and when 
about seventeen he became a clerk in his 
brother's store at Vasa. Two years later he 
came to the United States, and after spend- 
ing about two months at Ishpeming, Mich., 
he came in December, 1881, to Superior, 
where he began work as a laborer on the Chi- 
cago & Portage Air Line Railroad, which- 
was then being graded. As this work was 
abandoned the following January, he found 
employment with the Korthern Pacific Rail- 
road, and in the autumn of 1882 took a 
grading contract at West Superior. The 
next winter he began contracting for ties and 
logs, and for several summers filled grading 
contracts. In 1884 he furnished the piles 
for the Northern Pacific docks and ware- 
houses at Duluth, and in 1889 filled a con- 
tract for grading six miles of the Eastern 
Railway of Minnesota, also furnishing tim- 
ber for the bridges, etc. ; he employed 200 
men on this work. During the "boom" at 
West Superior about this time, Mr. Erickson 
became interested in real estate. In recent 
years he has given considerable attention to 
logging contracts, and still does more or less 
in the way of railroad grading. In 1899 the 
Erickson Lumber Co., of which Mr. Erick- 
son is general manager, was incorporated, 
and a sawmill was built at Black River I-'alls, 
Douglas county. In 1900 he built six 
miles of the Stony Brook line of railroad, 
and in igoi graded nine miles on a branch 
of the Great Northern Railway, at Lakota, 
N. D. In 1888-90 Mr. Erickson was in 
partnership with L. F. Johnston, of Superior, 
in the contracting business, and in 1893-94 
was a partner of Michael Collins, logging 
contractor. In 1888 he was elected assessor 
of the town of Superior, holding this office 
two years ; in 1 893 he was elected town 
treasurer, served two consecutive years, in 
1897 was again elected and has been re- 
elected every year since. Ii: politics he has 
always been a Re])ul)lican, and lias been a 
delegate to manv conventions in Douglas 
countv. 



342 



COMiMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



In 1890 Mr. Erickson was married to 
Nettie C. Iverson, daughter of Gulick Iver- 
son, who came from Hardalen, Norway, in 
1863, and settled in Vernon county, Wis., 
where his death was caused by an accident 
in 1 90 1, when he was sixty-two years old. 
Mr. and Mrs. Erickson have two children, 
Lawrence and Lloyd. The family attend 
the Lutheran Church. 

ALFRED WILLIAMS is a highly es- 
teemed citizen of Superior, who holds the 
responsible position of superintendent of the 
Street Railway Company in Superior, Dou- 
glas Co., Wis. Mr. Williams is of English 
extraction and was born at Williamsford, 
near Owen Sound, Ontario, April 2, 1867, 
his parents being Robert P. and Elizabeth 
(Blatchford) Williams. 

Robert P. Williams was born in Devon- 
shire, England, in 1837, and came with his 
parents to Canada in 1841. The family set- 
tled near Toronto, where William Williams, 
father of Robert P., built grist and sawmills. 
Margaret (Pierce) Williams, mother of 
Robert P., was a native of Cornwall. Her 
brother, the Rev. Mark Guy Pierce, is a 
wealthy owner of tin mines and also a noted 
author and lecturer, who has often lectured in 
the United States and Canada, and is promi- 
nent in the Methodist church. Two of the 
sons of Mrs. Margaret (Pierce) Williams are 
also prominent ministers of the M. E. 
church : Rev. John B. Williams, who died 
in Canada ; and Rev. William Williams, who 
after filling the pulpits of some of the leading 
churches in Canada, is now a resident of 
California. For some years Robert P. Wil- 
liams kept a store at Woodford, Ont. He 
now lives in retirement at Meaford, Ont. 
He has always been a leader in the work of 
the M. E. church, and is a man of decided 
o])inions and of exemplary habits. His wife. 
Elizabeth (Blatchford) Williams, died in 
1883, when forty years of age. She was 
born near Owen Sound, Ont., daughter -of 
Walter and Sarah (Gee) Blatchford, who 
were natives of Devonshire, England, the 
former becoming a successful blacksmith of 
Owen Sound. Robert P. and Elizabeth 



(Blatchford) Williams were the parents ot: 
seven children: Alice Jane, Mrs. Joseph 
Taylor, of Carman, Manitoba; William 
Walter, proprietor of a sash and door fac- 
tory in Guatemala, C. A. ; Sarah Margaret, 
Mrs. J. J. Stimson, proprietor of the store 
formerly owned by her father at Woodford ; 
Alfred ; Emma Beatta, Mrs. Samuel Doran, 
of Woodford; Mary Elizabeth, wife oi Dr. 
Leslie Danard, of Owen Sound, Ont. ; Rob- 
ert Guy, a graduate of McGill Medical Col- 
lege, Montreal, now a regular physician at 
Rocklyn, Ont. No pains have been spared 
in the education of this family. 

Alfred Williams attended the public 
schools and assisted in his father's store 
until 1887, when he came to the Plead of the 
Lakes. He spent a short time in Duluth 
and then traveled for a year or so through 
the West, spending some time at Silverleaf, 
X. D.. and at various places on the Pacific 
coast. Returning to Duluth he was for a 
time employed in a wholesale grain and 
commission house, but in 1889 he entered 
the employ of the Duluth Street Railway 
Company, with which he has ever since been 
connected. Mr. Williams began as driver 
of a horse car, then worked in the repair 
shop; was a conductor, a foreman, and since 
Aug. 14. 1900, has been superintendent of 
the Superior division of the road. Mr. Wil- 
liams is now one of the oldest employes of 
the company, which operates a system of 
electric cars connecting all the principal 
thoroughfares of the two cities at the Head 
of the Lakes. 

On April 13, 1892, ^Ir. Williams and 
^Margaret McCallum were united in mar- 
riage at Duluth. Mrs. Williams was born 
near Owen Sound, Ont., June 2, 1871, a 
daughter of Duncan and Catherine McCal- 
lum, the former of whom died in Canada 
and the latter in Duluth. Mrs. Williams 
died May 26, 1901, leaving two living chil- 
dren: Robert Pierce, born Feb. 16, 1893, 
and Evelyn, born Dec. 24, 1899. Two chil- 
dren are deceased: Sadie, bom July 25, 
1895, who died July 29, 1895, ^"d Cath- 
erine, born May 12, 1898. who died Jan. 7. 
1899. These children and their mother are 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



343 



interretl in Forest Hill cemetery, Dulutli. 
Since 1889 Mr. Williams has been a mem- 
ber of the I. O. O. F., in which he has filled 
all the chairs, and is now captain of Golden 
Rule Encampment, No. j^i ; he is a member 
of Superior Court, 1. O. F"., and of Superii;r 
Lodge, No. 403, B. P. O. E. 

HENRY MARTIN BRADLEY. The 
earliest mention in England of the name of 
Bradley occurs in the year A. D. 1183, at 
the feast of St. Cuthbert, in Lent. In the 
will of Ralj)h Smith, which was proved 
March 23, 1472, he mentions the farm had 
of Bradley. Again, in 1475, the will of Sir 
John Pitkinton, Knight of Yorkshire, be- 
queaths to his brother Charles a place 
named Bradley. History shows John Brad- 
ley was bishop of Shaftsbury in 1539. In 
1578 Alexander Bradley is mentioned in the 
jurisdiction of Durham, and about the same 
year Cuthburtus Bradley was curate of Bar- 
nard Castle. Thomas Bradley was Doctor 
of Divinity and Chaplain to King Charles 
I. His son, Saville, was Fellow of Magda- 
lene College, Oxford. About this time the 
persecutions in England forced many people 
to emigrate to America. Among the origi- 
nal list of emigrants a number of Bradleys 
are mentioned as liaving embarked for 
America. There are several distinct branch- 
es of the Bradley family in the United 
States, the foun(lers of which came from 
England. The "Haverhill" branch was 
founded by Daniel Bradley, who was b(jrn 
in 1615 in England, and crossed the Atlantic 
in the ship "Elizabeth," 1635. He mar- 
ried. May 21, 1662, Mary, daughter of John 
William, of Haverhill, and was killed by the 
Indians Aug. 13, 1689. He had seven chil- 
dren, two of whom were killed by the In- 
dians March 15, 1^197. There was also a 
Peter Bradley, a mariner. Francis Bradley 
\vas the founder of the "Fairfield" branch. 
He married Ruth, daughter of John Bar- 
low, and died in 1689. leaving six children. 
There is a "North Haven" branch which 
was founded by Isaac V. Bradley, whose 
descendants are numerous and widely 
spread. There resided in the market town 



of Bingley, Yorkshire, England, a family 
by the name of Bradley, Christian name and 
occupation not known, of which history tells 
us that the head of the family w-as twice 
married, having had by his first wife one son. 
named \\ illiam, and that by his second wife 
he had five children. Of William it is said 
that he was stanch Dissenter and officer in 
Cromwell's army. He emigrated to Amer- 
ica in 1637 and joined the New Haven col- 
ony. Hearing of his father's death a year 
or two later, he sent for his stepmother and 
her children. Their names were Ellen, Dan- 
iel, Joseph, Nathan and Stephen. The two 
youngest later became residents of Guilford, 
Conn. Their mother subsequently settled 
there and died in January, 1O83. What is 
known as the "Guilford branch of the 
Bradley family originated with Nathan and 
Stephen Bradley. Both married and left 
children. History reports that many of the 
descendants of these brothers became men 
of distinction in military service and other 
governmental positions. It is quite proper 
to note in this connection that William 
Bradley, the American ancestor, has man\ 
descendants who have made themselves con- 
spicuous in State and national history. His 
wife was .Mice Pritchard. 

Henry Martin Bradley represents the 
seventh generation of the posterity of Wil- 
liam and Alice (Pritchard) Bradley. He 
was born in Lee, Berkshire Co., Mass., May 
7, 1824, son of William and Lucy (Ball) 
LSradley. His father was a tanner and cur- 
rier and also manufactured shoes at Lee. In 
May. 1835, he moved to Wellington, Ohio, 
settling on a new unimproved farm, where 
he died. Flenry Martin Bradley attended the 
public schools, which afforded such educa- 
tion as was common on the Ohio frontier in 
that day. He was early inured to the hard 
work of clearing up and developing a farm 
in a wooded country, which materirdly in- 
terfered with obtaining a higher education. 
He left home in 1841, going to Seville. 
Ohio, to serve an api^renticeship in a woolen 
mill located there. Subsequently he settled 
at Litchfield, where for a time he conducted 
a woolen mill, but not having sufficient cap- 



344 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ital to advantageously continue the l)usiness 
he sold out and went to Sparta, Ohio. There 
he built a sawmill and later added a grist 
mill. These interests he sold in 1855 and 
went to Bay City, Mich., where he accepted 
the superintendency of a large lumbering 
concern, continuing this for four years. His 
next venture was in a sawmill which he pur- 
chased, and which he successfully operated 
from i860 to 1877. Meanwhile he was ex- 
tensively engaged in manufacturing salt. In 
1 881 he came to Duluth for the purpose of 
recruiting his health, which had become 
somewhat impaired by years of close appli- 
cation to business, and for nearly two years 
thereafter he busied himself exploring the 
adjacent regions for the purpose of locating 
timber on government lands, and was for a 
time a partner in the lumbering firm of 
Bradley, Hanford & Co., in which his son 
still retains an interest. ^VIso, for some 
years Mr. Bradley was active in exploring 
ifon lands on the Vermillion and Mesaba 
ranges, where he located interests which he 
subsequently leased to the Chandler Iron 
Company, from which he still receives roy- 
alties. He has also leased extensive prop- 
erties to the Oliver Mining Company, and 
still holds considerable undeveloped iron 
land. In 1901 he became interested in Cal- 
ifornia orange culture, and has 140 acres of 
choice orange land, seventy acres being cov- 
ered with growing and bearing oranges. 

Although Mr. Bradley's life has been 
one of strenuous activity, superinduced by 
extensive business combinations, he has, 
withal, not been unmindful of his spiritual 
necessities, but has taken an active part in 
the dissemination of religious truths for his 
brother's as well as his own good. Despite 
his days and years of labor he has always 
been found a regular attendant at every 
church service on the Sabbath day, and he 
has as well given freely of his means for the 
support of the Gospel. He was the princi- 
pal contributor in the building of the First 
Methodist Episcopal church of Duluth. He 
was a member of the building committee and 
is still chairman of the board of trustees. 
While living in Bay City. Mr. Bradley ac- 



ceptably fer\ed in the city council four years. 
While there he was also active in organizing 
the water department of the city and served 
on that board ten years. He aided in or- 
ganizing the fire department, of which he 
was chief engineer five years, and for five 
years was a member of the board of edu- 
cation. Since living in Duluth he has filled 
a similar position for three years, being 
president of the board for two years. He 
has been a steadfast supporter of the prin- 
ciples of the Republican party since its first 
organization. 

Mr. Bradley was united in marriage Jan. 
], 1846, with Miss Mary E., daughter of 
Alva and Lydia (Cooper) Cook, of Medina 
county. Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley are 
the parents of eight sons and daughters, and 
their posterity includes nineteen living- 
grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. 
The record of their children is as follows : 
Alice A., widow of Guardis D. Edwards, of 
Duluth; Alva ^^'., of Duluth; Elisha L., 
who was drowned at Bay City, Mich., July 
12. 1858; Charles H., of Duluth; George 
yi., who died at Bay City; Frank B., who 
died at Cleveland, Ohio; Edward L., of Du- 
luth ; and Addie May, Mrs. Carl Norpell, of 
Newark, Ohio. 

ARCHIBALD DONALD, a successful 
contractor and popular citizen of Ashland, 
was born in Paisley, Scotland, Oct. 15, 1858, 
son of John and Martha (Train) Donald, 
both natives of Paisley. 

The paternal grandfather, Alexander 
Donald, lived on the island of Bute, Bute- 
shire. Later on he moved to Paisley, and 
while there engaged in the construction of a 
church, was killed by the falling of a scaf- 
folding. He was sixty years old at the time 
of his death. 

The maternal grandfather. James Train, 
was born in County Antrim, Ireland, but 
went in boyhood to Scotland. Later he en- 
listed in the British army in the famous 
"Scotch Greys," and served under Welling- 
ton at Waterloo. • In that battle he lost a- 
toe, and liecause of the injury received a 
pension for the balance of his life. He was a 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



345 



gardener by trade, lie lived to be seventy- 
two, but his wife, whom he married in Scot- 
land, died of typhoid fever in early life. 

John Donald learned tlie trade of a dyer, 
and worked in the famons Clark Thread 
Mills, as well as elsewhere in Paisley. Later 
he followed the sea for a time, and visited 
Alelbourne and Sydney, Australia, and was 
occupied in that country some time as a 
shepherd. About 1890 he came to the United 
States, and settled in San Francisco, Cal., 
where he is still living, as is his wife, aged 
eighty-four and eighty-two respectively. 
John and Martha Donald had eight chil- 
dren : Alexander, of Greenock, Scotland ; 
^lary, the wife of John Scott, of Rcnfew, 
Scotland ; James, a stonecutter, who died in 
Ashland, in April, 1898, aged forty-six; 
John, who died in San Francisco, aged forty- 
two, a boiler maker; Martha, who died in in- 
fancy; Archibald; William, superintendent 
of the Union Iron Works in San Francisco; 
and David, a stonecutter in that city. 

Arcliibald Donald began when twelve 
years old to earn his own li\ing by work- 
ing in the dye works. Two years later he 
abandoned that and commenced to learn 
stonecutting, which proved to be his life 
work. A four years' apprenticeship made 
him thoroughly familiar with his trade, and 
he worked steadily at it till 1885, when he 
left his native land for the New W'orld. 

Mr. Donald spent some eighteen months 
in Minneapolis and St. I'aul before going to 
.\shland in the spring of 1887. His first 
employment there was in the building of St. 
Agnes' Catholic cliurch. one of the finest 
public buildings in .\shlancl. .\nother con- 
tract wliich he took soon after that was cut- 
ting stone for the Northern National liank, 
now known as the Shores' Bank. Most of 
the stone Iniildings whicii now ornament the 
city have been the work of Mr. Donald. 
Since 1890 he lias been in jjartnership with 
I'rank Tomlinson, under llic firm name of 
.\. Donald & Co., contracturs I'or general 
brick and stone work. Flis own present res- 
idence, a fine house of brick, trimmed with 
:stone, was erected in 1902. 

On Oct. 15. 1886, Mr. Donald and Miss 



Kate Connell were married in Minneapolis. 
Mrs. Donald was the daughter of William 
and Mary (Gourley) Connell, of I'aisley, 
Scotland. She has borne her husband four 
children, Mary, Martha, Jeanette and 
George. The family are connected with the 
Presbyterian church, of which Mr. Donald 
is one of the trustees. He is quite active 
socially, is a member of the Masonic fra- 
ternity, a Knight Templar, belongs to the B. 
P. O. E., and is president of the Burns Club, 
of Ashland, which celebrates annually the 
Burns anniversary. On these occasions ]\lr. 
Donald is regularly called upon to render 
some of the famous songs in Scotch dialect, 
which are always so dear to the hearts of 
all true Scotchmen. Since becoming a citi- 
zen of this country Mr. Donald has been a 
Republican and has been chosen by that par- 
ty to represent the Sixth ward for two years 
on the county board of supervisors. 

CHARLES ALEXANDER SH.WER 
is a well-known official of Washburn county, 
residing at Shell Lake. He was born in 
Osnabruck. Stcjrmont county, Ontario. Dec. 
I, 1864, son of William H. and Malvina E. 
( Hutchins) Shaver. 

William H. Shaver was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, whither his father had come from 
Germany. When a young man he moved to 
Canada, and was for a time a guard in the 
Kingston penitentiary. In 1872 he went to 
.\ugusta. Wis., where he dealt in grain, and 
later carried on the same business in Bald- 
win, Wis. He was then for two years book- 
kee])er for Ball & Culbertson, lumbermen, 
at Kempton, Wis. His death occurred at 
.\ugusta in 1889, when he was about sixty 
rears of- age. In politics he was a stanch 
Republican, and was always actively inter- 
ested in local affairs. He served as the first 
city clerk of Augusta. He was a member of 
the Baptist church. Mrs. Malvina E. 
(Hutchins) Shaver, who is still living in 
Augusta, aged seventy-two years, was born 
on the ocean, when her parents were emi- 
grating to .America. Her father was an 
iMiglishman. and her mother a native of Ire- 
lanil. William H. and Malvina E. (Hutch- 



346 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ins) Sliaver had a family of six sons and 
three daughters, as follows: John, of 
Brockville, Ontario; Ellen, Mrs. John Y. T. 
Smith, of Phoenix, Ariz.; James R., of Au- 
gusta, Wis. ; William A., of Burnett county, 
Wis.; Jennie A., Mrs. Seymour, of Austin, 
Minn. ; Bertha A., who died at Phoenix, 
Ariz., in 1882, aged' twenty years; Charles 
Alexander, mentioned below; George V. H., 
of Great Falls, Mont.; and Cecil E., of 
Juneau, Alaska. 

Charles A. Shaver attended the public 
school at Augusta, and in August, 1884, 
came to Shell Lake, where he was employed 
as assistant shipping clerk by the Shell Lake 
Lumber Company. He retained this posi- 
tion until 1893, where he was elected register 
of deeds, an office to which he has been five 
times reelected. Mr. Shaver has always 
been a Republican, and has been a delegate 
to Assembly, Senatorial and Congressional 
conventions. Soon after entering the regis- 
ter's oflice he began preparing a set of ab- 
stracts of Washburn county. In 1902 the 
Washburn County Abstract Company was 
incorporated, of which he has ever since 
been president and manager. The abstracts 
furnished by him are considered by good au- 
thorities the most complete of any in north- 
ern Wisconsin. 

On Jan. i, 1885, Mr. Shaver married 
Sylvia J. Newell, who was born in St. Paul, 
daughter of Francis S. and Sarah L. Newell, 
of Shell Lake, now of Kent. \\'ash., who 
came West from New York State ; her 
mother was a native of England. Five chil- 
dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Sha- 
ver, as follows: Archie L., Stella May, 
William W., Francis G. and Bertha Ellen. 
Mr. Shaver is a Mason, and has passed all 
the chairs in the local lodge and encami)- 
ment of Odd Fellows ; he also belongs to 
the Independent Order of Foresters and to 
the M. W. A. 

BENJAMIN W. PINK, an engineer 6n 
the Great Northern Railroad, residing in 
Superior, was born in New Liverpool, Que- 
bec, Aug. ig, 1861, a son of William and 
Mary (Forsyth) Pink, the former of whom 



was born in Hampshire, England, anil the 
latter in Ireland, but of Scotch parentage. 

For twenty-one years William Pink 
served in Her Majesty's army, and during 
this long period visited many parts of the 
world. He was discharged at Montreal, 
Canada, with the rank of sergeant-major of 
the 20th Foot, and settled in that locality 
as manager of a large estate for an Eng- 
lish gentleman. He received a pension 
from the British government for twenty 
years, and passed away after a long and 
active life at the age of seventy-seven. His 
wife lived to be seventy-six. Their family 
consisted of four children, of whom Benja- 
min was the youngest. 

Benjamin W. Pink passed his boyhood 
in his native town and received a practical 
education in the public schools. In 1876, 
when fifteen years of age, he removed with 
his parents to Athabaska, in the province o^ 
Quebec. Three years later he went to Mon- 
treal and lived there in a prominent family 
until June 25, 1880. At that time he lo- 
cated at Belleville, Out., and worked in the 
Grand Trunk shops until July 24, 1881, but 
the "States" had begun to appeal to him, as 
to so many others, as offering greater op- 
portunities, and two days after leaving the 
shops he started for Milwaukee, only a two 
days' journey from Belleville. After arriv- 
ing there he began Aug. i, 1 881, as fireman 
for the Chicago & Northwestern Road, run- 
ning between Milwaukee and Fond du Lac. 
For si.x years he remained with that com- 
pany, during that period also acting as en- 
gine despatcher in Milwaukee and running 
switch engines. 

In 1887 Mr. Pink accepted a position as 
fireman with the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & 
Western Railroad, but remained with it 
only one year. Arriving in West Superior 
Aug. 21, 1888, he found work at once with 
the Great Northern Road and has been con- 
nected with it ever since. For the first month 
he was fireman on an engine running out of 
Hinckley, and then in a similar capacity was 
located at West Superior for a year. In 
1890 he was appointed engineer, and for 
two years was operating a transfer engine 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



347 



between Superior and Duluth, while for sev- 
eral years afterwards he ran an extra and 
was on the fast freight ijetween Superior 
and St. Paul for three years. Since January, 
1899, he has been pulling a regular passen- 
ger train between Duluth and Cass Lake. 
For more than twenty years Mr. Pink has 
been in active railroad life, but during all 
this period he has had no serious mishap, a 
good proof of his efficiency. Two years 
after coming to West Superior Mr. Pink 
bought property there and erected his pres- 
ent commodious home at No. 2320 22d 
street, where he lives surrounded by all the 
comforts of life. When he built, the town 
was small, with no improvements north of 
Winter street, but his faith in its future has 
been well justified. 

In 1887, in Milwaukee, Mr. Pink was 
married to Miss Marion Whittaker, born in 
that city, daughter of William and Eliza- 
beth Whittaker. They have had five chil- 
dren, but one, Annie Laurie, died at the age 
of fourteen months. The other four are 
named Willie, Marion, Ralph and Francis. 
Mr. Pink is prominent in fraternal circles, 
and is connected with several lodges, being 
a member of Superior Lodge, No. 236, A. 
F. & A. M., which he joined in 1896; of 
Diamond City Chapter, No. 65, R. A. M. ; 
of B. P. O. E., No. 403, Superior Lodge, 
which he joined in 1899; ''"'1 "^ the B. of 
L. E. Mr. Pink's long railroad service be- 
speaks his proficiency in his own line of 
work, while socially the family are popular 
among all their actpiaintances. 

THOMAS BREHM. one of the early 
settlers of Greenwood township, Taylor 
county, is among the best known men of the 
locality and has been chosen supervisor of 
assessments and postmaster. 

Mr. Brehm was born in Germany in 
1844 and remained in that country until he 
was twenty-seven years old. He was edu- 
cated in the public schools of his native land 
and then apprenticed to a tailor to learn that 
trade. In 1871 he came to .\merica, and, 
landing in New York, remained there five 
years working at tailoring. He then re- 



turned to Germany, married, and made his 
home there for a few years, but finally de- 
cided to try America again, as that seemed 
to olYer a better field for him. He reached 
New York the second time in 1882, going on 
to Philadelphia, where he opened a tailor 
shop. 

After about a year there Mr. Brehm's 
health failed, and as he was advised by his 
physician to go West and try an out-of-door 
life, he sold out his place in Philadelphia, 
and in 1883 went to Wisconsin, where he 
has ever since remained. He took up a 
claim of eighty acres, a part of his present 
homestead, in Greenwood township, which 
was then not even broken by roads, and put- 
ting up a cabin, moved in with his wife and 
three children. At that time Mr. Brehm 
had very little means, and was not at all 
well, but he began on the work before hini 
with the system, thoroughness and practical 
good sense which have always characterized 
him, and in due time had his place in good 
shape. He now has about twenty-five acres 
cultivated, and has added many improve- 
ments of various kinds. He has increased 
his property holdings until he now has about 
400 acres in Greenwood township. In the 
spring of 1904 he built a flour and feed store 
in the village of Rib Lake, Wis., which he 
is now managing. His success has not been 
purely material, for the complete change in 
his mode of life soon restored his health. 

On returning to Germany in 1876 Mr. 
Brehm was married to Miss Kunigunda 
Hoffman, and their union was blessed with 
si.x children of whom Joseph and Henry 
were Ixirn in Germany. The other four chil- 
dren, named respectively Frank, Thomas, 
Fritz and Otto, were all l)orn in America. 

A Democrat in politics Mr. Brehm has 
been very active in local affairs and has had 
many ])ositions of trust urged upon him. 
In 1886 he was elected assessor for four 
years: in 1891 he was elected chairman of 
the town, and was reelected ten consecutive 
times. Before the expiration of the last 
term, in 1901, he was chosen by the county 
board the supervisor of assessments for a 
term of three years, an appointment which 



.348 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



necessitated his resignation as cliairman of 
the town board. With the exception of two 
years Mr. Brehm has served as justice of 
of the peace continuously since 1887, and 
for the past eight years he has been otticially 
connected with the schools of the township. 
On July 19, 1900, a postotitice was opened 
in the township and as Mr. Brehm was ap- 
pointed the first postmaster, the name of 
Brehm was given to the office by the depart- 
ment authorities. Mr. Brehm has also rep- 
resented his party in county and State con- 
ventions. 

Throughout his career Mr. Brehm has 
been an unusually independent official; fear- 
less in the discharge of his duties, he has 
always dared to do the right thing, and has 
invariably condemned the wrong. In pub- 
lic affairs as in his own private concerns, he 
is thoroughly practical, systematic in every 
detail, painstaking and careful, and he has 
won the confidence of his fellow citizens. 
Fraternally Mr. Brehm belongs to the U. 
W. A. His home is one of culture and in- 
dicates plainly the literary and musical 
tastes of its inmates. The family belong to 
the Catholic church. 

BEK7AMIN F. GRIMES is a prosper- 
ous farmer of Washburn county, whose 
eight years' experience proves conclusively 
that the soil of that county is not surpassed 
in productiveness by that of any other part 
of northwestern VVisconsin. Eight years 
ago Mr. Grimes settled on eighty acres of 
wild land, which he had purchased for $150. 
His only capital being the labor of his own 
hands, he put up a small log cabin into 
which he moved his family and began the 
work of development. Today he owns 320 
acres of land, of which seventy acres are 
under cultivation and 200 acres fenced for 
pa.sture. His improvements are the best in 
the county, his house being twenty-four by 
twenty-four feet in dimensions, with eigh- 
teen foot posts, and the other buildings in- 
clude two barns, granaries, blacksmith 
shop. etc. He has a small fruit orchard, 
full-blooded Poland China swine, twenty- 
five head of thoroughbred short horns and 
good horses. 



jNIr. Grimes is a native of Coshocton 
county, Ohio, born in 1846. When eight 
years of age he went to Iowa with his 
parents, Robert and Mary (Butler) Grimes, 
natives respectively of Pennsylvania and 
Ohio. His education was obtained mainly 
in the public schools. He was brought up 
on the farm and later learned the black- 
smith's trade in Green Valley, Iowa. Oct. 
I, 1864, when eighteen years of age, he en- 
listed in Company G, 8th Iowa V. I., and was 
transferred to the 3d Brigade, 3d Division, 
16th Army Corps, Canby's command, where 
he served until the end of the war. He was 
in the siege of Mobile, which lasted twenty- 
one days, and took part in a number of 
smaller engagements. He received his dis- 
charge July 21, 1865, at Mobile, and return- 
ing to Iowa took up his trade. He remain- 
ed in Iowa until October, 1869, when he 
went to Cottonwood county, Minn., where 
he followed his trade for five years. He 
then again returned to Iowa, remaining until 
the spring of 1886, when he moved to Sar- 
gent county, N. D., and settled on a farm 
near Straubville. There he engaged in 
farming and blacksmithing until the spring 
of 1894, when he came to Wisconsin and 
settled on his original eighty acres of wild 
land in Washburn county. He was the first 
to introduce sheep in the northern part of 
that county. 

On May 20, 1866 Air. Grimes married 
Phoebe A. Moore. They have had a family 
of eleven children, of whom nine are living, 
namely : Letta, Mrs. Smedes, of Minneiska, 
Minn. ; F. A., on a farm adjoining his fath- 
er's; Hattie, Mrs. Elder, of Washington; 
Daisy, Mrs. Campbell, also of Washington ; 
R. A., J. R., J. D., W. A. and Pearl, at 
home. R. A. Grimes owns 160 acres ad- 
joining his father's land, and J. R. Grimes 
owns an adjoining forty acres. The other 
two children were Jennie and Lottie, the 
latter the wife of \V. Kenoyer. In politics 
Mr. Grimes is a Republican, his first vote 
having been cast for Lincoln. Since coming 
to Washburn county he has served two terms 
as town supervisor and one term as justice 
of the peace, and was justice of the peace 
seven out of the eight vears that he lived in 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



34';». 



Xorth Dakota. Fraternally he is a membei" 
of i\athaniel Green Post, bheW Lake, and of 
the M. \V. A., being a charter member of 
Jack I'ine Camp, Xo. 8882. 

ANDREW E. OLSON, a successful 
contractor and builder of West Superior, 
Douglas county, is one of the many sons of 
Sweden who have done so much toward 
opening up the resources of the Northwest, 
and of Wisconsin in particular. He was 
born in Wanstad, Aialmo Lan, Sweden, 
Nov. 19, i860. His parents were Andrew 
and Caroline (Lilledahl) Olson, natives of 
the same locality, wiio lived there on a farm. 
Elis paternal grandfather, Ole Hendrickson, 
was also a farmer, while his mother's father. 
Axel Lilledahl, was a cabinet-maker at Tom- 
elilla, Sweden. Mrs. Caroline Olson is still 
hving, at the age of seventy-one years. Of 
the three sons and three daughters born to 
her, Andrew E. is the only one in America. 

Andrew E. Olson recei\"ed a common 
school education, and at the age of thirteen 
began to learn the trade of a cabinet-maker, 
serving an apprenticeship of four and a halt 
years. In 1880 he came to the United States 
and first spent some time in South Dakota 
on construction work for the Hastings and 
Dakota Railway. Later he worked for about 
a year at carpentering in Minneapolis, and 
then was occupied for six months at Still- 
water and at Brainerd in the repair shops of 
the Northern Pacific Road. In 1884 he lo- 
cated in Superior and Ijuilt one of tiie first 
houses in West Superior, which is still stand- 
ing, near the corner of John avenue and 
Sixtii street. He at once engageil in con- 
tracting and has put up many l)uildings in 
tlie city, among them being the .\gen Block, 
the Tow Block and a $40.0(X) addition to the 
Nelson Dewey sciiool in 1901. Tlie con- 
tracting firm is known as Berg & Olson, 
but aside from his work in partnersiiip Mr. 
Olson has erected a munber of buildings 
for iiimself, several of which lie still owns. 

In 1887 Mr. Olson was married, being 
united on April 7 of that year to Hannah 
Nelson, who was a native oi Kurchutt. Swe- 
den. Her father, Thomas Nelson, came to 



America in 1881, and in the next year his 
family followed him, locating m Superior. 
There j\ir. Nelson died, aged fifty-one, and 
his widow, Mrs. Anna Nelson, is now living 
in St. Paul. She was the daughter of a 
wealthy farmer of Sweden, Oke Okeson. 
Mr. and Mrs. Olson have five children, 
Henry, Martha, Anna, Albert and Elizabeth. 
The family are connected with the Pil- 
grim Lutheran church, which Mr. Olson 
helped to organize and in which he was. 
cashier and a member of the first board of 
trustees. Since becoming a citizen of this 
land. Air. Olson has been a Republican and 
has served as a member of the board of pub- 
lic works for three years and as street com- 
missioner for one. He is prominent in fra- 
ternal circles, being a charter member of 
Pokegama Lodge, K. P. and Whaleback 
Camp, M. W. A. He is a valuable citizen in 
the community and is highly esteemed. 

AIERWTN C. LINCOLN, a popular 
citizen of Washburn, and a faithful em- 
ploye of the Chicago, St. Paul, Alinneapolis 
& Omaha Railroad, is descended on both 
sides from some of the oldest families of the 
United States, and families who played an 
important part in the Colonial and Revolu- 
tionary history of the country. The first 
American ancestors of the Lincolns came 
from England in the early Colonial days and 
settled at Norton, Mass. Another progeni- 
tor, by intermarriage, was Capt. Daniel Car- 
lisle, who commanded a company of Conti- 
nental troops at the battle of Bunker Hill 
and served through the whole course of the 
war. 

Andrew J. Lincoln, father of Merwin 
C, was born at Putney, Vt., March 10. 
1815. He was named for the hero of New 
Orleans, who was just then at the zenith ot 
his popularity. Andrew J. Lincoln was edu- 
cated at the famous Phillips' Academy, at 
Exeter, N. H.. and after completing his 
work as a student, entered upon the profes- 
sion of teaching as a life work. In 1845 '^^ 
went to New Orleans for two years and 
taught in the W'ashington school. I^ter he 
taught in Louisville. Ky. In 1854 he lo- 



.350 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



cated at Hamilton, ill., and spent thirteen 
years there on a farm. .\.t different periods 
of his life he lived both in Kansas and in 
Rhode Island, and it was in the latter State 
that his death occurred in 1882. From the 
very organization of the party Mr. Lincoln 
was a Republican and always manifested a 
deep interest in matters of public import. 
Andrew J. Lincoln married Miss Calena 
Merwin, born in Milford, Conn., where her 
ancestors were among the original founders 
of the town. Her father, Anson Merwin, 
passed his whole life there on a farm, which 
was the family homestead, and which had 
been in possession of the family since ante- 
revolutionary days. Mrs. Calena M. Lin- 
coln died in the very prime of life in 1868, 
when she was only forty-three years old. 

Merwin C. Lincoln was born in Hamil- 
ton, 111., Jan. I, 1855, and until he was sev- 
enteen attended the public schools in that 
city, and also in Coventry, R. I., whither the 
family removed while he was still a student. 
After leaving school he was engaged in rail- 
road work, and for ten years was at Provi- 
dence in the telegraph department for the 
New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- 
road. In 1883 he left the East, and after 
a few months in Nebraska settled at .\sh- 
land. Wis. In the spring of 1884 he en- 
tered the employ of tlie Omaha Road, and 
was at first stationed at Drummond, Bay- 
field county, but the ne.xt year was trans- 
ferred to Washburn, and has since that time 
resided there as cashier for the company. 
His strict attention to business has secured 
for him the confidence of his employers, and 
the general uprightness and stability of his 
character have gained for him a wide-spread 
esteem and popularity. Like his father he 
has always been a good Republican, antl has 
displayed that interest in public affairs which 
is the duty of every citizen, but with no per- 
sonal aspirations for office. 

On Dec. 13, 1883, Mr. Lincoln was mar- 
ried to Elizabeth Briggs, and they have one 
child, Susan. Mrs. Lincoln was born in 
Bedford, Mass., where she was educated, 
and at the Providence high school, daughter 
of Joseph Wing and Sarah (Moshcr") 



Briggs. Joseph Briggs was the son of Hal- 
lett and Betsy (Wing) Briggs, and was 
born in Marion, Mass., where his ancestors 
had lived for many generations. x-\lways 
fond of the sea, he followed that calling 
from boyhood, and while still a yovmg man 
commanded a vessel in the coasting trade. 
The Wing family, to which Mrs. Lincoln's 
paternal grandmother belonged, were de- 
scended from the Rev. John Wing, a Re- 
formist clergyman, who died in England. 
His widow, Mrs. Deborah Wing, and her 
sons, John, Stephen and Daniel, came to 
America in 1637, and settled near Sandwich, 
Mass. There the family has been represent- 
ed ever since, many of them being Qua- 
kers. Reunions of the posterity of the 
three brothers are held every year in the old 
town with which the name has been so long 
associated. 

Sarah (Mosher) Briggs, the mother of 
Mrs. Lincoln, was born in Long Island, one 
of a large family born to \Varren Mosher, 
who was himself of German descent. 

BYRON GEORGE SEGOG, a prosper- 
ous business man of Duluth, is interested in 
\ari()us lines and owes his success in all of 
them to his energy, perseverance and good 
judgment of values. He has dealt in pine 
and mineral lands and is interested in min- 
ing enterprises, and he has also carried on 
an insurance business for a number of years. 

Mr. Segog was born May 6, 1858, in 
Jackson, Mich., son of George Byron Segog, 
who was a native of Dublin, Ireland, and 
came of a family long noted as breeders of 
live stock, several generations engaging in 
that business. The Segog breed of cattle is 
still famous about Dublin. About 1835 the 
parents of George B. Segog came to the 
United States with their family, locating in 
Spring Harbor, near Jackson, Mich., where 
they developed a fine farm. The parents 
both lived to be nearly ninety. 

Cjeorge Byron Segog became a merchant 
tailor at Jackson, Mich., whence he moved 
about i860 to Canandaigua, N. Y., at which 
place be died in t86i. aged forty-one years. 
Pie and his ])eo]ilc were Catholics in Ireland, 



LOMMEAIOUATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



351 



but after coming- to this country embraced 
the Presbyterian faith. He married Juha 
Ann Freer, a native of Pennsylvania, who 
died in 1866 at Canandaigua, N. Y., aged 
thirty-nine years, leaving two children, By- 
ron George and John, both now residents of 
Duluth. Mrs. Segog's father, Jacob Ereer, 
was of German descent, lived in Pennsyl- 
\ania, and was a blacksmith by occupation. 
One cousin, Mrs. Lottie Ross, of Muir, 
Mich., is the only relative the Segog broth- 
ers have in the United States. 

After his mother's death Byron G. Se- 
gog returned to Jackson, Mich., and spent 
a year or so on his grandfather's farm. 
When only nine years old he went to Lud- 
ington, Mich., and secured employment in 
a sawmill as water boj'. He followed lum- 
bering for several years during his youth 
and early manhood, meantime supplement- 
ing his early education with a course at 
Swinburg & Wilton's Business College, at 
Grand Rapids, Mich. In 1880 he came to 
Duluth and began dealing in pine lands, a 
business he has continued to follow to the 
present day. For some years past he has 
also dealt in mineral lands on the ranges of 
St. Louis county, and since 1887 he has been 
general agent for the Northwestern Life In- 
surance Company of Milwaukee, for Cook, 
Lake and St. Louis counties. 

in 1886 Mr. Segog married Miss Mar- 
tha Oleson, who was born in Vermland, 
Sweden, and came to tlie United States in 
1870 with her parents. Nils and Christina 
Oleson, who made their home at White 
Cloud, Mich. Four of the children born to 
this union survive, Ray Franklin, Gladys 
Martina, and Dorotliy and Dwight, twins. 
Byron George, Jr., died in 1896, at the age 
of nine years. The family attend the Pres- 
byterian church. Mr. Segog is a Scottish 
Rite Mason, is prominent in the K. of P., 
and is also an active mcml)er of the B. P. O. 
E. In recent years he has given his support 
to the Republican party, but he has never 
been particularly active in political matters. 

ALEXANDER McOUII.LAX. one of 
the earliest settlers at Washburn, r«avficld 



county, was born in County Armagh, Ire- 
land, in August, 1844, son of Alexander and 
Fanny (Quitters) McQuillan, who lived 
and died in Ireland, reaciiing old age on 
their farm. 

Alexander ^IcOuillan received a com- 
mon school education, and from the age of 
sixteen years earned his own living. In 
1864 he came to the United States and lived 
for some years in New York and Baltimore. 
In the latter place he was employed in the 
constniction of the city water works. 
Thence Mr. McQuillan went to La Porte, 
Ind.. and worked on the construction of the 
Lake Shore & Alichigan Southern Railroad 
until 1872, in which year he went to Wis- 
c<jnsin. He was employed there in railroad 
construction again for the Wisconsin Cen- 
tral between Stevens Point and Ashland and 
li\-ed tirst in .Vshland and ilien later in But- 
ternut. 

In Butternut Mr. McQuillan took up a 
homestead claim and finally opened a gro- 
cery store there, being one of the first deal- 
ers m the place. About 1887 he remo\-ed to 
Washburn and continued in the grocery busi- 
ness for a couple of years. .After that, how- 
ever, he was employed by the Bigelow 
Lumber Company, antl its successor, the Ed- 
ward Hines Lumber Company. 

Mr. McQuillan was married in 1868 to 
Martha Lee, daughter of Johnson and Mar- 
garet (Bodel) Lee, of County Armagh, 
Ireland. To this union have come three 
children : Jemima,' now Mrs. W. G. Davis, 
(It Seattle, Wash.; Haywo(j(l, who died in 
Washburn in 1890, aged nineteen years, 
four months and twenty-one days; and 
Thomas, who died in infancy. Mr. and 
Mrs. McQuillan reside in a two-story build- 
ing which Mr. McQuillan erected on first 
going to \\'ashburn, to serve as both store 
and home. Since then he built another res- 
idence, but sold it. 

Politically Mr. McQuillan is a Republi- 
can. For some years he has been a mem- 
ber of the I. O. O. F. an<l also belongs to 
the M. W. A. \\'ith his wife he is a com- 
municant of the Episcopal church. Mr. 
McOuillan's life has been one of usefulness, 



352 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



and he has won his way by industry, good 
judgment and honorable business methods, 
to a place of high esteem among his neigh- 
bors. 

CURRIE G. BELL. A long and Aaried 
experience in public life has given this well 
known citizen of Bayfield a wide acquaint- 
ance in political circles, and for years he has 
been one of the advisers of the Republican 
party in this region, while as editor of the 
Bayfield County Press he wields an influence 
reaching far beyond the limits of his personal 
touch with men. 

Mr. Bell comes of Colonial ancestors, 
.through both his grandfather and grand- 
mother. The paternal grandfather, John 
Bell, was of Scotch descent, was a ship car- 
penter in early life, but later became a farmer 
and was one of the first settlers of Houlton, 
Maine. The story is told of him that in 
company with a certain William \\'hite he 
bought a grindstone in Woodstock, N. B., 
made it into a wheelbarrow, and so conveyed 
the first barrel of flour into Houlton. Mr. 
Bell in later years became a selectman of the 
town, as did also Mr. White. John Bell 
married Elizabeth White, of English descent, 
and their son Charles, was the father of 
Currie G. Bell. 

Charles E. Bell during his residence in 
Maine was both a logger and a merchant, 
but after going West in 1864 he confined 
himself to a mercantile career. He settled 
first in Marshall, Dane Co., Wis., where he 
was in business nearly twenty years. He 
established himself in Washburn in 1S83. 
the vear of its settlement, and was one of 
the leading merchants of the place until his 
retirement from business a few years ago. 
His first wife was Georgiana Currie, and bv 
this marriage there were five children, of 
whom only Currie G. survives. Mrs. Bell 
died in 1868, aged forty-four years; and her 
husband some years later chose for his wife 
Eloise C. Clayton. 

Currie G. Bell was born July i, 1852, 
in Houlton, Maine, and received his educa- 
tion in Houlton. and in Marshall academy. 
After graduating from the latter in i85S. 
he went to the Pennsylvania oil regions 



where he was employed for several years, 
and in 1879 he came to Wisconsin and en- 
tered upon his editorial career, beginning 
with the Waterloo Journal, a Republican 
organ, which he successfully conducted there 
a number of years, an unusual induction into 
journalism. Selling the Journal in 1882 he 
came to Bayfield and bought the Press, a 
paper established Oct. i, 1S59, by Joseph H. 
Campbell, with Rev. William B. McKee as 
its edit(jr. The Press was a successor to the 
Mereury, established in 1857 by Hamilton 
& Hatch, of Washington, D. C., who received 
a bonus from the Bayfield Land Company to 
induce them to launch the enterprise. The 
Press suspended publication after two and 
a half years, and the material was purchased 
by S. S. Vaughn, then of Bayfield, but it 
was not until 1870 that the publication was 
resumed. Then Sam S. and Hank O. 
Eifield bought the plant and under their 
management it was conducted two years in 
Bayfield, after which they moved the outfit 
to Aslilaiid, and continued publication until 
Jan. 1, 1877. Then Sam S. Fifield brought 
the ofiice back to Ba}-field and again issued 
the paper there with ^lorris Edwards as busi- 
ness manager. In the spring of 1879 D. E. 
Stinchfield became editor and manager, and 
continued as such until April I, 1880, when 
the plant was pin'chased from Eifield by 
Isaac H. Wing. 2\Ir. Stinchfiekl remained 
as editor until the spring of 1881, when he 
was succeeded by D. H. Pulsifer, who held 
it until 1882, when the plant was purchased 
by the present publishers. The Press has 
always been Republican in its politics. Since 
Mr. Bell assumed the ownership, it has been 
conducted under his personal super\ision and 
is thoroughlv u]) to date. 

I'nder the l\e])nlilican-^ Mr. Bell has licen 
the incumbent of a number of responsible 
])()sitions, in all of which he has displayed 
nuich ability. Under Pres. Garfield he was 
given the appointmcat of recei\-er of pulilic 
money in the Bayfield land di.strict during 
that administration. .\t the expiration of 
Cleveland's term b.e was a])pointed post- 
master at Bayfield. Under Harrison's ad- 
ministration he served until the second elec- 
tion of Pres. Cleveland, when Mr. Bell again 




CURRIE G. BELL 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



353 



fell uiuler the displeasure oi a Democratic 
presiilent. During i'rcsiiienl Harrison's 
lirst campaign Mr. Bell was hontjreil ijy toe- 
ing chosen presidential elector. Mr. Bell was 
chairman of the town Ixiard seventeen years, 
during thirteen of which he was also chair- 
man of the county board. .\s a member of 
the Wisconsin Fish Commission he was in- 
strumental in securing the location of the 
lirst fish hatchery, the largest in the world, 
two and a half miles from Bayfield, estab- 
lished in 1896. The Commission owns 600 
acres of land and controls ten miles of 
natural trout stream, together with a lake 
frontage. 

Mr. Bell is a member of the Republican 
State Central Committee and has always 
taken an active interest in ])olitical matters, 
national, State and local, and has been a 
delegate to all conventions, having a voice 
in the councils of his party. He is also a 
member of the County Central l\c[)ublican 
Committee. 

Mr. Bell is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, having membership in Bayfield 
Lodge, No. 215. .\shland Chapter, and the 
Commanderv : the Milwaukee Lodge of 
I':iks; and the I. O. O. F., Harbor City 
Lodge, Xo. 69, of Bayfield, Wisconsin. 

Mr. Bell has been twice married. His 
first wife was Miss Addah E. Iniller. of Mar- 
shall. Wis., whom he marrietl in 1878. His 
second marriage occurred in 1891, when he 
was united with Miss Mary R. Roberts, of 
New York. Of the children born to Mr. 
I>ell three are living: Georgie C, now 
Mrs. L. A. Helwig; Barbara M. ; and 
Donald C. One other child, Currie D., is 
deceased. The family are attendants upon 
the Methodist Episcopal and the Episcopal 
Churches. 

JOHX DUXLOP, who is now manager 
of the boarding cars of the Wisconsin divi- 
sion of the Chicago. St. Paul, Minneapolis 
& Omaha Railroad, is a highly respected 
and well known pioneer at Hawthorne, Dou- 
glas county, having located there in May, 
1889. His was one of four families that 
settled there at that time, these constituting 
the first settlers of the place. At that time 



the region ruuudabout had been undisturbed 
in its primitive condition. Inilians were 
numerous and the woods abounded in all 
kinds of game. 

Mr. Diinlop is a native of the Dominion 
of Canada, having been born in Count}' 
Ramsey, Ont., (_Jct. 31, J 855. He wa.-- 
reared on the farm, receiving only a com- 
mon school education. Jn 1874 he settled in 
Xewaygo counlv, Mich., where he found 
employment in the woods, supplementing 
that work by operating two threshing ma- 
cliines during the season. 

While li\ing in Xewaygo county, John 
Dunlop was united in marriage with Miss 
Mary E. Eady, their marriage being cele- 
brated May 24, 1883. In 1889, accompan- 
ied by his wife and two children, he came 
to Douglas county, settling at Hawthorne, 
as above stated. For the first few years 
Hawthorne was composed of a few log huts, 
the conveniences of civilization having been 
slow in penetrating into the densely wooded 
\\ isconsin wilds. Gradually, however, these 
conditions were displaced and in their stead 
have arisen the improved order of things 
which now exists there. Mr. Dunlop ac- 
cepted the position of foreman for Alexan- 
der Dunlap, a lumberman, who that year es- 
tablished a logging camp at Hawthorne and 
for two years he very creditably discharged 
the duties of the position. During the years 
1891 and 1892 he constructed the present 
hotel structure in Hawthorne, which, when 
completed, he opened up as a hostelry, and 
as "mine host" for ten succeeding years ca- 
tered to the public. During that time, how- 
ever, he was associated in a co-partnership 
with a Mr. Efaw, carrying on a general mer- 
cantile business for four years, when he .sold 
his interest to his partner. He likewise en- 
tered into agricultural pursuits, buying 28u 
acres of land adjacent to the village, about 
forty of which is cleared and being brought 
to a state of liigii cultivation. He also 
bought thirty village lots. Selling his hotel ■ 
property, he bought his present modern resi- 
dence, with delightful surroundings. con.sti- 
tuting as pretty and homelike a place of its 
kind as any in Douglas county. His home 
is replete with all modern conveniences tln^ 



354 



COxMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



inner eiiibellishments being of a character 
that denote the excehent taste and culture of 
the family. In 1899 ^^^- Dunlop was ten- 
dered the management of the boarding train 
on the Wisconsin Division of the "Omaha" 
Railroad, which position he accepted and has 
creditably tilled to the present. Mr. Dunlop 
is a gentleman of exceptionally good habits; 
he possesses good business acumen and in all 
his affairs, of whatever character, he evinces 
and carries out the principle of the Golden 
Rule. Fraternally he is a member of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Termi- 
nal Lodge, No. T,^/, and of the Knights of 
the Maccabees, Hawthorne Tent. 

It may not be out of place to mentit)n 
here that according to Mrs. Dunlop,- the 
name of Hawthorne, as given to the village, 
was suggested by Mrs. Roberts, wife of the 
ex-county judge of Douglas county, to com- 
memorate the famous author, Nathaniel 
Hawthorne. 

GEORGE HERBERT GILL. Among 
the many railroad men with headquarters at 
Superior, Douglas county, is George H. 
Gill, a locomotive engineer on the Great 
Northern Railroad. 

Mr. Gill was born in Cornwall, England, 
Dec. 21, 1859, the son of John and Sarah 
(Coins) Gill, natives of Cornwall, whose 
families have lived in that locality for se\-- 
eral generations. John Gill was engaged in 
tin and copper mining there, and later was 
captain of a mine at Beachaven, Ireland. He 
died in Cornwall in 1862. when only fifty- 
two years old. His wife lived to be seventy- 
three years of age, passing away Feb. 10, 
1895. She was the mother of thirteen chil- 
<lren. While all of them grew to maturity, 
only two of them are now living, George 
H.'and Mrs. Warne, of St. Paul. 

George H. Gill attended the public 
schools in Cornwall until he was fourteen, 
when he began to learn the trade of machin- 
ist in the shops of the Great Western Rail- 
road at Par, Cornwall. Three years later 
he came to the United States and secured 
employment as a fireman with the St. Paul. 
Minneapolis & Manitoba Railroad. After 



nearly four years of this work he was given 
charge of an engine and remained with the 
company five years more as an engineer. 
The next two years he was with the Chicago, 
Burlington & Northern, and then in 1889 
went to West Superior in the employ of the 
Great Northern Railroad. He has remained 
with it ever since and is now one of the old- 
est engineers at that point, running a pas- 
senger train from Duluth to Virginia, Min- 
nesota. 

Mr. Gill was married in July, 1884, to 
Clara Weingreil, who was born in Carlsruhe, 
Baden, Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Gill have 
two daughters, Sadie and Florence. The 
family attend the Episcopal church and are 
highly esteemed by all who know them. Mr. 
Gill is a Republican in politics, and in his 
social affiliations is a member of the Royal 
Arcanum and of the Brotherhood of Loco- 
motive Engineers, of Nemadje Division, No. 
29, where he holds an important office. 

F. E. MUNROE, county clerk of Rusk 
county, and one of her prominent and sub- 
stantial citizens, was born in 1867 in Rock 
county. Wis., where he lived until the age 
of five years. His parents then removed to 
Adams county, where he lived until his six- 
teenth birthday, obtaining his education in 
the public schools. 

In 1883 Mr. Munroe went to Montello, 
Wis., where he entered the office of the Mon- 
tello Express, where he served an appren- 
ticeship of three years, remaining in the 
same office a year and a half longer. Upon 
his return to Adams county he became con- 
nected with the Adams county Press, at 
Friendship, and continued with that journal 
for two and a half years. His next business 
engagement was four years with the Tubbs 
Laboratory Printing Company, of River 
Falls. In April, 1895, he came to Chippe- 
wa, now Rusk, county and located at Apol- 
lonia, where he established the Budget, a 
six-column quarto Republican newspaper, 
which he ably conducted for six years. Upon 
his appointment as county clerk in 1901, he 
sold his paper and entered upon the duties 
of his new office, to which he has been re- 



COMMEiMORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



355 



elected. During his residence at Apoilonia 
he served one term as town clerk, rive years 
as justice of the peace and the same period 
as school clerk, his administration of the 
duties of all these otifices being satisfactory 
in every particular. In 1895 he began the 
agitation which resulted in the division of the 
county, and kept it up until the object de- 
sired was accomplished. He made use of 
both pen and personal effort and appeared 
three times before the State Legislature. 
Mr. Munroe thus deserves much credit for 
a measure which has resulted in great bene- 
rit for all concerned in this section. 

l'"raternally ]\lr. Munroe is prominently 
identihed with the I. O. O. F. In 1892 he 
joined Lodge 199, at River Falls, and now 
belongs to Ladysmith Lodge, No. 1 19, and 
to the Encampment in Ladysmith. He be- 
longs also t(j the Modern \\ oodmen at Ap- 
oilonia and to the Mystic Workers of Lady- 
smith. 

In 1893 Mr. Munroe was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Crystal Ensign, and they 
have one son, Harry. Mr. Munroe is one of 
the leading citizens of this section and has 
done yeoman work in advancing the inter- 
ests of Rusk county. His abilities are rec- 
ognized and have been justly rewarded. 

WILLIAM E. KERX, a prominent 
Democrat, and the proprietor of the Duluth 
Steam Laundiy. was born in Millheim, Cen- 
ter Co.. Pa.. Nov. 13, i860. His parents, 
John and Susan (Emerick) Kern, were lx)th 
natives of the same county. So far as is 
known the grandparents on both sides were 
likewise born in Center county. Both fam- 
ilies were of Dutch stock, and emigrated 
from Holland previ(jus to the Revolution, 
settling in Pennsylvania. John Kern was a 
shoemaker, and combined that trade with 
farming throughout his life. He and his 
wife were the parents of eight children: 
William E.. Robert (deceased). Milton. 
Lizzie. Frank. Jeremiah. Anna and a child 
that died in infancy. The mother is still 
living, but the father died in 1897. 

William E. Kern passed his boyhood in 
his native town, where he attended the sub- 



scription schools and the public schools, se- 
curmg a good education in the English 
branches, while by studying Saturdays and 
by night he acquired a usetul knowledge of 
Cerniau. \\ hen he was nineteen he left 
home and went to Freeport, III, where he 
entered the shops of the Stover Manufactur- 
ing Company and learned the molder's 
trade. He followed that trade in Freeport 
for rive years, most of the time with the 
Stover Manufacturing Company. In 1885, 
a year after his marriage, Mr. Kern moved 
to Duluth, then a city of about 30,000 in- 
habitants. He had established himself in 
the laundry business the year before leaving 
Freeport, and on going to Minnesota he fol- 
lowed up his previous beginning. He es- 
tablished his laundry on First avenue east 
and Superior street, where he remained until 
a rire on the adjoining property cut off his 
water supply and compelled him to move. 
He re-established himself, however, at once, 
at Xo. 524 West Superior street and re- 
mained there till 1892. By that time West 
Duluth, then a separate municipality, was 
building up rapidly and offered a good held 
for business. So Mr. Kern bought out 
Rand & Barr, who had a small plant at No. 
16 South 57th avenue west, greatly im- 
proved it. putting in new laundry machinery 
and brought it into line with the best con- 
cerns in the city. He employs from fifteen to 
thirty people, according to the season, and 
by his honorable business methods and care- 
ful work has merited the large patronage 
which has fallen to his share. 

Mr. Kern was married before leaving 
Freeport, in 1884, when he was united to 
Miss Nellie F. Nolan, of that cit)-. They 
are the parents of four daughters. Frances, 
b'lorence. Sadie and Ruth Bryan. 

In politics Mr. Kern has always been a 
Democrat, and since residing in Duluth has 
taken quite an active part in the city's af- 
fairs. In February. 1892. he was elected to 
the city c<iuncil from the Eighth ward. The 
first year he was chairman of the committee 
on Harbors. Docks and Ferries, and a mem- 
ber of the Police and Firemen's committee 
and of the Claims committee. The next vear 



356 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



he was made chairman of tlie committee 
on Harbors, Parks and Roads and served 
on those of Bridges, Viaducts and Ferries, 
and of Police and Licenses. He has also at 
various times been a delegate for his party 
at various State and county conventions, and 
for several years was a member of the Dem- 
ocratic county committee. Fraternally Mr. 
Kern belongs to Euclid Lodge, F. & A. M., 
to the K. P., and the A. O. U. \V. 

HENRY MILLS, formerly of Superior, 
Douglas county, ranked until recently as 
one of the oldest employes of the Northern 
Pacific Railroad Company, in the region at 
the Head of the Lakes, 

Mr. Mills was born in Southam, War- 
wickshire, England, Jan. 27, 1857, son of 
James and JNIary Ann (Blundell) Alills. 
The former was a native of that same local- 
ity and died there in 1896, at the age of 
seventy-eight. The mother was born in 
Birmingham. Her father was pressed into 
the British army at the age of fourteen, and 
took part in Wellington's campaign. While 
in Spain he was married and some of his 
children were born in that country. At the 
battle of Waterloo he w-as wounded and his 
death was really due to the injuries received 
at that time. Airs. ]\Iills is now living at 
Leamington, in Warwickshire, nearly ninety 
years old. She was the mother of five sons 
and two daughters, as follows : William, 
who died near Sydney, New South Wales, 
in 1894; Thomas, of New Zealand; John, 
deceased in New Zealand in 1894; Henry; 
Hannah, who is married and lives in Eng- 
land; Arthur J., of Superior; and Ellen, 
now Mrs. .\shburn, of Leamington, Eng- 
land. 

Henry Mills attended the public schools 
of his native place until he was twelve years 
old. At that time he began work on rail- 
road construction and has followed that line 
ever since. In i88r he came to the United 
States, and entered the employ of the North- ' 
ern Pacific Railroad Company, which was 
then putting in its tracks between Superior 
and Carlton, Minn. Later he became first 
section foreman at Superior, and remained 



in the employ of the company until 1905 — 
the oldest employe in the track work in the 
region. During the summer of 1905 he ac- 
cepted a position as road master for the M. 
& I. R. R., and is located at Bemidji, Minn. 
In 1878 Mr. Mills married Mary Ann 
Walton, daughter of George and Mary Ann 
\Valton, of Denshaw, Yorkshire, England. 
The family left England and settled in Su- 
perior three years after the daughter's mar- 
riage. In 1886 Mr. Mills started a home- 
stead claim near Superior, where he now has- 
a farm of 120 acres. He has also a com- 
fortable residence in Superior. The Mills, 
family are connected with the Presbyterian 
Church, and have many friends among the 
residents of "Old Superior.'' 

JOHN A. LOGAN, county surveyor for 
Taylor county and a resident of Medford, is- 
a man of wide experience, for not only has. 
he engaged in a variety of occupations^ 
which would of itself broaden one's knowl- 
edge of men, but he has also lived in different 
sections of the coimtrv and reaped the ad- 
vantages of travel. Pie was born in Mar- 
tintown, township of Charlottenburg^ 
County of Glengarry, Province of Ontario, 
April 18, 1841. His father was John Logan, 
who married Miss Margaret Wiseman. 

Dr. Alexander Logan, of Scotland, the 
grandfather, a surgeon in the army of the 
Duke of Wellington, was in the battle of 
Waterloo, assisted by his son, John, also a 
surgeon. John Logan was born near Edin- 
burgh and studied medicine in that city. He- 
went to Montreal when a young man and did 
further medical work there in McGill Col- 
lege. He also practiced there before going 
to Martintown, where he spent the rest of his 
life. He added later to his early glimpse 
of military life by acting as drill sergeant 
of Canadian troops at the time of the Pap- 
ineau-Mackenzie rebellion. Dr. Logan owned 
n farm in Roxborough, where he made his 
home and where his death occurred in 1874, 
at the age of eighty-four. 

Mrs. Margaret Logan survived her hus- 
band until January, 1901. when she passed 
away in the eighty- seventh year of her'age- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



357 



in the towiLshii) of I'incli. CduiUv nf Stor- 
mont. Out., which was also lier hirtliplace. 
She was a daugiiter of WilHam and Lucy 
(McMillan) Wiseman, pioneer citizens of 
the county. j\Ir. Logan comes from a long 
hved race, for his maternal grandmother, a 
native of Inverness, Scotland, lived to he 
1 06 years old, while iier father, Hughie Mc- 
Millan, reached the age of 112. He was a 
pioneer of Ontario, and died in Locheil, 
County of Glengarry. 

John A. Logan received a common school 
education, and while still a yontli worked to 
a certain extent at civil engineering. On 
reaching manhood he was employed in the 
lumber industry and cut square timber for 
the London and Liverpool markets. In the 
sprin.g of 1876 he went to the Pacific coast 
and for over four years was engaged in min- 
ing in California, during that time traveling- 
over most of the State. 

In the fall of 1880 Mr. Logan left the 
far West and going to Wisconsin settled the 
next year at Med ford. Eor a while he kept 
a hotel, hut spent most of his time in the 
woods, surveying lands and estimating and 
scaling timber. In one season he estimated 
152,000 acres of timber lands and his esti- 
mates are noted among all lumbermen in 
Northern Wisconsin for their accuracy. He 
has al.so bought and sold consideral)le land. 
Since 1894 Mr. Logan has been county sur- 
veyor, and his report sent into the I'nited 
States Geological Survey, published in the 
report of i8g6, showing the magnetic de- 
clination in Taylor county, was pronounced 
by the compilers the most complete and satis- 
factory sent in from any county in the State. 

On Jan. i. 1870. Mr. Iy>gan was married 
to Miss Catherine Ferguson, who was born 
in the township of Kenyon, Glengarry, Ont. 
She was the daughter of Peter Ferguson, 
a farmer in Ontario, but a native of Johns- 
town, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Logan are tlie 
parents of four children, but have lost one 
son. This .son. .Mexander. the eldest, was 
a conductor on the Chicago & Northwestern 
Railroad, and was killed. May 8. 1000. in 
an accident at Bessemer. Mich., when he was 
twenty-six rears old. The other children 
are : John Peter ; Victoria, a teacher in 



Medford ; and Nellie, a graduate of the Med- 
ford high school. The family are connected 
with the Methodist Church. 

Mr. Logan takes little interest in politics. 
Fraternally he belongs tt) Medford Lodge, 
No. 292, I. O. O. F. He is much liked per- 
sonally, and his known ability and sound 
judgment have ,given him a position nf in- 
fluence among his fellows. 

HON. .\XDREW RYAX, publisher of 
the Washburn County Rci^istcr. is one of the 
influential citizens of Shell Lake. He is a 
native of Ireland, where he was torn in 
July, i860, son of Martin and Mary (Cirif- 
hn) Ryan, who passed their lives in that 
country. For many hundred years the Ry- 
ans have been farming people in Ireland. 

Andrew Ryan attended the national 
schools in his native place, and in 1879 came 
to the L'nited States. After spending six 
weeks with his uncle, John B. Ryan, in La- 
fayette county. Wis., he became an employe 
of the Chicago. Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail- 
road, spending some time with that road on 
construction work in Wisconsin, and in Iowa 
on the line between Okoboji and Spirit Lake. 
Later he went to the Twin Cities, where he 
found employment on the Chicago. Portage 
& Superior Railroad — better known as the 
Air Line — as store keeper, for F. L. Erick- 
son, who had a twenty-mile contract, near 
what is now Superior Junction. The fail- 
ure of this concern left him. in common 
with all the employes, penniless, but the 
ignorant laborers held him responsible and 
threatened to mob him. The rioters, who 
attempted to tear down the bridges on the 
Omaha road, took possession of "the head- 
quarters camp," where they lived on the 
stores of provisions, until ofifered employ- 
ment on that road, which was buildin.g a line 
to Superior to compete with the defunct 
.\ir Line. For a mniiber of years Mr. Ryan 
was employed by the Omaha road, in various 
capacities: he was for a time in the camj) at 
Solon Springs, then store keeper for the 
same contractor, and later he had charge of 
supnlies for Mullen & Prince, contractors, 
during the construction of the Rice Lake 
road, and was located at Rice I^ake and 



358 



COMMEMORATR'E ElOGRArHICAL RECORD 



Shell Lake. He was subsequently baggage 
man at Spooner for several years. In the 
autumn of 1888 he was elected sheriff of 
Washburn county, serving as such for two 
years, and since that time has resided in 
Shell Lake. Meantime he had studied law, 
and in 1890 he bought the Washburn County 
Register, which had previously been pub- 
lished at Spooner, removing the plant to 
Shell Lake, where he continued to publish 
it. This paper was established in 1889, by 
Bert Pease, and published later by Bond & 
Kitchen. Under the able management of 
Mr. Ryan it has become one of the best local 
papers in Northern Wisconsin, and the print- 
ing establishment includes facilities for. do- 
ing all kinds of job work. Soon after es- 
tablishing his paper Mr. Ryan built the first 
telephone line in Washburn county, and now 
operates a local exchange, with long dis- 
tance connection over the Bell telephone 
lines. In 1895 lie started the Spooner 
Register, which he also printed in Shell 
Lake, and which was later printed and pub- 
lished by J. G. Adams, at Spooner and is 
now merged in the Advocate of that place. 
He has invested largely in farming and wild 
lands, and does considerable real estate busi- 
ness. He has about 100 acres under cultiva- 
tion, and is introducing thoroughbred live 
stock. Since 1884 Mr. Ryan has been jus- 
tice of the peace, doing most of the business 
in that line at the county seat now ; and since 
1884 he has been a notary public, his first 
commission being signed by Gov. Jeremiah 
M. Rusk. Since coming to Wisconsin he 
has been a Republican, though he has been 
elected sheriff on the Democratic ticket. 

In Jaiuiary, 1891, Mr. Ryan married 
Kate Rafferty, daughter of Patrick Rafferty, 
of Rock Island, 111.; they have one child, 
Roger. 

HON. PETER A. ANDERSEN, one 
of the large landowners and old and es- 
teemed residents of Burnett county, Wis., 
is now residing in the village of Grantsburg, 
where he is engaged in looking after his in- 
vestments. He was born in northern Nor- 
way, Prestigeld Hases, June 14, 1823, son 



of Anders Pettersen and Magrete Ander- 
sen, natives of the same country. 

Anders Pettersen was a carpenter by 
trade and also followed farming in his na- 
tive country. He and his wife came to- 
America in 1866, and spent the remainder of 
their lives with their children, he dying aged 
eighty-eight years, and she in her ninety- 
sixth year. They were members of the M. 
E. Church. Mr. and Mrs. Anders Pettersen 
had these children : Eliza, widow of Jens- 
Christopher, of Burnett county; Peter A., 
our subject; Hans, a retired farmer of 
Grantsburg ; George, a farmer of that place ; 
Martin, deceased, who was a farmer; Han- 
nah, who married Martin Johnson, of Bur- 
nett county; Nellie, deceased, wife of Nils 
Juel; and Mary, deceased, who was the wife 
of Isak R. Isakson, also deceased. 

Peter A. Andersen had but little oppor- 
tiniity for an education, attending only three 
months at a confirmation school. As a boy 
he worked hard, learning the carpenter trade 
with his father, and later shoemaking, and 
still later the trade of a stone mason. This 
he followed during the summer time, while 
in the winter he carried on fishing. He was 
married (first) Oct. 2t,, 1846, to Anna 
INIartha Elinasen, born in Norway April 
6, 1825, who died Sept. 18, 1877, leaving 
Mr. Andersen seven children of the eight 
born to them : Elen Marie, born Aug. 4, 
1847, married Percy Hickerson, of Grants- 
burg; Peter C, born March 28, 1849, died 
April 8, 1864; Sophia, born March 23. 1851, 
married Ole Bradstad, of Grantsburg; An- 
drew M.. born May 12, 1855, married Ella 
Johnson, and is in the livery business in 
Grantsburg; Lars, born Nov. 27, 1859, is a 
miner and machinist of Idaho ; Petra 
Amalia, born June 15, 1857, married Mich- 
ael Haavde; Anna M., bom Nov. 12, 1864, 
married Helmer Johnson, of Burnett county. 
Wis.; Peter C, torn Nov. 27, 1866. married 
Johanna Larson. 

Mr. Anderson's second marriage was to- 
Helen D. Andersen, Ixirn in Norway, widow 
of Stephen Christopher, who came to- 
America with Mr. Andersen and died in 
1869 at St. Croix Falls, Wis. Mrs. Ander- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL Rl-.CUKD 



359 



sen had these cliililren: Hoover C, a prom- 
inent business man of St. Croix I""alls, is the 
proprietor of a hotel, and operates a carpen- 
tershop and lumber yard ; Peter A., of Polk 
county, Wis., is engaged in farming; Chris- 
topher is a merchant of Seattle, Wash. ; Al- 
bert is a merchant in Washington ; Martin 
is a real estate man of Washington : Tena, 
deceased, passed away in 1884, aged eight- 
een years. 

On July 29. 1 86 1, Mr. .Vndersen and his 
wife and family started for .\merica on a 
sailing vessel, the trip, although it was a 
good one, consuming twelve weeks. He 
was agent for the ship "Haval Haarfager," 
of Toensherg. They landed at Quebec, 
Canada, whence they made their way by 
boat to Milwaukee, Wis., from where they 
went to St. Croix Falls, W^is., and there 
they settled down. At that time St. Croix 
Falls was but a small settlement, and here 
Mr. Andersen found employment at cut- 
ting wood and at the stonemason trade. 
There he remained until 1863, in which year 
he came to Burnett county, locating where 
the village of Grantsburg now stands, and 
took up 160 acres of land. There was noth- 
ing of the village then built, and Mr. An- 
dersen erected the first shanty for C. Ander- 
sen, the first white settler of the count}-. 
Mr. Andersen erected a log cabin, 16 x 2J. 
one and one-half stories, lived in it ten years, 
and then built a house 40 x 30, two stories 
high. He finally removed to Grantsburg. 
Mr. Andersen has cleared about 140 acres. 
He owns 160 acres just south of Grantsbiu'g, 
forty acres just north of the village in lots, 
and five dwelling houses. He built his pres- 
ent liome in 1893. 

Mr. .Xndersen was a member of the first 
county board of Burnett county, being ap- 
pointed by the governor in 1864, and later 
served on that lK«rd for eight years. He 
was justice of the peace for one year, con- 
stable for one year, sheriff for one term, and 
a memljer of the village council for eight 
years. Judge Andersen is a Republican. 
Religiously he is connected with the M. E. 
Church of Grantsburg. 



EDWARD MATTOON, one of the 
oldest residents of South Superior, was born 
at Redford, Clinton Co., N. Y., Oct. 22. 
1849. His father, Stephen Mattoon, was a 
Frenchman who immigrated to Canada, set- 
tling in Clinton county, where he died when 
his son, Edward, was about nine years of 
age. The mother married Antoine Perry, 
and passed the remainder of her life in Red- 
ford. 

Edwartl Mattoon was the third of tlie 
four surviving children of his parents, the 
others being: Henry, residing in Clinton 
county. N. Y. ; Stephen, in Wisconsin ; and 
Edniond, in Hamilton county. N. Y. Ed- 
ward Mattoon learned the carpenter's trade 
and came West while a young man. residing 
for some time in Little Falls and in Fort 
Ripley. Minn. From the latter place, where 
he owned and operated a farm, he came to 
South Superior, being among the first to 
build a home in that locality, only three 
others having been previously erected. He 
engaged in hauling sand for street improve- 
ments in South Superior, and was then for a 
year in the employ of the La Belle Wagon 
Works, after which he engaged in what 
has been his chief occupation for many years, 
cruising, or locating timber for prospective 
purchasers. In this capacity Mr. Mattoon is 
well known, and has been employed chielly 
by the W'ebster Manufacturing Company, al- 
though he has also done similar work for 
others. As a cruiser Mr. Mattoon has tra- 
versed a large part of the timber district of 
northern Wisconsin, and his long experience 
coupled with good jutlgment, makes his ser- 
vices greatly in demand. Mr. Mattoon is 
an enthusiastic and successful hunter. He 
enjoys the reputation of being one of the 
l)est marksmen in the Northwest. Business 
and sporting expeditions have taken him 
much among the Chippewas. with whose 
language he is familiar. They accord him 
fhe honor of being a champion shot, and he 
has won a number of valuable prizes at 
shooting contests. 

Mr. Mattoon was married in bOrt Rip- 
lev to I'lora Kimb.nll. mid thcv have t\\f) 



^6o 



CO.M.ME]MORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD 



sons and four daughters. j\Tr. Mattoon is a 
member of the I. O. O. F. and is esteemed 
as a good citizen by all who know him. 

NAPOLEON B. MERRITT is one of 
the earliest surviving pioneers at the Head of 
the Lakes, and represents a family which 
has probably contributed more than any 
other toward the phenomenal development 
of Duluth and St. Louis county. He was 
l>orn in Chautauqua county, N. Y., April 
1 6, 1834, and is the second son of nine sons 
Ixirn to Lewis H. and Hepzibah (Jewett) 
Merritt, both representatives of early New 
England families famous for longevity and 
physical vigor, as well as for integrity of 
purpose and devotion to moral and patriotic 
principles. On the paternal side he springs 
of a Huguenot family which fled from 
France to England, and thence to this coun- 
try, settling at Deerfield. Mass. Thomas 
Merritt, the father of Lewis H., was a native 
of Connecticut, but died in Cherokee coun- 
ty, Iowa, at the advanced age of ninety years. 

Lewis H. Merritt learned the trade of 
millwright in the East. In 1855 he came 
to Superior, Wis., and was employed in the 
construction of the first sawmill at that place, 
and also in building one at Oneota. which 
was the second sawmill at the Head of the 
Lakes, and the first in the present city of 
Duluth. In 1875 he removed to Atchison 
county. Mo., where his death occurred at 
the age of seventy years. His venerable 
widow, who has attained the age of over 
ninety years, is now living in Duluth, one of 
the honored pioneers of that thriving city. 
She was born in Deerfield. Mass., a daughter 
of Samuel and Hepzibah Jewett, who were 
of Scotch-Irish descent. The family moved 
to Warren county, Pa., where Mr. Jewett 
got lost in the woods at the age of eighty- 
eight years, and his body was never found. 
His wife attained the age of over ninet>;- 
four years. 

Napoleon B. Merritt joined his jxirents at 
Superior in 1856. Fie assisted in the con- 
struction of the first two sawmills at the 
Head of the Lakes, and followed the trade of 
millwright for a number of years. He was 



connected with th.e lumber industry in one 
capacity and another for many years, operat- 
ing mills a portion of the time. In 1889 he 
and his brothers began the exploration of the 
now- famous Mesaba Iron Range. Owing 
to the density of the forest and the lack of 
any other means of transportation, they were 
obliged to pack all their tools and provis- 
ions upon their backs, and endured consider- 
able hardship and privation in carrying out 
the enterprise, which consumed consider- 
able time. Flaving discovered an abund- 
ance of ore, they set about the development 
of the range and opened a number of mines, 
including the locations know'n as the Biwa- 
bik. Mountain Iron, Mesaba Mountain, 
Rathburn, Pauley and Great Northern, now 
known as the richest iron mines in the world. 
In order to provide transportation for the 
product, the Merritt Brothers organized the 
company which built the Duluth, Mesaba & 
Northern Railroad, in which for some time 
they held a controlling interest. The open- 
ing of this road was one of the most aus- 
picious events in the history of Duluth and 
a grand free excursion was giveii on the 
first train, which passed over the track Oct. 
14, 1893. Since that date fully fifty thou- 
sand people have located on the Mesaba 
Range. Mr. Merritt has since become in- 
terested in other mines and in recent years 
gives his chief attention to dealing- in pine 
and mineral lands. His home has been in 
Duluth continuously since 1887. He helped 
to organize the first Methodist Episcopal 
Church at Oneota in 1858, and is still a mem- 
ber of that organization. He is a Scottish 
Rite Mason and a stanch advocate of tem- 
perance, a sentiment advocated by both pa- 
ternal and maternal ancestors for many gen- 
erations. 

On Oct. 14, 1S57, occurred the wedding 
of Mr. Merritt and Miss Jennie H. Holman, 
of Ashtabula county, Ohio. Her father, 
Aaron J. Holman, was a native of Massa- 
chusetts, and her mother, whose maiden 
name was Sarah Williams, was born in Con- 
necticut. IMr. and Mrs. Merritt have four 
sons : Eugene, Fred H., Thomas A. and 
Frank W. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



361 



J. ADELARD RENE. M. D. Scattered 
tliroughout the Lake Superior region are 
many representatives of tlie old French fam- 
ihes. whose ancestors first ga\e to the civil- 
ized world this rich industrial district, now 
teeming with multiplied prosperity. It is 
doubtful if any can he found whose ancestry 
in the new country dates farther back than 
that of Dr. Rene, now a well-known physi- 
cian and writer of ^^'est Superior, Douglas 
county, Wis. The family is traced back to 
1 700 and until within the present century 
the name was written Rene-de-Cottret. The 
ancestors of our sul)ject were pioneers of the 
Province of Quebec, and in the village of 
Xicolet, Jean Rene, his grandfather, was 
born and reared. He married Cecile The- 
rien. also a native of Canada, and for many 
years engaged in the lumbering trade, dying 
at the advancetl age of eighty-four years. 
Aime Rene, the father of J. .\delard, was 
born in Nicolet, Quebec, in 1838. He mar- 
ried Ezilla Lord, a native of Yamachiche. 
the same province, and now resides in St. 
Guillaume, where for the past thirty years 
he has been in active business as a farmer, 
hotel proprietor and merchant. He has ac- 
quired considerable wealth and his recrea- 
tion is the speeding of fast horses. 

J. .Xdelard Rene was born at Ste. Mo- 
nique. Province of Quebec. June 12. 1867. 
He acquired his early education at St. Guil- 
laume. where he removed when three years 
of age with his father's family. Later he 
completed a course of study at Xicolet Sem- 
inary. His medical education was received 
at \^ictoria Medical College, from which he 
was graduated in 1889. He at once lo- 
cated at \\'est Superior. Wis., where he has 
since remained in active practice. For a year 
he has served as health officer of the city. 
He is the examining physician for the New 
York Life Insurance Co.. lodge jjliysician of 
the Elks, and the camp physician of the 
Modern Woodmen, of which he is a pmmin- 
ent member. He has been |)rcsident of the 
Douglas County Medical Society, and is an 
active member of the .\mericau Medical 
Association, the Wisconsin State Medical 
Society, and the Inter-l'rban .\cademy of 
^ledicine of Duluth and Superior. He is a 



member of the Superior Driving .\ssociation, 
and is now serving as its president, having 
inherited a fondness for horses which he still 
cultivates. 

While devoted to his profession and giv- 
ing to it the attention which a large practice 
compels. Dr. Rene has also a literary side of 
his cliaracter, which he indulges in the writ- 
ing of .short stories for the standard maga- 
zines. "Recently he has been writing for 
some of the leading periodicals of the North 
and East, and he has promised the Saturday 
Rcviczv a short story now' and then. As a 
writer of short tales Rene has met with very 
marked success. The individuality of his 
style is touched with an elegance and finish 
that does him pleasing compliment." A small 
volume of his short stories has been success- 
fully published under the title of "Wander- 
ing I'Vench Ed. and other stories," and his 
next book, entitled "Priest and Man," is now 
in the hands of his publishers, and will soon 
be on the market. Judging from the flatter- 
ing comments of the literary press about his 
first book, it is safe to predict success for his 
next work. In politics Dr. Rene is a Demo- 
crat. 

CARL ANDERSON, better known as 
King Carl, of .\tlas, Grantsburg and Trade 
Lake. Burnett Co., Wis., was born in Swed- 
en. March 16. 1836, son of .\nders John- 
son and Mary Elizabeth Pearson, both na- 
tives of Sweden. The father was a farmer 
and miner, and died there in 1846. His 
widow came to America, married John 
.Xbram and took up a homestead ; she died 
at Trade Lake in 1880. and both she and her 
husband were members of the Lutheran 
Church. Her children, all by the first mar- 
riage, were: Carl; .Andrew A., a farmer of 
Trade Lake township; Mary Louise, who 
married P. E. Larson, of Trade Lake town- 
.ship; Johanna C. who married John P. 
Holm; and Ulricka C, who died in 1869, 
in the Black Hills, Wyoming. 

Carl .\nderson had no opportunity to go 
to school, for as he was the eldest of the 
young family, he was forced to help in their 
support. He learned the trades of wagon 
making and blacksmithing, and mining, and 



36- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



fouiul all useful. In 1861 he married Johanna 
Caroline Hadnian, of Sweden. Four years 
after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Anderson 
came to America, landing in New York 
City, from which city they came to Peshtigo, 
Wis., where lie worked in the first sawn'iill 
in that place. Later, on account of his in- 
dustrious habits, he was made station agent 
at the same place for the Co. R. R., and 
worked in this capacity for three years. The 
desire to own land of his own was ever 
strong within his breast, and at the expira- 
tion of the three years, he went to St. Croix 
Falls, and later to Burnett county, in 1868, 
where, in the summer of that year, he took 
up 160 acres at Trade Lake Four Corners. 
By this time many of his friends and rela- 
tives from Sweden had come over. He was 
the first white man to settle there, although 
there were plenty of Indians. Atout the 
first thing he did after securing his prop- 
erty, was to put up a hewed log cabin, 22 
X 30, which is still standing. By hard work 
and great thrift, he managed to clear off his 
land and make it a very valuable piece of 
property, which he was able to sell in 1900 
at a good figure. He then bought a farm 
of forty acres known as Gabriel's Lake. Up- 
on this he raises wheat, oats, corn, hay and 
cattle and does a large dairy business. For 
seventeen years he also operated a store at 
Trade Lake, and was agent for the National 
and Allan Steamship Lines. In 1879-80 he 
went back to Sweden, and brought back with 
him the second lot of emigrants to Burnett 
county, the first having arrived in 1868. So 
anxious were many of his old neighbors 
and friends to come to this new land of 
prtimise, that he was forced to promise to 
make arrangements for their passage later 
on. which he did. In politics, he has always 
been prominent, voting the Prohibitionist 
ticket, and he was postmaster for seven years 
and justice of the peace for several years. .\ 
member of the Lutheran Church, he has al- 
ways taken an active interest in its good 
work, and was one of the founders of the 
church at Grantsburg. 

Nine children were lx)m to Mr. and Mrs. 
Anderson: Carl E., manager of the poor 
farm of Douglas county, Wis., served thir- 



teen years as foreman on the Ohio coal 
dock in West Superior; Selma Berna mar- 
ried Louis Mayer, of Spokane, Wash. ; 
Mine married Henry Hogenson, of Spokane, 
Wash. ; John is deceased ; Carl Ed lives at 
West Superior, Wis.; Carl August: 
Christina married A. T. Stewart, an en- 
gineer on the Great Western Railroad at 
\\ est Superior. Wis.; Carl Aaron, deceased: 
Mary died in infancy. Possibly because he 
lacked educational advantages, Mr. Ander- 
son has gi\en his children good educations, 
sending them, after the public school course 
was finished, to Duluth, St. Peter and West 
Superior, and they are succeeding in their 
several vocations, and delighting their father 
by their progress. 

Mr. Anderson can tell many entertain- 
ing stories of the early days when he was the 
first white man in the district, and encount- 
ered the red men hunting, but his meetings 
with them were always peaceable. He had 
to go from twenty-two to thirty miles to 
reach a mill to get his grain and corn ground. 
He worked hard helping make the roads and 
as he grew well oft" in this world's goods, he 
ne\er forgot the time when every penny was 
a serious matter, and has always assisted 
those whom he deemed deserving. Hav- 
ing always worked hard himself, he believes 
in others doing the same, for he realizes 
that honest labor teaches true values, and 
that no one can appreciate the full worth of 
a dollar until he has earned the one hundred 
cents. The name by which he is known. 
King- Carl, indicates his universal popularity, 
and few men exert a greater or more lasting 
influence than he, who is a recognized repre- 
sentati\'e of the best interests of Burnett 
county. 

L. L. TAYLOR, M. D.. who has been 
a resident of Rib Lake. Wis., since 1900. 
and has made considerable progress in the 
ranks of his profession in Taylor county, 
was born in 1866 in Waupun, Wis., where 
he was reared and received his preliminary 
education in the public schools. 

Dr. Taylor is a son of Cyrus and Mary 
G. (Graves) Taylor, the former of whom 
was a son of Hiram Taylor, a pioneer of 



CO.MMKAIORATIX'E BIOGRArillCAL RECORD 



363 



^\'olverton. wlio later iiKnetl to Col- 
umbia county and there died, leaving a fam- 
ily of nine sons and one daughter. Cyrus 
Taylor, father of Dr. Taylor, settled in the 
vicinity of Waupun. where he married and 
engaged in farming for a number of years ; 
he is now a resident of Waupun, living re- 
tired. In his early days he did considerable 
rail-splitting, the pay at that time being tifty 
cents per hundred. The motiier of Dr. Tay- 
lor is a daughter of Logan and Eunice 
Graves, natives of New York State, who 
came to Wisconsin in 1843 and settled down 
to farming in Dodge county. Cyrus Taylor 
and his wife had three children. Eunice. 
Mary and the subject of this sketch. Cyrus 
Taylor went to California in 1849, where 
he remainetl three years, spending about two 
years in mining and more than a year in 
packing, between Sacramento and Shasta 
City, using his own outfit. These years were 
filled with adventure and Mr. Taylor can 
recall many exciting incidents. 

Although Dr. Taylor was reared on a 
farm, lie was given good educational advant- 
ages, and after completing the public school 
course went to Hillsdale College, where he re- 
mained until his health failed. He then 
went to .-Kppleton, Wis., where he entered the 
university and there completed his inter- 
rupted education. Dr. Taylor then accepted 
a position as Iwokkeeiier with a large lumber 
company in Louisiana and remained there 
three years. He had in the meantime 
ciierished the iinpe of a luedical education 
and l)y 1 897 was financially prepared for the 
expense. He matriculated in that year at 
the Illinois Medical College at Chicago, and 
was graduated with credit in 1900. He 
came immediately to Rib Lake, where he 
opened an (jftice and ever since lias been in 
active practice of his profession. In addi- 
tion to managing a large practice, wiiich con- 
tinually grows more important, he carries 
a line of pure drugs, this wise provision en- 
abling him to be sure of his prescriptions. 
His ofiices are well appf)inted and his surgi- 
cal equipment is sufficient for almost any 
demand. 

In 1893 'ic married Lenea Lundberg, of 
Barburg, Sweden. He has taken a prom- 



inent i)art in local afifairs ever since becoming 
a resident of Rib Lake, and was one of the 
moving spirits in the incorporation of the 
village, which was consummated in 1902. 
and he was elected the first president, which 
office he held one term. He is interested in 
various enterprises and is one of the directors 
of the Rib Lake State Bank. 

Eraternally Dr. Taylor is a Mason, con- 
nected with the Blue Lodge at Waupun, and 
the Chapter at Medford. 

CHARLES PHILIP BROWN, super- 
intendent of the Lake Superior Terminal 
and Transfer Railway Company at Superior. 
Douglas county, is a son of Oscar F. and 
Cordelia (Wing) Brown, aiifl was born in 
Athens, Ont., April 4. 1865. 

Oscar F. Brown was cjf English descent 
on his father's side, while his mother was .'i 
native of Germany. He was a native of 
Ohio and when a young man went to Hud- 
son. Wis., where he opened one of the first 
stores. After conducting this business for 
several years, Mr. Brown took the position 
of register of deeds of St. Croix county, be- 
ing the first to occupy that ofifice. He later 
spent about six years in Athens, Out., and 
returning to Wisconsin, became a dealer in 
general merchandise at New Richmond. 
Mr. Brown was active in the Civil war : in 
1864 he recruited Company A, 44th W. 
\'. I., which he commanded until the close 
of the struggle. He died in 1899, at the 
age of sixty-four. He was a successful 
business man, an influential citizen, and the 
first president of the village of New Rich- 
mond. His wife. Cordelia (Wing) Brown, 
flied in .\thens. Out., where she was born 
and married. Her father, Philip A\'in.g. 
was of English descent, and engaged in 
farming all his life. 

Charles Philip Brown attended the ])ub- 
lic schor)ls at New Richmond, and was later 
employed in his father's store until he was 
nearly twenty-one. when lie became car 
clerk at Spooner, Wis., for the Chicago. St. 
Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railroad Com- 
pany. Three years later he became railway 
agent at Spooner and remained there until 
1898, when he resigned and went to the 



364 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Klondike for two years. He landed at Fort 
Wrangel, Alaska, from there went over the 
ice to the Stikine river, through British 
Columbia via the All Canadian route, and 
reached Dawson City six months after leav- 
ing Wisconsin. Mr. Brown was one of a 
party of twelve from Wisconsin, who took 
in a year's supplies. He prospected for gold 
much of the time, with indifferent success, 
and part of the time he worked in the mines 
at $10 a day. He returned by way of the 
Yukon river and White Pass to Skaguay, 
where he took passage for Seattle. On com- 
ing back to civilization, Mr. Brown reentered 
the employ of the "Omaha" Railway Com- 
pany as clerk at Duluth, and from there he 
Avas transferred to Spooner. In December, 
1900, he accepted the position of superin- 
tendent of the Lake Superior Terminal & 
Transfer Railroad Company, and has since 
continued to reside in Superior. His rapid 
promotion is the result of natural ability 
and of close attention to the interests of his 
employers. 

Mr. Brov.'n married in July. 1901, 
Blanche Beers, a daughter of F. F. Beers, of 
Spooner. Wis. Mrs. Brown was born and 
educated at New Richmond. Mr. Brown has 
been for the past ten years a Mason, belong- 
ing to Blue Lodge at Superior, and to the 
Chapter at New Richmond. He always votes 
the Republican ticket, liut takes no active 
part in politics. 

JABEZ C. STUBBS, one of the pioneer 
settlers of northern Wisconsin and an hon- 
ored citizen and successful business man of 
Weyerhauser, Rusk county, was born in 
1 86 1, near Goderich, Ont., Can, There he 
was reared and obtained his education in the 
public schools, supplementing it by a course 
of study in the London Business College. 

Mr. Stubbs has been inclined toward 
business from boyhood, and while yet a stu- 
dent, acted in a clerical capacity in a store 
during vacations. In the spring of 1884 he 
went to Belle Plaine, Iowa, where he filled a 
clerkship until the following fall, when he 
came to Weyerhauser and accepted a position 
with the firm of Givnev & Moore. Later 



he was with R. M. Stitt. in whose employ he 
remained until the business was sold to an- 
other firm. 

In November, 1892. Mr. Stubbs opened 
up a general mercantile business of his own, 
one which has grown and expanded with the 
town up to the present time. Mr. Stubbs is 
now one of the leading merchants of the 
place, owning a large establishment filled 
with a very complete assortment of well se- 
lected goods. He has taken a very active 
part in the developing of this section and has 
been one of the promoters of its educational 
and social as well as its material growth. 
In 1903 he erected a handsome store build- 
ing, forty by eighty feet in dimensions, has 
a handsome home and owns a large amount 
of real estate both in and adjacent to Weyer- 
hauser. In association with O. E. Pederson, 
of Ladysmith, he has dealt largely in town 
site property. 

In politics Mr. Stubbs is a Democrat and 
he has been a very actiye member of his 
party. In 1902 he was elected chairman of 
the town board and in 1903, chairman of 
the county board, of which he is still the in- 
cumbent. From 1893 to 1897, he was post- 
master at Weyerhauser. For the past ten 
years he has held the office of town treasurer 
of Big Bend and was town clerk for one 
vear. In addition to all these various of- 
ficial duties, he has been a notary for the past 
twelve years; was appointed a member of 
the county commission board in 1903; has 
been chairman of the Democratic county 
committee since its organization, and has 
frequently served as a delegate to various 
important conventions. 

In 1892 Mr. Stubbs was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Jane Clancy, of Weyer- 
hauser, formerly of Chippewa Falls. She 
is a lady of education and culture and was 
the second teacher employed in the public 
schools of Weyerhauser, succeeding Miss 
Ada Poppleton. She is a graduate of the 
Chippewa Falls high school, and takes a 
prominent position in the social circles of 
this town. 

Mr. Stul)bs I)elongs to a number of the 
leading fraternal associations: is a member 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



2^> 



of Masonic Blue Lodge at Ladysniith and 
Rice Lake Chapter ; the I. O. O. F. of Apol- 
lonia; the Knights of Pythias of Weyer- 
hauser ; and the Modern Woodmen of Amer- 
ica and tlie Knights of Maccabees of the 
same place. He is a man of genial per- 
sonality and courteous manner and enjoys 
the respect of his fellow citizens. 

WEYERHAUSER. The early found- 
ing of au}- prospering town carries with it 
much of human interest. This is particularly 
the case in the establishing of the first land- 
marks of civilization in so rich and prolific 
a locality as northern Wisconsin. 

The \illage of W'eyerhauser was not of 
mere mushroom growth, built in a day and 
abandoned for a more interesting or promis- 
ing section on the morrow. It was founded 
by men oi stability who desired to make 
homes for their wives and children in this 
rich, fertile and well watered country and 
they spared neither work nor means to ac- 
complish their object. 

The projected town was named in honor 
of Frederick Weyerhauser, one of the great 
pioneer lumber capitalists of the Northwest. 
'J"he location is sixteen miles west of Lady- 
smith, in Rusk County, Wisconsin. Orig- 
inally a pine forest stretched for miles away 
over the site of the little town. Clearing 
was made and the town was laid out in the 
fall of 1884, and in the fall of that year 
the first buildings were erected by R. M. 
Stitt, John McClellan, Owen Welsch, James 
Clark and Sidney Wright. Other early set- 
tlers were J. C. Stubbs who came to accept 
a clerkship in the firm of Givney & Moore, 
who were the first to estaljlish a store. Later 
A. II. Heller started another store and E. S. 
Lancaster put in a stock and claimed a part 
of jHiblic patronage. The post office was 
estaijlished in 1885. with G. W. Moore ns 
first postmaster. 

In 1887 the town was given an impetus 
by being made a railroad point, the company 
building a roundhouse. Several years after 
it was removed, but in 1903 was rebuilt 
much better, an eight stall steam heated 
structure. At the same time the road ex- 
tended their yards, putting in new coal 



chutes and otherwise improving to the ex- 
tent of several thousand dollars. 

Xor, in the material prosperity of the 
town, were its religious and educational in- 
terests neglected. The year 1885 saw the 
opening of the first school, which was pre- 
sided over by Miss Ada Poppleton. Soon 
the school-house became too small and the 
citizens promptly decided that a new- 
structure should take its place. One was 
erected in 1896, which was improved and 
added to in 1903. Its equipment is good and 
its construction is after modem methods, 
hot air being the means of heating employed. 
It now belongs to the first class in the State 
grade and three capable teachers are em- 
ployed. 

Each religious body held services from 
the very first, for these early settlers, though 
often rough in speech and uncouth in ap- 
pearance, according to fashionable standards,, 
were men of integrity and moral worth, 
cherishing the highest standards of Chris- 
tian living. For a time religious gather- 
ings were held through the neighborhootl 
and the first body to erect a church was the 
pioneering Metho<lists. Some four years 
after, the Catholic Chmxh was built, and the 
Lutheran congregation holds regular serv- 
ices in a school house. The town has had a 
\\t)nderful numerical growth which is bound 
to increase as its commercial relations ex- 
tend farther into the outside world. Every 
line of business, with the exception of the 
newspaper, is now represented. 

In the spring of 1904 the Maples Lum- 
ber Co. orgam'zed a bank here, erecting a 
building for that purpose. The country con- 
tiguous is being rapidly .settled by the very 
best class of people, those who wish to de- 
velop the agricultural resources of the coun- 
try, and the sturdy offsjiring of these will go 
out from these peaceful homes and be the 
future rulers of the destinies of State and 
country. 

LEWIS A. SIMONSON. one of the 
prosperous citizens of Washburn. Bayfield 
county, who has achievetl success from 
humble beginnings, was born in Boone- 
ville, Dallas Co., Iowa, Jan. 28, 1869. 



.366 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Mr. Sinionson was left an orphan when 
only six months old. His parents. Clans and 
Bertha Simonson, natives of Aalesund, Nor- 
way, came to the United States in 1866, and 
settled at Reedensburg, Iowa, where they 
lx)th died in 1869. They left three children : 
Alary, who married A. D. Blanchard. of 
Casnovia, Mich. ; Benhart, of Terry, S. D. ; 
and Lewis A. 

Lewis A. Simonson was adopted into the 
family of Eric Erickson, of Yailivton, S. D. 
and lived there till he was thirteen years 
old. He was able to attend school only 
about seven months in all, and was brought 
up to farm work. In his fourteenth year 
he started out for himself, his only posses- 
sions being the clothes he wore and seventy- 
hve cents in cash. For three years he sup- 
ported himself by farm work. In 1886 he 
went to Duluth, was employed about the coal 
clocks unloading vessels, and after two years 
spent that way went to Washburn. 

At that time Washburn was only a village 
in the woods, with a number of logging 
camps within sight. Mr. Simonson con- 
tinued at his previous work for the next three 
years, and then took a position with a Chi- 
cago publishing house, for which he can- 
vassed most of the towns in Northern Wis- 
consin, Michigan and Minnesota, meeting 
with great success. Returning to Washburn 
he was appointed assistant postmaster and 
served for a year, at the end of which time 
he went into partnership with August 
Ceasar. The firm established the \\'ashburn 
.Sui)i)ly Company, who did general trade in 
installment goods. After four months Mr. 
Simonson bought out his partner, and con- 
tinued the business on his own account. 
He prospered and gradually enlarged its 
scope, adding a jewelry store and employing 
a number of solicitors in other places. In 
the fall of 1 90 1 he closed out and the clear- 
ing sale attracted a greater crowd of cus- 
tomers than Washburn had ever before seen. 

Mr. Simonson next went into the grocery 
business and Aug. 12. 1901, he signed 
articles of partnership with Andrew M. 
Arnsten. They bought the stock of M. N. 
(listed, and liave lieen conducting the con- 
cern profitably up to the present time. Air. 



Simonson has many other business interests 
in the town, among which may be mentioned 
the Washburn Building «& Loan Association, 
the most successful organization of that kind 
in Wisconsin, in which he is a stockholder. 
He was also one of the incorporators of the 
Washburn Ice Company, and is still inter- 
ested in it. 

Always a Republican, Air. Simonson has 
been actively interested in local politics, and 
all questions of the public welfare. Since 
1900 he has been a member of the toard of 
education, was vice-president his first year, 
and has been president ever since. His 
keenest interests, perhaps, are in fraternal 
work, and he is very prominently identified 
with many organizations. He belongs to 
the I. O.'O. F. and the I. O. F., Court 
Chequamegon, in which he has been financial 
secretary and treasurer six years, and twice 
a delegate to the High Court ; to the Scandi- 
navian H. & E. F., in which he held the 
office of local treasurer for years ; and to the 
Washburn Assembly, No. 160, E. F. V.. of 
which he was a charter member. 

On Dec. 26, 188S, Air. Simonson was 
united in marriage to Hannah Olson, daugh- 
ter of Terber and Martha (Peterson) Olson, 
born near Christiansund, Norway. Her 
father died there and her mother afterward 
married Lars Thorson, who brought his fam- 
ily to America in 1881 and lived at La 
Crosse. Wis., Duluth and, since 1888. in 
Washburn, where he and his wife still re- 
side. Airs. Simonson has borne her hus- 
band four children: Charles T. : Benjamin, 
who died in infancy ; Alabel B. ; and Lloyd H. 
Airs. Simonson was well educated in Nor- 
wav. and though she never attended school 
in this country, she has a good knowledge 
of English, and has been able to assist her 
husband greatly in his business. The fam- 
ilv live in a fine residence commanding a 
magnificent view of Chequamegon Bay. Air. 
Simonson built this in 1899, and has also 
erected a business place which he owns. 

JAAIES BLACKADDER, deputy Wis- 
consin State game warden, is among the 
well known citizens of West Superior. He 
has been a resident of that place since 1890, 



:0.M.\1E.MURAT1\E BlUGRAl'HlCAL RECORD 



367 



and received his commission as warden, May 
23, 1901, from Gov. La Follette. 

Air. Blackadder was born at Dumbarton, 
on the river Clyde, Scotland, in October, 
1873. ^'"'" generations liis ancestors have 
been shipbuilders, and his father, James 
Blackadiler, was a ship carpenter. The first 
of the family to immigrate to America was 
John, an elder brother of James, who came 
to Dulutii and was with the Collingwood 
Sliip Building Co. at tiiat place and at Su- 
perior for a number of years, Ijeing at pres- 
ent foreman for the same company at Col- 
lingwood. Canada. .Another member of the 
family died in Scotland, and a sister. Flora, 
is the wife of Robert Carson, of West Su- 
perior. 

James Blackadder, the fatlier, came to 
this country in 1887, living for a number of 
years in Wyandotte, Canada, and later mo\-- 
ing to Duluth. where lie died. In 1890, 
when James Blackadder w'as about seven- 
teen, he and his mother followed the father 
and elder brother to this country. He had 
learned the trade of ship plater, and worked 
at tiiat occupation a few^ months before com- 
ing to West Superior, where he anil his 
brother John laid the keel of the first boat 
Irumclied from tiie West Superior shipyards. 
With his brother John and others, Mr. Black- 
adder went to the State of \\'ashington, and 
tliere built the "Edward Everett ;" he then 
returned to West Superior, wiiere he fol- 
lowed the occupation of ship jjlater until 
appointed by the Governor to his present 
positiiin. This is a responsible place, great 
watclifuiness being required to prevent the 
destruction of game and fish during the 
closed sea.son, the area covered by Mr. Black- 
adder being; one half of tlie tenth congres- 
sional district. 

Mr. Blackadder married Sarah Ander- 
son, of Ontario, Canada, and they have two 
druiohters. I'"llen and Jruiettc. Ixith born at 
West Superior. Mr. Blackadder is a Re- 
publican in politics, and fraternally is a 
member of the Scottish order. Clan Camp- 
l)ell. of Superior. He is a highly esteemed 
citizen of West Superior. 



ELIJAH C. GRIDLEY was for a num- 
ber of years so prominently identified with 
affairs of importance pertaining to the past 
and future welfare of the Upper Lake Re- 
gion, and -especially of Duluth and vicinity, 
that a commemorative record thereof could 
not well be compiled without a suitable trib- 
ute to his memory. From the date of his lo- 
cating at Duluth in 1886 he was one of its 
most optimistic citizens, retaining- at all times 
and under all circumstances an unbounded 
faith in the future of that city as a great com- 
mercial metropolis, and lie contributed freely 
of his time and energies toward accomplish- 
ing the fulfillment of his faith. 

Cpon the discovery of iron ore on the 
Mesaba Range, Col. Gridley, as he was gen- 
erally called, became one of the first investors 
in that field, and took an active part in the ex- 
l)loration and development of the same and 
in advertising the wealth and the other ad- 
vantages of northern Minnesota to the out- 
side world. Some of his predictions were 
scoffed at by his associates, but he lived to 
see many of them realized and had his health 
been spared for a few years more he might, 
doubtless, have seen many of his fondest 
hojjcs surpassed. For several years he was 
president of the Duluth Chamber of Com- 
merce, and as long as that organization 
existed was one of its stanchest and most 
influential members. Through that body he 
was largely instrumental is .securing' the 
enactment of a number of legislati\'e "meas- 
ures. .Among these acts may be mentioned 
the one which allowed a rebate of the rovalty 
on ore mined from State lands and manu- 
factured in the State ; also the measure which 
caused so large a number of the vessels on 
the Great Lakes to be registered at Duluth. 
He was one of the promoters of various at- 
temi)ts to develop the water power of the 
St. Louis river, and of numerous other un- 
dertakings calculated to advance the interests 
of the I lead of the Lakes. He will long be 
remembered as the founder of the Duluth 
Humane Society, of whicli he was president 
for years. This organization has been in- 
strumental in relieving thousands of cases of 



368 



COiMMEMORATR'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



distress among children and animals and 
continues to be one of the most creditable 
philanthropic institutions in the city. A 
Democrat in political sentiment, he exerted 
no small influence in party councils in this 
part of the State, and was always a close 
student of current questions. He was es- 
pecially interested in financial problems of 
the nation and compiled and published in 
1899 a pamphlet entitled "A Eorward Step 
in Finance," in which he suggested a system 
by which the government could absolutely 
control the volume and value of the circulat- 
ing medium of the country and thus prevent 
the periodical recurrence of the panics and 
financial disturbances which have so often 
unsettled the business of the country and re- 
tarded its growth. This treatise -received 
considerable thoughtful attention from many 
of the leading business men and statesmen 
of this and other countries. 

Col. Gridley was a man of genial nature 
and marked personality, who acquired a very 
wide acquaintance and will long be remem- 
bered as one of the stanchest and most re- 
liable residents of the city. Fraternally he 
was identified with the Masonic order, being 
a 2,2(1 degree Mason and a member of the 
Shrine. 

Mr. Gridley was born at Orwell, Brad- 
ford Co., Pa., Jan. 31, 1848, and died at 
Duluth Feb. 7, 1903. He belonged to a 
family of four sons and one daughter born to 
Chauncey G. and Sophia C. Gridley, of 
whom he was the last survivor. One of his 
brothers was killed while defending the stars 
and stripes at the battle of Spottsylvania 
Court House. 

In Tune, 1874, Col. Gridley was married 
to Emma M. Eby, daughter of J. R. Eby. 
a leading merchant of Lanark. 111. To this 
union were born: Ora I., who was educated 
at the University of Minnesota and is now 
the wife of W. D. Bailey, of Duluth; and 
Eby G., who was also educated at the Uni- 
versity of Minnesota and later attended the 
Minnesota State Law School, and who since 
1901 has been a practicing attorney at Du- 
luth. 



CHARLES W. ERICSON is the pro- 
prietor of one of the largest clothing and 
furnishing houses of Duluth. He has 
grown up in Duluth, having come to the 
city when a boy of thirteen, with his pa- 
rents, William and Augusta (Engman) 
Ericson. 

William Ericson was a native of Swed- 
en, where he was engaged in the hardware 
business. In May, 1873, he brought his 
family to Duluth, where he now lives in re- 
tirement. His wife was also a native of 
Sweden, and they had a family of seven 
children, only four of whom are living: 
Charles \\'. is mentioned below ; David was 
formerly a well known and successful art- 
ist of Duluth, and is now located in New 
York City (among his best known paint- 
ing are "The Nativity," exhibited in the 
Paris Salon, and "Orpheus," which was 
given the place of honor in the Salon in 
1900: his pictures not only please the art 
critics, Ijut also the ])uying public) ; Jose- 
l)hine is the wife of J. H. Xordby, a mer- 
chant of Two Harbors, Minn. ; Victoria, 
who lives at home, is a teacher in the Jeffer- 
son school kindergarten. 

Charles W. Ericson was born in Motala, 
Sweden, Sept. 27, i860, and attended 
school in his native place previous to com- 
ing to America. After coming to Duluth 
he became a pupil in the high school, earn- 
ing his board meantime by working for E. 
R. Teft'erson, the lighthsuse keeper. He 
graduated in 1878, and at once took a posi- 
tion m the clothing department of the store 
of W. G. W'illis. After nine years he 
bought out his employer and has since 
carried on the business alone. He has de- 
veloped his business from the original small 
store into one of the largest clothing and 
furnishing establishments in Duluth, occu- 
pying two floors, and carrying a full line of 
clothing, furnishing goods, hats, caps and 
shoes. He regularly employs eight assist- 
ants, with six additional ones on Satur- 
days. 

Mr. Ericson married. Oct. 26, 1886, 
Amelia Acker, of Duluth. daughter of Lam- 



co.m.mi;aiorative biographical record 



36^ 



ben and Amelia Acker, both natives of 
German}-. Lambert Acker died in 1899, 
liaving all his life followed the occupation 
of farming, llis wife makes her home in 
Duluth. Six of their twelve children are 
li\ing, ilrs. Ericson being among the older 
ones. Mr. and Mrs. Ericson are the pa- 
rents of the following children : Ethel L. 
and Edna M., students in the Duluth high 
school ; Vivian, deceased ; Ruth ; and Dor- 
othy. The family are members of Pilgrim 
Congregational Church. Mr. Ericson is 
a Republican in politics. He is a member 
of the B. P. O. E. Lodge, No. 113, of Du- 
luth; Lodge Xo. no. A. O. U. W., of Du- 
luth; I. S. W. A., Xo. 36; and the Modern 
Samaritans, of Duluth. 

\VILLL\M MARTLX. Many of our 
most substantial citizens are of foreign 
liirth, l>ut the majority on coming to this 
country and finding a home within the 
friendly boundaries give to our go\-ernment 
the honor and allegiance due a kindly foster 
parent. Among those who liave thus Ix:- 
come valued citizens, is William Martin, 
county clerk of Taylor county. 

Mr. Martin's parents were Frederick and 
Fredericka (Sanders) Martin, natives of 
Saxony, who came to the L'nited States in 
1881, following their son thither, and made 
their liome on a farm in Taylor county. 
Frederick Martin and his wife died some 
two years apart, he in 1894, aged seventy- 
four, and she in 1896. when seventy-one 
years old. They had ten children, three of 
whom came to this country and are living 
in Wisconsin. 

William Martin was born in Gotha, 
Saxony. Germany. May 23, 1849. He was 
given a good education and after completing 
llis studies, gave his services to his country 
during the I'Yanco-I'russian war. He took 
])art in twenty-five battles and skirmishes and 
received for his gallant service an iron cross, 
which he still cherishes as a valued memento 
of his army life. In spite of his active service 
he was never wounded, although bullets 
l)assed through his clothing on several 
occasions. 

In 1873 Mr. Martin sought our western 



shores and, traveling on as far as Wiscon- 
sin, settled first in Sheboygan county. Later 
he moved to Calumet county and worked in a 
chair factory at Chilton. From there he went 
to Clark coimty in 1875, bought forty acres 
of wild land and spent the next seven or 
eight years improving his property. In 1881 
his parents came to America and settled in 
Taylor county, so he too went there the year 
following their arrival, and took up a home- 
stead near Chelsea in the present town of 
(ireenwood, 160 acres in section 12. town- 
ship ^2. range 2 East. 

Settling on the new homestead was a 
matter of toil and difficulty, for there were 
no roads to the farm from Chelsea, and 
Mr. Martin was obliged to carry all his- 
household goods over the six miles lying be- 
tween the two, while for his first house he- 
carrietl 1,500 feet of lumber on his should- 
ers for a mile and a half. He .still owns 
the place and now has forty acres under culti- 
vation, with all necessary buildings. 

Mr. Martin on becoming a citizen, affil- 
iated himself with the Republican party, 
and look an active part in politics. After 
the town of Greenwood was organized, he 
was the second town clerk elected, and serxed. 
for fourteen years, while for a similar period' 
he was a school director. In 1900, and agaiiu 
two years after, he was elected countv Clerk, 
and has been a most faithful and efficient 
officer. 

The year before leaving Germany, in 
1872. Air. Martin took to himself a wife, 
Miss Aurora Machlett, who died eleven 
years later, aged thirty-four years. She was 
a member of the Lutheran Churcli. Two 
sons survive her. Herman and William, both 
residents of .Milwaukee. In 1883 Mr. Mar- 
tin was married again, his present wife be- 
ing also a native of Germany, born in Sax- 
ony. Her maiflen name was Olga Grundig. 
Mrs. Martin is the mother of five children. 
Otto. Ella, Rosa. Frieda and F.dwin. The 
family is connected with the German 
Lutheran Church. 

Mr. Martin is a member of the A. O. 
U. W.. and holds the office of recorder in- 
the local lodge. He is a most intelligent and! 
progressive citizen, and well posted on gen-- 



370 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



eral affairs. While well educated in German, 
his knowledge of English is self-taught, 
save for some private lessons from a teacher 
who boarded in his home, a fact which makes 
his grasp of English and American current 
events the niore remarkable. 

ANDREW G. NEWBURGH, alderman 
for the First ward in Superior, Douglas 
county, is now (1902) serving his fifth year 
in that capacity; his predecessor in the city 
council was Isaac Ross. Mr. Newburgh is 
one of the well known and progressive citi- 
zens of the East End, where he has resided 
since 1893. He was torn at Lake City, 
Minn., in 1864, and lived there until about 
twent)' years of age, his father, Fred New- 
burgh, having been one of the early settlers 
of that place in 1858. Later the father 
moved to Zumbrota, Minn., where he died 
a number of years ago. 

Andrew G. Newburgh was one of ten 
children, and while a boy, learned the trades 
of l)ricklayer and carpenter. When quite 
a young man, he located in Royalton, Minn., 
where he lived for a number of years, mov- 
ing from there to St. Paul, and coming from 
that city to Superior. He carried on a 
coopering business for a time, and has en- 
gaged in \'arious other occupations. 

Mr. Newburgh married in St. Cloud, 
Minn., Augusta Anderson, and they have 
two sons and a daughter, namely, Fred, Roy 
and Minnie. Mr. Newburgh is a Democrat 
in politics, and fraternally is a member of 
the Maccabees and the I. O. R. M. He en- 
joys the respect and esteem of his neigh- 
bors as an industrious and honorable citizen. 

PHILIP N. BURG is one of the most 
enterprising business men of Shell Lake, 
Washburn county. He is a native of Swe- 
den, having been born in Parup. Sallerup. 
that country, April 15, i860. His parents, 
Nels and Kama (Nelson) Anderson, were 
residents of the same locality in Sweden. 
The father, who was a farmer, died in his 
native place in 1881, when about fifty-five 
years of age; the mother still lives in the 
same place, now over sixty years old. 

Philip N. Burg received a common school 



education, and in 1880 came to the United 
States, settling in Grove City, Minn. He 
was employed on railroad construction work 
in summer, and attended school in the winter 
for two years. He then went to Princeton, 
Minn., and for five years was employed there 
in a general store, becoming an important 
factor in the concern. He first came to 
Shell Lake in 1887, and was employed three 
years in a general store kept by Curtis & 
Williams. In the spring of 1900 he went 
to Minneapolis and entered into partnership 
with his brother-in-law, Nels Hillman, deal- 
ing in general merchandise, after six months 
buying out Mr. Hillman's interest and mov- 
ing the stock to Shell Lake. Mr. Burg con- 
tinues to deal in general merchandise, in- 
cluding hardware, farm implements, furni- 
ture, etc., and also conducts an undertaking 
establishment. The original building which 
he purchased has been greatly enlarged, and 
his stock is now the most complete in Wash- 
burn county. Mr. Burg is also a stock- 
holder in the Shell Lake Creamery Co. 
In 1895 he bought wild land on the lake 
shore, near the village, which he has im- 
proved into a fine stock farm, known as 
Burg's Lookout Point, and where he breeds 
Morgan horses and Durham cattle. He also 
owns 2,000 acres of other lands, partly im- 
pro\-ed. mostly in Washburn and Burnett 
counties. In October, 1903, Mr. Burg be- 
came one of the incorporators of the Wis- 
consin State Bank, of which he was one of 
the directors until the concern was con- 
solidated with the Lumbermen's Bank. 

Mr. Burg was married at Princeton, 
]\Iinn., Nov. i, 1885, to Lizzie Hillman. a 
native of Venjan, Dalarne, Sweden, daughter 
of Andrew and Annie Hillman, who came 
to the United States with their family in 
1880, and now reside at Burg's Lookout 
Point. Mr. and Mrs. Burg are members 
of the Lutheran Church. Fraternally Mr. 
Burg is connected with the I. O. O. F., be- 
ing a charter member of the local lodge, and 
financial secretary from the time of its or- 
ganization, and also a member of Shell Lake 
Encampment. Since coming to the United 
States ]\Ir. Burg has been a Republican, and 
although not an active politician is always 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



2>7^ 



interested in all matters of public welfare. 
In the spring- of 1902 he was nominated for 
chairman of the township board, and was 
very nearly elected in the face of a strongly 
organized opposition. 

ROBERT DIRLMl'LE, a merchant of 
Fifield, Price Co., Wis., and postmaster of 
that town, was born in Battle Creek, Mich., 
in 1855, son of Robert and Elizabeth 
Dirimple, and his connection with Fifield 
dates back almost to the commencement of 
the town. 

Mr. Dirimple grew up in Battle Creek 
and was educated in the public schools. 
When he was fifteen years old he went to 
Northern Michigan, and was engaged in 
lumbering there for thirteen years. His 
brother George was already located in 
Fifield, and in 1883 Robert Dirimple joined 
him, and going into his store worked there 
ten years. Only a few montiis before the 
town w-as swept by its disastrous fire he 
bought his brother out, so that the total loss 
entailed by the fire fell upon our subject. 
But disaster only nerved him to greater 
effort, and within a week he opened again in 
a rough board shed, and the following year 
put up his present store, where he has carried 
a general line of goods. 

On Dec. 20, 1887, Mr. Dirimple was 
married to Ella Jackson, of Manawa, Wis., 
by whom he has had six children, namely: 
Clara, born in i88g; Kenneth, in 1890; Eva, 
1893; Isabclle, 1895; Mildred, 1897; and 
Paul, 1899. 

Mr. Dirimple is a genial, wholesouled 
man, generous and public spirited, with a 
host of friends, for he is popular both in 
social and fraternal circles. He is a mem- 
ber of Fifield Loflge, No. 79, I. O. O. F. 
Politically he is a Republican, and has served 
liis town well in several capacities; he was 
town treasurer for years; was chairman of 
the town board for five years ; and has been 
a delegate to all the county conventions. 
He was also a delegate to the Congressional 
convention at Rhinelander, when W. E. 
Brown was nominated, and to the State 
Convention whicli nominated Gov. LaFol- 



lette for his first term. In June, 1902, he 
was appointed postmaster of Fifield. 

FIFIELD. The railroad hatl been put 
through Fifield in 1877, but in 1880 the list 
of men engaged in business in the little vil- 
lage included only the following names : W. 
F. Turner, a hotel man, now of Park Falls; 
W. F. Hinz, who kept a small general store ; 
Johnson Larson and Horace Boran, who ran 
a small store, a firm now located in Park 
Falls, and R. Rhimer, one of the early set- 
tlers who subsequently went into business. 
In the following year George H. Singleton 
and Peter Leonard came, and began their 
career as merchants. In 1882 George 
Dirimple and Anton McKenyon opened a 
small store; John Schilling, a merchant, now 
a banker at Minocqua, Wis., came that same 
year, as did M. Erdman, who is still a resi- 
dent ; George Cothram, a logger now of Iron 
River ; and Daniel Donohue, a hotel man 
now of Park Falls. 

The first public school in Fifield was 
established in 1883, '" ^ small building which 
six years later was replaced by a $15,000 
structure. The course of study now laid out 
is carefully graded according to the present 
educational system. The town has two 
churches, the Catholic, which was estaljlished 
first, and the Congregational. The post- 
oflce was established in 1881, and W. F. 
Turner was the first postmaster. The town 
grew rapidly and became one of the thriv- 
ing towns of Wisconsin, with a bank estab- 
lished by W. F. Hinz, and a paper, the 
Fifield Advocate, edited by George E. 
Sackitt, now of Phillips. A number of ex- 
cellent buildings were put up, including some 
good business hou«es. 

On July 27, 1893, a fire broke out. It 
was started by some boys playing with 
matches, and as a strong south wind was 
blowing at the time, it quickly spread. The 
Inisincss portion of the town was entirely 
wii)ed out. Necessarily the loss was heavy, 
though considerable insurance was carried, 
and it was some time before the town rc- 
co\ered from its setback. 

The sawmills constitute one of the main 



372 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



industries in Fifield, and the first one in the 
town was owned by O. G. Van Dusan, Sr., 
C. D. Arnold, M. Arnold and W. F. Hinz. 
The mill escaped the fire of 1893, but was 
later removed to Phillips. Later another saw 
and shingle mill was started; the former 
was owned by Henry Ocker, and was burned 
in the summer of 1903, and the latter owned 
by Hudson Brothers, is still in operation. 

Fifield's record of crime is promisingly 
brief. William McMahon, an ex-policeman, 
was murdered in 1893, and his murderer, 
Ed Young, was caught, convicted and sen- 
tenced to five years in Waupun. An un- 
known man, who was never identified, was 
found hanging by a wire round his neck and 
with a builet through his head. The crime 
was committed on a deserted homestead four 
miles from town and the assassin was never 
discovered. 

The population of the town is about 500. 
In the election of 1902, 120 votes were cast, 
including the township of Fifield and Fel- 
lows. Fraternal organizations are repre- 
sented by the Woodmen, the Royal Neigh- 
bors, and the I. O. O. F. Lodge No. 79 of 
the latter order was organized April 26, 
1872, with the following charter members: 
George W. Hubbell ; George E. Sackitt; 
George M. Chamberlain; J. R. Reimer; Abe 
Wiley ; W. B. Estes ; and Angus McDonald. 

JOHN F. HILL, one of the leading busi- 
ness men of Northern Wisconsin, is also one 
of tlie pioneers, coming here in the fall of 
1856, and settling at Eau Claire, when he 
was a boy of eleven years. 

Mr. Hill was born April 25, 1845, in 
Milltown, Maine, a son of John and Ann 
(Britton) Hill, the former of whom was 
born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1816 and died 
from wounds received during the Civil war, 
at Cold Harbor, in June, 1864, aged forty- 
seven years. His wife was born in England 
but was reared in Ireland, and they man-ied 
at Madagdavia, N. B. For thirty-six years 
of his life, John Hill was a sea-faring man, 
having run away from home at the age of 
ten. In 1855 he came to Menomonie, Wis., 
was joined by his family in the following 
year, and three years later they settled at 



Eau Claire. In 1863 he enlisted in Co. K, 
36th W. V. I., and saw hard service in the 
army of the Potomac, his life ending as re- 
lated above. It had been one of many 
adventures. 

John F. Hill was, as noted, a boy of 
tender years when his family came to Eau 
Claire and his education was obtained in 
the public schools. In 1861 he enlisted in 
Co. C, 8th W. V. I., a regiment which is re- 
called as the "Eagle" regiment and one which 
gained applause for its gallant members. 
After being mustered in as a private, he 
was sent to the army of the Tennessee and 
participated in thirty-six battles of the war, 
beginning at Frederickstown, Mo., near 
Pilot Knob, which was succeeded by : Pitts- 
burg Landing, Farmington (Miss.), both 
battles at Corinth, luka and Tupelo, and 
many engagements in that vicinity. At the 
second battle of Corinth he was shot through 
liis body by a minie ball and was two months 
in the hospital. In 1864 his regiment was 
in the Vicksburg campaign and took part in 
the many battles in that vicinity; he was at 
Champion Hills, Black River, and Jackson, 
Miss., and he aided in the building of the 
canal constructed by Gen. Grant around 
Vicksburg. From there the regiment went 
to join Gen. Banks on the Red River ex- 
pedition, in the meantime fighting its way. 
It was a part of the i6th army corps and 
was commanded by Gen. A. J. Smith. 

No record of the brilliant achievements 
of the 8th Wisconsin would be complete with- 
out reference to "Old Abe," the famous eagle 
and the mascot of the regiment. "Old Abe" 
was captured in 1861 by a Chippewa Indian, 
named Ogema-bejessie, meaning Chief of 
the Sky, who traded the eagle to Daniel Mc- 
Cann for a half bushel of corn. Its new 
owner took the eagle to Eau Claire where it 
was bought by a citizen, Miles JefTers, who 
after some negotiations presented the noble 
bird to Co. C, 8th Wisconsin. After the 
war this then noted emblem of our country 
was presented to the State of Wisconsin. 
Mr. Hill was detailed as eagle bearer for a 
])art of the time he was in the service, a 
position of honor and one that was by no 
means a sinecure. Mr. Hill was, years after, 



COALMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



373 



i;iveii lionoraljlc recognitiDii of the care he 
had taken of the bird, which was so be- 
loved in the regiment and wliich aroused its 
enthusiasm in every battle, by being ap- 
])ninted in 1876 by Gov. Luddington to carry 
"Old Alje" to the Centennial at Philadelphia, 
\\here both it and its bearer were objects of 
the greatest interest. "Old Abe"' perished 
at the burning of the Capitol at Madison, 
but some good photographs of him are care- 
fully preserved by Mr. Hill. During an 
imprisonment Mr. Hill overheard Confeder- 
ate soldiers say that they would rather 
capture "Old Abe" than to take a brigade, 
.so inspiring were the intelligent actions of 
the bird. During battle he would perch on 
the colors and his screams of delight would 
so enthuse the soldiers that no force could 
Avithstand them. Many stories of "Old Abe" 
have appeared in print, but one of these Mr. 
Hill declares untrue. He flid not leave his 
friends at any time to fly over the field, 
seeming to understand that he was the 
private property of Co. C. He took part in 
«very battle of the regiment. Permission 
was given the eagle-bearer by Gen. Sherman 
to forage for its food, and as the bird had a 
j)reference for chicken and fresh beef, those 
were dainties most sought for and if, on 
some few occasions, the chickens captured 
for "Old Abe" figured in the Co. C "mess," 
there was no one to find fault. In this con- 
nection Mr. Hill recalls one occasion when 
lie had l)een particularly successful in forag- 
ing for his charge, and was halted l)y the 
guard when bringing in a string of chickens. 
The guard took him before (ien. Banks, who 
at first threatened arrest, but gave way before 
the permit shown from Gen. Sherman. 

After Mr. Hill was wounded at Corinth, 
he was left unattended for three days on 
the battlefield, ignored by the Confederate 
surgeons who said he would die anyhow. 
He actually managed tu crawl the six miles 
to the Tombigbee river and finally reache<1 
the Union lines, giving his commander a big 
surprise as he liad supposed him dead. It 
nuist be recalled that Mr. Hiil's wound had 
penetrated through his body and when it is 
-tated that he submitted to having it probed 



and dressed, a silk handkerchief being drawn 
entirely through, with no administration of 
chloroform, the reader can appreciate what 
at least one of the brave survivors of those 
dreadful days suffered in defense of his and 
our country. All honor to that noble, valiant 
band, a band which, alas, is yearly growing 
smaller and smaller. When the last one has 
fought his last battle, there will have passed 
away a body oi men whose like will ne'er 
be seen again, men who fought for principle 
and home, not for plunder. 

After his honorable discharge in 1865, 
at Matlison, Wis., Mr. Hill settled in Eau 
Claire and followed logging for a number of 
years. In 1891 he removed to Bayfield 
county and took up a homestead near Iron 
river, on which he resided for ten years. His 
claim there was, with others, contested and 
is still a matter of litigation. In 1901 he 
came to Island Lake where he built a com- 
fortable home and here he and his wife are 
enjoying the ease of retired life. With the 
exception of an aflliction of the ears, Mr. 
Hill is in remarkable health, considering the 
nature of his wound. The Government re- 
wards him as far as possible, by a pension of 
$25 a month. 

In 1871 Mr. Hill was united in marriage 
with Ella Gates and they have had five chil- 
dren liorn to them, nanielv : Leonard F., 
Rosa A., Mabel ^].. William H. and I->ed- 
erick A. 

In 1876 while in Philadelphia, Mr. Hill 
joined Post No. 2, of the G. A. R., at 13th 
and S])ring Gardeir streets, an association 
which has given him much ])leasure. He has 
had noble company in this post. Gen. Philip 
Sheridan and other eminent commanders be- 
ing members and not the least important 
name on the roster is that of "Old Abe," al- 
though we are not prepared to testify that he 
wrote the same himself. Mr. Hill has had a 
long and useful life, filled with what the 
world terms adventures, but he has taken 
then just as they came, all a part of "a day's 
work." the natural result of duty followed 
and its claims fulfilled. He occupies a place 
in jniblic esteem and is respected and be- 
I(ned in the community and in domestic life. 



374 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



WILLIAM THOMPSON, a prosperous 
and higiily esteemed citizen of Superior, 
Douglas county, was born March 5, 1850, 
near Toronto, Out., his parents, who now 
hve in Duluth, being Robert and Jeannette 
(Maloy) Thompson. 

George Thompson, grandfather of W'iU- 
iam. came from Ireland in the early ])art 
of the nineteenth century, and settled on a 
farm near Toronto, where he died at the 
age of sixty-five. Robert Thompson, who 
was born in Canada, has made lumbering his 
life interest and he is still, at the age of 
eighty, actively engaged as a logging con- 
tractor. About 1877 he went to Minnesota, 
where he located at Thompson, Carlton 
county, but for several years past he has lived 
in Duluth. He served a year or more in the 
55th Iowa V. I., and took part in the battles 
of Shiloh, Fort Donelson, Fort Henry antl 
other engagements. His wife, Jeannette 
(Maloy) Thompson, was born in Scotland. 
Her father died on the voyage to America, 
anil her mother died in Canada. 

With his parents, William Thompson left 
Toronto in i860, for several years lived in 
Michigan, and then moved to Oshkosh, Wis. 
From his early boyhood Mr. Thompson has 
been interested in the lumber business, and 
since coming to the Head of the Lakes he 
has been employed by different lumber com- 
panies, being with one firm for seventeen 
years, and rising to the position of head 
sawyer. He is now foreman for the pool 
managed by the Northern Lumber Co., mak- 
ing headcjuarters at Clnquet, Minn., and 
operating in the adjacent woods. Mr. 
Thompson has built a pleasant house in 
Superior, where he makes his home. 

In 1 88 1 Mr. Thompson and Margaret 
W'halen were united in marriage. Mrs. 
Thompson is a daughter of Robert and 
Mary W'halen, who were early settlers 
of Superior. Tlie WHialen family came 
from the town of Mountrath, County 
Queens. Ireland. Robert Whalen came -to 
Superior in 1855, '^"t kept his home in 
Michigan several years before becoming a 
permanent citizen of Superior. He lived to 
a good old age and his widow still survives 
him. l'"ive children ha\e come to ^Ir. and 



Airs. Thompson: Mary, a graduate of the 
Nelson Dewey high school ; Isabella, a stu- 
dent in the Superior Normal School ; and 
Bessie, Robert and George, all at school. 
Mr. Thompson is a Republican, although not 
an acti\e politician. 

HENRY A. LIEDEL, deputy clerk of 
the district court for St. Louis county, Minn., 
is a native of Duluth, born March 17, 1876. 
His parents were Edward and Sime (Chris- 
tianson) Liedel, the former a native of Ger- 
many and the latter of Denmark. 

WHien a young man Edward Liedel came 
to the United States and in 1853 went to- 
California, for three years. He then went 
to Oregon and Washington, where he en- 
gaged in mining for another three years. 
After that he had a government contract for 
teaming at Helena, Mont., which he held for 
ten years. In 1869 he came to Duluth, where 
for a few years he did contracting and gen- 
eral work, and then went into the hotel and 
livery business. He later engaged in the 
wholesale flour and feed business, in which 
lie was occupied at the time of his death, 
in 1897. His wife died in 1893. Their 
three children were: Edward C, an insur- 
ance man of Duluth ; Henry A. ; and Mamie, 
deceased. 

Henry A. Liedel received most of his 
education in California, \\here he attended 
the Bayview Academy and the University 
of California. He returned to Duluth in 
1897, and was for a year engaged in the 
wholesale flour and feed business. Selling 
out this business he enlisted in the Fourteenth 
Minn. V. I., and ser\-ed through the Spanish- 
American war. After receiving his dis- 
charge he was occupied in various ways until 
he received the appointment of deputy clerk 
of the district court, which he now holds. 

i\Ir. Liedel was married Sept. 24, 1902, 
to Bessie C. Carr, of Ohio. Fraternally he 
is connected with the B. P. O. E., at Duluth. 

JOHN SOUTHERLAND CRAIG, a 
popular citizen and public official of Super- 
ior, was born at Paisley, Ontario, Jan. 12, 
1865. His parents, John and Marrion 
(Southerland) Craig, natives of Scotland,, 



COiMMK.MORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



375 



were worthy representatixcs of tliat sturdy 
race, which has made its mllucnce leh in 
many parts of the American continent. His 
paternal grandfather, Thomas Craig, was a 
Cameronian preaclier, who spent his later 
years upon a farm in tiie town of Ramsey, 
Ontario. 

Johr. Craig", who was born in Paisley, 
famous the world over for its skilled arti- 
sans and line fabrics, came in boyhood to 
Canada, and a few years later joined the 
throng of prospectors and adventurers who, 
in 1849, went to seek their fortunes in Cali- 
fornia, the land of gokl. He made tiie jour- 
ney by way of Cape Horn and spent about 
twenty years in that State, a part of the time 
being spent in mining and a part in lilling 
contracts to furnish mining timbers for oth- 
er parties. He afterward prospected in Ne- 
vada at W'innemucca and Carson City, and 
still later at Butte, Mont., and Boise City, 
Idaho, meeting with better success than the 
average miner. He acquired a tract of real 
estate in Owyiiee county, Idaho, as well as 
other property. He was one of the first ex- 
plorers of tlie Craig mountain range in that 
State, which was named in his honor. He 
died in 1896 at the age of sixty-six years in 
Boise City. Mrs. Marrion Craig, who has 
attained tiie age of over seventy years, is 
now at Minnedosa, Manitoba. As might be 
inferred slie came from tiie highland of 
Southerland. Her father, David Souther- 
land, was a sturdy farmer who reached an 
old age in Ramsey, Ontario. 

John S. Craig, whose name heads tiiis 
notice, left home at tiie age of fifteen years 
and went to Soutii Dakota. He learned the 
trade of painter and paper hanger at Scot- 
land and spent alxiut tiiree years at that 
place and Mitchell. He spent four years 
more in Montana, at Ft. Benton and Butte 
City. l)cconiing interested in other enter- 
prises as well as doing considerable work at 
iiis trade. He also visited Salmon City 
and Xicliolia. Idaho, and put in two years 
u])on the stock ranges of that State. Having 
acipiircd a fund of useful experience in the 
West lie returned for a short time to his na- 
tive place, where he was married. In .\pril, 
1890. lie located at West Superior, which 



has since been his home. For several years 
he gave his chief attention to his original 
calling, but was not wanting in expedients 
when dull seasons made the same unprofit- 
able. For three seasons he was employed 
in the cooper shops connected with the liour 
sheds of the Eastern Railway of Minnesota. 
In the fall of 1896 he was appointed a dep- 
uty sheriff of Douglas county and served for 
two years in that capacity. Since that time 
he has been interested in fire insurance as 
special agent of the Globe Insurance Com- 
pany, and since the spring of igoo, he has 
also served as city assessor by appointment. 
He has been an influential factor in the local 
councils of the Republican party, participat- 
ing in many city and county conventions and 
in 1896 he was a delegate to the State con- 
vention at Milwaukee, which nominated Ed- 
ward Scofield for the ofiice of Governor of 
Wisconsin. 

On July 16, 1889 Mr. Craig wedded Miss 
Eliza Ross, daughter of John Ross of Pais- 
ley, Ontario. One son, Rossi Marrion, 
born Oct. 2, 1900, has blessed their home. 
They are connected with the Presbyterian 
church, and Mr. Craig is prominently iden- 
tified with the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. He united with that fraternity in 
1889, in his native town and since 1893 has 
been a member of Terminal Lodge of Su- 
perior, in which he has passed all of the 
chairs. The capable and impartial manner 
in which he has discharged his duties in all 
walks of life has won him the confidence and 
good will of all his associates, and the warm- 
est friendship of a large circle of ac(|uaint- 
ances. 

THEODORE B. OTIS, deceased, was 
one of the pioneer merciiants of Northern 
Wisconsin, having settled at Maiden Rock, 
Pierce county, aliout 1867, and for forty 
years the family has been prominent in the 
business affairs of tliis section. 

The late Theodore B. Otis was liorn in 
1831 in Upper Jay, Essex Co., N. Y., where 
he was reared on a fami and educated in the 
district school. He came \\'est in young 
manhood in search of a permanent home, 
first visiting Illinois, and then came to Wis- 



376 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



cousin and settled at Maiden Rock. Here 
he established a mercantile business, but 
later removed to Superior, at the time that 
section was having what is denominated a 
"boom'' in about 1886. Here he conducted 
*i large mercantile establishment, develop- 
ing a tine business which he continued until 
1889, when failing health compelled him to 
give up active business life. Mr. Otis sold 
his stock to his son, who removed it to Rice 
Lake, Wis. In 1897 he came to Apollonia, 
where he resided until his death in 1903. He 
was an honored member of the Masonic 
fraternity. 

Mr. Otis married ]\Iiss Mary Houghton 
of New York and they had two sons : F. J. 
and Robert T. During Mr. Otis's business 
career, in partnership with his son, F. J., he 
carried on a general store in Hayward, Wis. 
About 1 89 1 they established a general store 
at Apollonia, which was the first store in the 
place, and is one of the few business houses 
which have survived to the present time. At 
first the style of the firm was F. J. Otis & 
Company, which was later, in 1895, changed 
to The F. J. Otis Co., the present name. 

Theodore B. Otis was a life-long Repub- 
lican and a stanch adherent to his party's 
principles. In his religious connections 
he was a Baptist. He was a conservative 
man in all the affairs of life and in his busi- 
ness relations he stood high in the esteem of 
his associates. He was successful in his af- 
fairs. 

Robert T. Otis was born in 1869, 
in Pierce county. Wis., and was educated 
in the public schools of Superior and Hay- 
ward. He has been continuously in mercan- 
tile life since he entered upon a business ca- 
reer. 

Mr. Otis is a member of the Mystic Tie 
Lodge. A. F. & A. M., of Ladysmith; the 
Royal Purple Lodge, I. O. O. F.. of Lady- 
smith; the Encampment, of Apollonia, and 
the Maccabees of the same town. His name 
is one which stands high both in business 
and social circles in Rusk county, and wher- 
ever else known. 

JOHN T. GUNNISS, of Duluth. has 
been active in business circles ever since his 



•location there. Fie was born Nov. 21, 1850, 
m Algonac, Mich., son of William and Lou- 
ana (Cook) Gunniss, and comes of a family 
which has been prominent in Lincolnshire, 
England, for many generations. His father 
was born there, in Sibsy, and came to the 
onited States previous to 1840, making his 
home in Algonac, Mich., where he still re- 
sides, now living in retirement at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-four years. He fol- 
lowed the business of marine engineer for 
some years. Mrs. Gunniss, who has long 
since passed away, was a native of New 
Vork and a daughter of Truman Cook, who 
spent his last years in Algonac. 

The public schools of Algonac aft'orded 
John T. Gunnis very good opportunities for 
an education, and he made the most of them, 
completing the high school course at the age 
of seventeen years. For some years during 
his early manhood he followed steamboating 
as an engineer, becoming such when only 
eighteen years of age. In 1871 he went to 
L'Anse, Mich., where he was connected with 
a mercantile firm for some years, and he also 
operated a line of tugboats in that harbor. 
In 1882 he made another move, this time to 
Hancock, Mich., where he began the manu- 
facture of brick, continuing that business 
there until 1889. In that year he came to 
West Duluth, where he started a brickyard 
as a member of the firm of Seager & Gun- 
niss, and also conducted a brickyard at 
South Superior for a time. Since 1893 he 
has been engaged in the manufacture of 
brick at Wrenshall, Minn., the product being 
marketed at the Head of the Lakes. In 1902 
he became a member of the firm of Derrig 
& Gunniss, who deal in mines, mining stock 
and oil properties in the West. Mr. Gunniss 
enjoys high standing as a citizen as well as 
in his commercial relations, and he served 
1 me term as president of the village of West 
Duluth before its annexation to tlie city 
proper. His political connection is with the 
Republican party. 

In 1881 Mr. Gunniss married Miss 
Annie E. Welsh, who was born in Ontona- 
gon. Mich., and is a daughter of James anil 
Marv \\^elsh, of L'Anse, Mich. Four sons 
have come to this marriage, Walter, Clay- 



COAIME.MORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



377 



ton, William and Gordon. The family is 
connected \\ith the Catholic church, and so- 
cially has excellent standing. 

CHARLES O. STEXSRUD, of South 
Superior, is one of the city's well-known and 
progressive business men. He is engaged in 
a mercantile business and carries a general 
stock of hardware and groceries. 

Although now a loyal American citizen, 
Mr. Stensrud was born in Norway in 1866. 
When he was about five years of age his 
father emigrated with his family, and com- 
ing to America, settled in Michigan, and it 
was in that State that Charles Stensrud was 
reared and educated. He left Michigan in 
early manhood and going to South Superior 
in 1893. began business on a comparatively 
small scale. He cairied at first a novelty 
line of goods, but as his trade has steadily 
increased he has branched out in other lines 
and now is one of the leading merchants of 
the place. 

In 1903 Mr. Stensrud removed to his 
present quarters. Previous to his purchase 
of the property it had been damaged by fire, 
but he rei)aired and enlarged the building 
at an expense of $2,000 and transfomied the 
place into its present somewhat attractive 
state. He has also dealt to some extent in 
real estate, having bought and sold other 
city property. 

Mr. Stensrud was married before leav- 
ing Michigan. He was united in 1887, in 
Marquette county, to Miss Agnes King, of 
Detroit, and they had nine children. Four 
of these died. Those who survive are named 
Louise, Pearl, Bertie, Earl and Ruth. 

Mr. Stensrud is a man of recognized 
public spirit and has l>een chosen president 
of tlie Greenwood Cemetery Association. It 
is largely through his instrumentality that 
this burial placf bas been so carefully laid 
out and I)cautified thai it is now one of the 
finest in the northern part of the State. It 
lies al)out two miles south of the city limits. 

Mr. Stensrud is also actively connected 
with several fraternal orders, including the 
Odd Fellows, the Modern \\V)0(lmcn, the 
Indcijcndcnt Order of I'oresters and the 
Modern Samaritans. 



FRANK J. MEEHAN, a well known 
citizen and prominent real estate man in 
Washburn, Bayfield county, Wis., was born 
in V'assar, Mich., Jan. i, 1863. 

Frank !Meehan, father of Frank J., was 
born in Ireland, but went to Edinburgh, 
Scotland, during his boyhood, and was 
brought up there. About 1850 he came to 
the United States and was employed in 
foundries in Toledo, Chicago and Saginaw. 
By 1859 he was able to establish a foundry' 
of his own, which he located at Vassar, 
Mich., and until his death in 1876, did a 
flourishing business there. He was a Re- 
publican in politics, and in his church affilia- 
tions a Presbyterian. He died in the prime 
of life when only forty-seven years old, 
though he came of a long-lived family, his 
mother living to be ninety-eight. 

Mrs. Frank Meehan was a Miss Helen 
Hughes, a native of County Galway, Ire- 
land. Her parents both died in that country, 
as did the parents of her husband. She came 
to this country while still young. Her death 
occurred in Vassar, in July, 1899, at the age 
of sixty-four years. 

Frank J. Meehan was educated in the 
public schools of Vassar and attended until 
he was fourteen years old. At that time he 
began working in a dry goods and clothing 
store in the tow'n and continued in that em- 
ployment until 1882, when he went to 
Northern Michigan. Three years were 
spent there in St. Louis, Cadillac and La- 
peer, successively, as manager of stores 
owned by various firms, and in 1887 he went 
to Washburn and began business for him- 
self. Mr. Meehan at first opened a clothing 
store, and from the beginning did so well 
that he was encouraged to add other lines 
until his establishment developed into a reg- 
ular department store. He conducted this 
business until 189S, when he sold out. Mean- 
time he had begim early in his career in 
Washburn to invest in real estate and build. 
His first structure was the I'uion block, 
which he put up in 1888, in company with 
Peter Wilson. This is a doul)le two-story 
stone building, and one of the most substan- 
tial in the town. Several years later he 
built anoilifT <nlicl stune fire proof store 75X 



3/8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



80 feet. In 1S97 he erected what is known as 
the Postoffice Block, a double two-story 
frame building. All these, together with 
others which he has built, Mr. Meehan still 
owns. He was also one of the promoters 
and incorporators of the Washburn Electric 
Light & Power Company. 

In politics Mr. Meehan is a Republican, 
but not an active worker in the party's cam- 
paigns. He is an energetic, capable business 
man, and is highly esteemed both in business 
and social circles. 

WILLIAM J. SULLIVAN, chief engi- 
neer for Alger, Smith & Co., has had many 
years experience as a stationary engineer. 
For the la.st ten or twelve years he has been 
in the employ of the same firm, and before 
that had been engineer for various flouring 
and sawmills. His father, Joseph Sullivan, 
has always been engaged in the lumber busi- 
ness in some capacity, and is at present a 
sawyer at Pickford, Mich. He and his wife, 
Sarah Tweedy, had a family of ten children, 
of whom seven are living. 

William J. Sullivan, the second child of 
his parents, was born Aug. i, 1865, in Can- 
ada, his father and mother being natives of 
the same country. He obtained his educa- 
tion in the common schools of his native 
place, after leaving which he worked for a 
year in a blast furnace. He then went to 
Sault Ste. Marie for a year, where he found 
employment as a sawyer and in attending to 
an engine. His next move was to Duluth, 
where he worked five months as fireman in 
an electric light plant. He then secured the 
position of second engineer in a flouring 
mill, where he remained two years, at the 
end of that time being promoted to the place 
of chief engineer, which he filled for three 
years. After this he went to Superior, and 
was for two years chief and consulting en- 
gineer in a flouring mill in that city. Leav- 
ing this position he became, engineer in a 
sawmill in Superior, where he remained a 
year. He then came back to Duluth and 
accepted the position of chief engineer for 
the W. H. Knox Lumber Company. Pie 
has ever since remained with the same con- 
cern, which is now known as the Alger, 



Smith Lumber Company. Plis brother. 
Samuel Sullivan, is chief electrician for the 
same firm. 

Mr. Sullivan married, Aug. 31, 1S92, 
Anna Kribs, of Canada, and they are the 
parents of three children : Fred J., Horace 
W. and Ethel. The family are members of 
the Methodist church. Mr. Sullivan is an 
Orangeman, a member of the local organi- 
zation in Duluth. In politics he is a Repub- 
lican, and fraternally he is connected with 
the A. O. U. W. Lodge, No. 105, of Duluth. 
The family home, at the corner of Twenty- 
seventh avenue west and Huron street, is 
owned by Mr. Sullivan. 

JOHN F. FRY, a sawyer in the employ 
of Alger, Smith & Co., came to Duluth 
about ten years ago. He has had consider- 
able experience as a sawyer and logger in 
various places and has worked for the same 
firm since 1889. He was born in Holmes- 
ville, Ohio, Jan. 21, 1866, son of Jacob A., 
and Selesian (Swan) Fry, both natives of 
Ohio. The Fry family is one of the oldest 
in that state, Cyrus Fry, the great-grand- 
father of John F., migrating thither from 
Pennsylvania when he was obliged to cut 
his own trail. Jacob A. Fry is a farmer. He 
still lives at Holmesville, where his wife 
died in 1881. John F. is the eldest of their 
family of five children. 

John F. Fry attended the public schools 
as a lad, and then helped his father on the 
farm for a time. At length be secured a 
position on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 
where he remained until 1885. He then 
came to Stevens Point, Wis., working in the 
lumber woods during the winter, and in a 
sawmill during the summer. In 1889 he 
engaged as a sawyer with W. H. Knox, a 
lumberman of Price county. Wis., and re- 
mained there until 1894. At that time he 
came to Duluth in the employ of the same 
company, with whom he has since remained, 
the firm name being now Alger, Smitli & 
Co. He owns his home in Duluth. 

Mr. Fry married. July 4, 1889, Bessie 
McCabe, of Med ford. Wis,, daughter of Pat- 
rick and Mary McCabe. both natives of Ire- 
land. Patrick McCabe spent his active 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



379 



years as a laboring man and is now leading 
a retired life in Medford. iiis wife passed 
away in 1871. They were the parents of 
six children, all living, of whom Mrs. Fry 
was the youngest. 'lo Mr. and Mrs. Fry 
have been born the following children, Jane, 
Nora, Isabel, Morris and Clarence, all liv- 
ing at home. The family are members of 
the United Brethren church. Mr. Fry is 
independent in politics and fraternally is a 
member of the K. P., No. 45, of Duluth. 

A. J. BUFFALO. The Red Cliff Res- 
ervation was first set apart for the use of the 
Indian tribes in 1854, and in the beginning 
only four sections were reserved, and no spe- 
cial tribe was designated. In 1858 sixteen 
sections were added by act of Congress, and 
finally in President Cleveland's first admin- 
i.stration had been created exclusively for 
the Chippewa Indians. The chief of the 
tribe thus established on the reserve is A. J. 
Buffalo, born in 1852, a son of the former 
chief, Antoine Buffalo, whose authority de- 
scended to his son. The family reaches 
back through a long line of ancestors, all of 
whom have been prominent as chieftains of 
their tribes. 

Antoine Buffalo was a son of Chajeg- 
weon. a full-blooded Indian. He married 
Mary, a daughter of another old family and 
they have had six children, two of whom 
are living, Josephine, of West Superior, and 
A. J. Antoine Buffalo died about 1865, but 
his wife survives at a good old age, and re- 
sides with her son. 

A. J. Buffalo early felt the importance 
of an education and succeeded in obtaining 
a limited amount of instruction in the govern- 
ment school, but before he had finished his 
father had died and he was obliged to aban- 
don his studies and go u> work to support his 
mother and the younger children, these re- 
sponsibilities resting upon him until he was 
grown. As the head of the tribe he had all 
the affairs of his people to direct also, no 
light task for so young a chief. 

\\'hen the allotments were made to the 
Chippewas each Indian received about eighty 
acres. They at once began taking up their 
allotments and settling on their lands. Two- 



thirds of their lands were covered with fine 
timber, which they were allowed to dispose 
of and thus secure funds with which to put 
up houses. About 1872 the government es- 
tablished an agency on the reservation 
which was maintained for eight years. The 
first agent was Major Clark, who was suc- 
ceeded by a Mr. Mehan. While the latter 
was in charge the agency was destroyed by 
fire and it was never rebuilt. 

The first government school was estab- 
lished in 1854 on Chequamegon Bay, on 
Madaline Island, at LaPointe. This school 
was carried on for four years under govern- 
ment supervision, and was then moved to 
Red Cliff, where it was still under govern- 
ment control. During the last years of Mr. 
Mehan's administration the school was 
moved again, this time to the Courtes 
Oreilles Reservation. Another school was 
established on the Red Cliff Reservation, 
maintained by the people themselves, and 
taught by Sisters. Subsequently the Sisters 
themselves received government appoint- 
ment, and have continued to conduct the 
school very successfully to the present time. 
It is well patronized in every way, and has 
done much for the Indian children. Of these 
there are about seventy-five of school age. 
The census shows an Indian population on 
the reservation of 275. At present increased 
interest is being taken in agriculture and the 
allotments show decided improvements. The 
mission and the school buildings are in one, 
a good comfortable structure, costing about 
$2,000. 

During his earlier years Chief Buffalo 
was occupied in clearing up his farm of forty 
acres, and in doing contract work. Hie un- 
varving success proves that much may be 
attained'by industry and good management. 
In 1897 he was appointed government 
farmer by President McKinley but resigned 
that position in February, 1903. 

Chief Buffalo was married in 1873 ^^ 
Esther, a Chippewa half-breed maiden, and 
ihev have had a family of eleven children 
of whom eight are living: .\ntoine, Susan, 
Michael. Jo.seph, Robert, INTarlin, Alaggie 
and Henry. The three who died were John. 
Mary and James. All of these children are 



3So 



COMMl-iMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



educated, some of them to an unusual extent. 
jMichael received his early schooling in the 
parochial schools, and was then sent to a 
1 usiness college at Quincy, 111., and after 
graduating from that entered Haskell In- 
stitute, St. Lawrence. Kans. ; he completed 
that course, graduated, and has since lieen 
filling a responsible position at St. I'aul. 
Two other sons, Joseph and Martin, went 
from the parochial schools to the Flandreau 
school in South Dakota, where the former 
belonged to the class of 1903, and the latter 
will finish a year or two later. Robert is 
now in the Haskell Institute, taking the full 
course; and Antoine and the daughters 
have all been through the parochial schools. 
In 1898 Chief Buffalo established a gen- 
eral store at Red Cliff, which he further en- 
larged in March, 1904. by buying the mer- 
cantile stock of the Red Cliff Lumber 
Co., combining the two and forming a com- 
pL-te general store ; he had the only one in 
the village. He is the most progressive man 
of his tribe, and possesses ability of no mean 
•order. The family are all connected with the 
Catholic Church. 

SAMUEL C. DANEL, who resides at 
315 I2th street. West Superior, has now 
made his home in that city for a number of 
years, ha\ing previously tried other sections 
of the Middle W' est. He was born in Mary- 
land, May 30, 1845. 

Peter Danel, father of Samuel C. was 
also a native of Maryland. He married Miss 
I.ydia Echenliergcr. and they had ten chil- 
dren; se\;eral of them died young, but while 
two sons and four daughters grew to matur- 
ity, Samuel C, so far as is known, is the 
only one living. When he was about two 
years old the family removed to Ohio, and 
after several years there, to Freeport, 111., 
where Peter Danel died. His widow then 
went to Marshalltown. Iowa, and from there 
to Waseca, IMinn., where she died in the 
home of her daughter. 

Samuel C. Danel and his only brother, 
James P., two years older, enlisted April 
6, 186:?, in Company D, 12th 111. Cav., for 
service in the Civil war. Through some 
error, the former was emxilled as Samuel 



Daniels, and his name appears in that form 
in all records connected with his military life. 
The brothers were in the army of the Poto- 
mac, and their regiment reached the field of 
Antietam on the last day of that battle. From 
that beginning Mr. r~)anel saw much active 
service ; he was in Stoneman's famous raid 
about Richmond, and it was the brigade to 
which he belonged that opened the battle 
of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. He was in 
the battles of Hagerstown, Mechaniscville, 
Boonsboro and Falling Waters. From there 
he was sent to Culpeper Court House, where 
be remained untilthe fall of 1863, when his 
regiment assisted in covering Meade's re- 
treat. One of the most important battles in 
which Mr. Danel participated was that of 
Brandy Station, one of the most brilliant 
cavalry engagements of the whole war. 

In January, 1864, the brothers were 
granted a furlough, after which they re- 
turned to Chicago with the intention of re- 
newing their enlistment when it expired. 
But while there both were attacked with 
small-pox. and were discharged in May of 
that same year. Their regiment in the mean- 
time had gone to Arkansas. 

The two Danels returned to Freeport, 
111., and there James died a few years later. 
Samuel went W'est in i S:(^y and was engaged 
in construction work for the L^nion Pacific 
Railroad for two years. After this he went 
back to Freeport. and learned the plasterer's 
trade, his occupation ever since, though in 
various places. In 1871 he went to \\'ater- 
loo. Iowa, where he remained for several 
years, and was then in Minneapolis for three 
years. At Elk River, Minn., be remained 
twelve years. In the last place he served 
four years as sheriff of Sherburne county. 
Next followed a period during which he 
was employed by the government in the 
Black Hills in the construction of Fort 
Meade: and then after an interval of two 
years, in Ashland, he located at West Su- 
perior, where he has since remained. 

Mr. Danel was married in 1871 in 
Waterloo, Iowa, to Miss Martha Hough. 
One son has come to them. Charles A., born 
in Waterloo July 4. iS<~2. He lives .nt home 
and follows the same trade as his f;illicr. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



3S£ 



With such a war record behind him, 
Air. Danel naturally is a member of Alonzo 
Palmer Post, No. 170, G. A. R. He was 
a faithful and efficient soldier in the war, 
and in the days of peace since that time has 
l)roved himself also a good citizen, who de- 
serves the respect in which he is held. 

J. ARTHUR M.VRCHESSAGLT, M. 
D., one of the most skillful and successful 
physicians now practicing in iVshland, is a 
Canadian by birth, but has passed his whole 
professional life in the United States. The 
Doctor was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, 
March 7, 1852. 

Both the Doctor's parents were born in 
France. His father, Romnald Marchessault, 
was less than a year old when his parents 
brought him to America in 1822, and he was 
educated in the College of Chambly, St. 
Hyacinthe. He always took an interest in 
politics and became well known in public life, 
Iteing elected to the Assembly from the 
county of X'ercheres. His occupation was 
that of a farmer, and his whole life was 
spent on his farm at Sherbrooke. He also 
acquired another magnificent property at 
Compton. His death occurred Aug. 6, 1888. 
He was the great-grandson of a French 
nobleman, and the latter's rapier is still pre- 
served by the Doctor. 

Romnald Marchessault married Olimpe 
Perrault, who came of one of the oldest 
families of Montreal. Her father, Joseph 
Perrault, came there from France during her 
early childhood, and became one of the large 
land holders in the vicinity of Montreal ; he 
was very well known. Mrs. Marchessault 
died May 2. 1896, at the age of seventy-four 
years and three months. 

J. Arthur Marchessault was educated at 
St. Hyacinthe's seminary, where he pursued 
a classical course preparatory to entering 
Victoria Medical College, in Montreal, from 
whicii he received the degree of M. D. in 
1877. He first practiced at Omaha, Neb., 
Init soon removed to Elk Point, S. Dak., 
wiiere he spent four years. Two years later 
he went to .Ashland, where since 1882 he has 
been in general practice, lieing now one of 
the oldest and most successful doctors there. 



for he has built up a clientele that assures- 
his standing and practice beyond question. 
The Doctor keeps in close touch with all 
the medical teachings of the day, and be- 
longs to the Ashland County Aledical Asso- 
ciation and the American Medical Associa- 
tion. Since 1880 he has been a member of 
the I. O. O. F. In his political faith he is a ■ 
gold Democrat. He has been appointed 
health commissioner of the city, a position he 
has lilled for six years. 

The first wife of Dr. Marchessault was 
Miss Lovina Jerraud, of Montague, Mich., 
who was born in Illinois in 1848. She died 
in 1886, four years after her marriage, leav- 
ing one daughter, May, who graduated from 
the Ashland high school in the class of 1903. 
Jn 1890 Dr. Marchessault married Miss Har- 
riet Hoyer, daughter of Lansing Hover, of 
Omaha, and by this marriage he has had one 
.son, Clinton, born in 1896. Mrs. Marches- 
sault was born in Wyoming. Iowa. She is 
a member of the Presbyterian Church. 

Dr. Marchessault has been very success- 
ful in his business affairs, and owns a num- 
ber of blocks in various parts of the city, 
which he has built as investments. His fav- 
orite recreation is hunting, and he devotes 
much of his leisure time to that sport. He 
is an expert shot, and always returns from 
an outing with an ample supply of game for 
all his friends. 

ANTOINE GORDON, a pioneer mer- 
chant of Gordon, Douglas county, was born 
at Sandy Lake, Aitkin county, Minn., Jan. 
ro, 1822. His father was John Battis Gor- 
don and his mother was Owa-neshan 
(meaning Young Beaver), a Chippewa 
woman. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon both died 
in LaPointe, Madaline Island. Bayfield 
county, Wis., whither they had come in 
1840. 

The early boyhood of .'\ntoine Gordon 
was .spent in his native place, where he at- 
tended school for one term of three months, 
the only school life he ever knew. He was 
about twelve years old when he accompaniefl 
his father to Sault Ste. Marie. Mich., going 
a few years later to La Pointe, Madaline 
Island, Bavfield count v. Wis., where at that 



.38^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



time th« American Fur Compaii}- had their 
headquarters. In 1845 he opened a general 
store at La Pointe, which he carried on for 
ten years. Meantime lie bought the scliooner 
'"Algonquin," fifty-five tons burden, and 
went into the lumber business, getting out 
lumber at the mouth of the Bad river, and 
transporting it to Superior, which was just 
then building up. In 1855 he moved to St. 
Croix, near the mouth of the Snake river, 
taking a stock of goods for trade with the 
Indians, and continued in that business until 
1862. when he came to his present location 
on the stage route from St. Paul to Bayfield, 
which was then a wilderness. Here he 
opened a store and a boarding house, in both 
of which lines he has done a successful busi- 
ness up to the present time. When the 
Northwestern Railroad was built through 
this locality, in 1872, the station was named 
Gordon in honor of its first settler. Mr. 
Gordon soon bought from H. M. Rice, a 
forty-acre tract on which was a trout pond, 
and he employed George E. Stuntz to sur- 
vey and plat the town of Gordon. He was 
appointed the first postmaster at Gordon, and 
served as such for three years ; he also filled 
the office of town supervisor for six years, 
and was for ten years school treasurer. In 
early life he embraced the Christian faith, 
attaching himself to the Catholic Church, and 
while, owing to his mother's objections, he 
did not yield to the importunities of those 
who sought to have him fit liimself for the 
])riesthood. he has always been a zealous 
churcliman. He took a prominent part in the 
erection of the Catholic Church at La Pointe, 
in 1847, gave the site, and bore the greater 
part of the expense of building the Catholic 
Church at Gortlon, which was erected in 
1890. 

In 1845. ^t La Pointe, IMr. Gordon was 
married to Sarah Dingley, and they have 
had a family of seven children, of whom 
Lucy and Lizzie are deceased. The sur- 
vivors are: Edward, Lizzie, William. Ag- 
gie and Susan, all married and in good 
homes, and each having a family of five or 
six children. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon have 
ten great-grandchildren. ]\Irs. Gordon was 
born in Yellow Lake, Burnett Co.. Wis.. 



where her father, Daniel Dingley. a Massa- 
chusetts man, was an Indian trader. At one 
time he had a large store at St. Joseph, Mich. 
He went out hunting one morning and was 
never heard of again. Mrs. Gordon's 
mother, Isabelle La Prairie, was a half-breed, 
of French blood on her father's side. 

Mr. Gordon has been a keen observer 
of men and things, and has acquired much 
knowledge by self-teaching. He speaks and 
writes English, French and the Chippewa 
language, reads Latin, and understands the 
Sioux tongue. He has never used liquor or 
tobacco in any form, and is strictly temperate 
in all things. In business he is noted for 
his unswerving honesty and integrity. He 
is well preserved both mentally and physi- 
cally, stands perfectly erect, and his mind 
is clear and alert despite more than four 
score years of active life. At the time of the 
Sioux war in Minnesota, in 1862. Mr. Gor- 
don went on foot over one hundred miles to 
remonstrate with three of his cousins who 
were chiefs of the Chippewas and had been 
importuned to join the Sioux in a war of 
extermination against the whites. One of 
these cousins. Chief Hole-in-the-Day, was 
very determined, but the influence of Mr. 
Gordon prevailed, and thus the li\'es of many 
white people were saved. 

FREDERICK THOMAS YATES. 
The influence of the press, in such a country 
as this, is one that cannot adetiuately be 
estimated, and upon the editors and publish- 
ers of our papers rests the responsibility of 
guiding, if not of entirely forming, the 
opinions of their public following. One of 
the prominent newspaper men in Washburn, 
Bayfield county, is Frederick T. Yates, the 
jnililisher of the IVaslibuni Ncxvs and Itcm- 

Thomas Yates, the father, came to the 
United States during the early childhood of 
our subject. Landing in this country in the 
fall of 1871, he established himself in Chi- 
cago only two weeks before the great fire. 
He was a jeweler by trade, at first conduct- 
ing a store on the west side, and later in the 
Grand Pacific Hntcl building. In 1881 he 
went to River l\-ills. Wis., where he con- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



383 



tinned in the same line, later starting business 
at Washburn, whither he had moved in 1887. 

Frederick T. Yates was born in Wales, 
April 28, 1867. His education was acquired 
in the public schools of Chicago, and, at the 
age of fourteen, going to River Falls with his 
parents, he entered the office of the Journal, 
remaining there a year and a half, becoming 
a master of the printing craft. In 1885 he 
went to Bayfield county, and worked on the 
Bayfield Press until Sei)tember, 1887, when 
he decided to locate permanently at Wash- 
burn, where he began the publication of the 
lYeu's. Tine years later he bought the 
Itemher, and has since published the two 
papers combined as the Ncccs and Itcmhcr. 
The paper was always an independent Demo- 
cratic publication until the summer of 1902, 
when Mr. Yates joined the Republican ranks 
and the Xcz^.'s and Itcinhc-r is now among the 
prominent Republican papers of northern 
Wisconsin. 

Mr. Yates has been prominent in many 
of the business concerns of Washburn. He 
was one of the incorporators and is now 
president of the Washburn Loan and Build- 
ing Association, the model association of that 
character in Wisconsin ; a stockholder and 
manager of the Washburn Electric Light & 
Power Company; vice-president of the 
Northern State Bank ; and is interested to a 
considerable degree in real estate. He has 
served two terms as secretary of the high 
school board, and one year as mayor of the 
city. 

In 1887 Mr. Yates was married to Miss 
Jennie Cooper, daughter of David Cooper, 
deceased, one of the pioneers of Bayfield. 
Mr. Cooper was born in Michigan, but 
passed the most of his life in Wisconsin, 
where he dealt in merchandise many years, 
and also at one time r)pcrated a stage line l)e- 
tween Ashland and Duluth. Mr. and Mrs. 
Yates liave had three children : Frederick 
T.. who died in 1901, at the age of thirteen 
years: Alma I'Jorence; and Crace Cooper. 
The family is connected with the Methodist 
Church, and Mr. Yates belongs to the M. 
W. A., and the Masonic fraternity. Few 
men, especially young men, touch the life 
of their locality on so many sides as does 



Mr. Yates, and his work in the community 
is highly appreciated by his fellow citizens. 

SAMUEL P. CARPENTER, a highly 
esteemed citizen of Superior, Douglas 
county, where has resided since 1891, and for 
some years past one of the city's ofificials, 
has had an eventful and useful career. He 
was born at Carpenter's Corners, Washte- 
naw Co., Mich., son of Justus and W'ealthy 
A. (Parsons) Carpenter. 

The ancestors of the Carpenter family 
were among the oldest settlers in New Eng- 
land. Early in the nineteenth century Hor- 
ace Carpenter, father of Justus, settled in 
Chautauqua county, N. \^., where he carried 
on a mercantile business until about 1830. 
He then moved to Michigan and settled about 
half way between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, 
at a place ever since known as Carpenter's 
Corners, where he died at the age of seventy. 
Justus Carpenter was one of the pioneers of 
Wisconsin, settling about 1840 on a farm 
in Jefferson county, near Whitewater. He 
took the contract for grading the first rail- 
way west of Milwaukee, between Eagle and 
Whitewater, and he kept a store for a time 
at Palmyra. In i8;w he located at Sauk 
Rapids. Minn., where he kept the "Russell 
House." at that time the largest hotel west 
of Minneapolis. He died at Sauk Rapids 
in 1887 at the age of seventy-eight; his wife 
survived him several j'ears, living to be 
eighty years of age. She was born in Chau- 
tauqua county, N. Y. Her paternal grand- 
father came to this country from Scotland, 
and her father. Rev. Josiah Parsons, was a 
Congregational minister, located for many 
years at Ann Arbor. 

Samuel P. Carpenter attended the public 
schools of Whitewater and Palmyra. In 1859 
he left home, joining a wagon train for 
Pike's Peak. On reaching Fort Laramie 
the party heard discouraging reports of their 
intended location and s(ime members re- 
turned East, but Mr. Carpenter bought out 
his partner's interest and determined to push 
on to California. He became a dealer in 
clothing and furnishing goods at \o. 622 
Clark street, San Francisco, and later at the 
corner of 4th and J streets, Sacramento. 



384 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



He spent seven years in California, and at 
one time liad accumulated a fortune, but lie 
lost much of this through unfortunate min- 
ing speculations in Mexico. During the 
Civil war he enlisted, but was rejected owing 
to physical disability. His desire to enter the 
service had been augmented by the news of 
the death of his brother, Capt. Roswell P. 
Carpenter, of the 20th Mich. V. I., at the 
battle of Spottsylvania. Another brother, 
James P. Carpenter, now of Royalton, 
Minn., served about a year in the Union 
army during the war. In 1867 Mr. Carpen- 
ter opened a clothing and furnishing store 
in Chicago, at the southeast corner of State 
and Randolph streets, but after three years 
he went to Sauk Rapids, Minn., joining his 
father in the hotel business and later be- 
coming sole proprietor. While in Sauk 
Rapids he was for eighteen years a county 
official, filling successively the positions of 
sheriff, county clerk and county register, 
and serving several terms in each office. 
The great disaster of Mr. Carpenter's life 
came to him in the cyclone of April 16, 1886, 
which destroyed the town of Sauk Rapids, 
and did much other damage. In this storm 
his beautiful home was demolished and three 
of his children — Lulu, Olive and Angeline — 
were killed. Since 1891 the surviving mem- 
bers of the family have lived in Superior, 
where since 1894 Mr. Carpenter has been 
secretary of the police department. He has 
been a stanch Republican since the organiza- 
tion of that party. In religious faith he is a 
Unitarian. 

On Oct. 20, 1871, Mr. Carpenter married 
Eva Coburn, who was born at Galena, 111., 
daughter of Chester A. and Maria S. Co- 
Imrn, of Sauk Rapids, Minn. Mr. and Mrs. 
Carpenter have four living children, Horace 
B., Justus, Chester and Virginia. The fam- 
ily attend the Episcopal Church. Mrs. Car- 
penter has for a long period been identified 
with the W. C. T. U., being president of the 
local organization. Since 1897 she has been 
State commander for Wisconsin of the Lad- 
ies of the Maccabees, and she is deputy su- 
preme commander of the order. 



GEORGE FORSYTH, the oldest log- 
ger in northern Wisconsin, and widely 
known among lumbermen throughout the 
Northwest, lived for several years on his 
farm near Sanborn, and devoted himself to 
the less strenuous life of an agriculturist. 
Though his sixty-five years have in no way 
lessened his ardor nor diminished his 
strength, a serious trouble with his eyes, 
some years ago, made his former active and 
adventurous life in the logging regions un- 
safe, and he turned his energies into quiet- 
er channels. 

-Andrew and iMary (Buchanan) For- 
syth, his parents, were natives of Scotland, 
and came to this country in 1838. George 
Forsyth was born shortly after th^ir arrival 
in this country, at Milltown, near Calais, 
INIaine, where he was reared and educated, 
remaining there until he was eighteen years 
old. In 1856 he started West, alone, to 
seek his fortune, and went first to IMinne- 
apolis, where he secured employment in 
cutting the first lath ever made in that city. 
He was employed there for eleven years, 
during the winters working in the woods. 
From Minneapolis he went to Sault Ste. 
Marie, and engaged in lumbering on Sugar 
Island for P. S. Church, for whom he 
worked six years. In 1872 he went to Du- 
luth, and in 1S76 to Ashland, which was 
then just coming into prominence as a lum- 
ber town. 

In Ashland Mr. Forsyth went into part- 
nership in the lumber business with the late 
Samuel ^'aughn. and in the course of their 
business was tlie first man to drive logs down 
the White river. Later he was connected 
with Robert Ritchie in a sawmill. They had 
a contract for getting out part of the lumber 
for the Northwestern ore dock, in Ashland, 
supplying 3,000.000 out of the 7,000,000 
feet required. Mr. Forsyth was also the first 
man to drive logs down the Marengo river, 
which he cleared of snags from Bad river 
to a point three miles above his farm, a 
distance of thirty miles on the river. He 
also drove the first logs on Fish creek and on 
Potato river. 




E-i 
W 

w 

O 

o 
a 

o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



38s 



It was at this point in liis career that 
Mr. l'"orsyth's troubles with his eyes began, 
one of the optic nerves becoming affected, 
and he was obliged to give up iiis old occu- 
pation. He had been <juite successful as a 
logger, owing to his untiring energy and 
strict attention to business, and had accumu- 
late<l considerable property. One farm 
which he had bought was situated on 
the Marengo, about twelve miles south 
of Ashland, and consisted of 160 acres 
and he had been in the habit of 
sending his horses and oxen there during 
the summers, while he lived in Ashland. 
In 1889 he settled on this place, to which he 
has since added twenty acres, and he re- 
mained there until his recent removal to 
Ashland. At present that is his only farming 
property, though he previously owned a 
much larger acreage in Ashland and Bayfield 
counties. The place is one of the best de- 
veloped in Ashland county, and Mr. Forsyth 
cut 160 tons of hay annually, besides rais- 
ing 1,400 bushels of grain and from 2,000 
to 4,000 bushels of potatoes. He kept about 
forty head of live stock. His farm brings 
in a large income, and is yearly growing 
more valuable. He also owns five city resi- 
dences in Ashland, where he now resides. 

Mr. Forsyth was first married, in i860, 
to Almira McKinzie, a native of East 
Machias, Maine. She died in 1869, aged 
thirty-one years. On Oct. 13, 1881, Mr. 
Forsyth married Mary Lonergan, daughter 
of Dennis and Mary (Fitzgerald) Lonergan. 
Mrs. l-'orsyth was born in Washington coun- 
ty. Wis. Three sons of Mr. ]*"orsyth are 
living: William O., superintendent of the 
western division of the Armour Packing 
Company, with headquarters at Portland, 
Ore. : George, engaged in lumliering on Bad 
River reservation ; and h'rederick. 

In pnliiics Mr. I-'orsyth is a Republi- 
can, and in local affairs he has displayed an 
active interest. He is essentially a self-made 
man, winning his way largely by the dogged 
persistence which has characterized his life, 
and which he doubtless inherits fmm his 
Scotch ancestors. 



SAMUEL CALDWELL McQUADE, 
who resided in Duluth from 1870 until his. 
death, July 20, 1896, was a prominent man, 
in that city throughout his active years. He. 
was successful in business, foremost in pub- 
lic life and a man of influence wherever he- 
was known. 

Mr. McOuade was a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, born July 4, 1829, at Kittanning, and 
was the descendant of Scottish ancestors who 
came to Pennsyh'ania from their native land 
at an early (l:iy. James McQuade, Sr., 
grandfather of Samuel C, was a sea captain 
for many years, in later life settling at Kit- 
tanning. James McOuade, father of Sam- 
uel C, was a miller by trade. In 1847 1''^ 
remo\ed to Belleville, W;iyne Co., Mich.,. 
where he built a flouring mill and conducted 
it until his death in 1857, at the age of fifty- 
si.x years. He married I-^lizabeth Caldwell, 
who was born in Philadel])hia, of English 
descent, and who during her young woman- 
hood was prominent in I'ittsburg society. 
She died at the age of sixty years. 

Samuel Caldwell McOuade enjoyed fair 
educational advantages. .\fter removing: 
with his parents to Michigan, he learned 
the carpenter's trade, which he followed until 
1870 except during the period of his -ser- 
\ ice in the Civil war. Previous to that 
struggle he sjient about three years in Onto- 
nagon, Mich., engaged in contracting. In 
the fall of i86r he and his brother Robert 
entered the Union service, Samuel C. as 
princijjal musician, being rai.sed to rank of 
second lieutenant, which rank he was hold- 
ing at the time of his discharge, in April, 
1865. His regiment, the 27th M. V. I., which 
formed a part of the 9tii .Army Corps, under 
Gen. I'urnside, took part in the siege of. 
Vicksburgand other important engagements,, 
and made a creditable record. Lieut. Mc- 
Quade was once slightly wounded and harV 
many narrow escapes. Exposure brought 
on chronic dysentery, and he was obliged to 
spend some time in the hospital at Covington^ 
Ky., but for the most part he bore the hard- 
ship of the service very well, and he did his. 
(hitv faithfully. 



386 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Soon after his return from the war, Mr. 
McOuade went to Hancock, Mich., where 
he engaged in contracting and building for 
al)out five years, in 1870 moving- to Duluth, 
wiiere he ever afterward made his home. 
In company with O. K. Patterson (the firm 
name Ijeing Patterson & McOuade) he em- 
barked in the manufacture of sash and doors 
on Minnesota Point, Lower Dukith, con- 
tinuing the business until the panic of 1873, 
when he again took up contracting. He 
erected a number of residences and other 
buildings, taking a contract, among others, 
to put up all the buildings for the Nonesuch 
Mine, Isle Royale, where he spent the greater 
part of a season. He became one of the lead- 
ing men of the State in his line of work, and 
amassed a comfortable fortune in the pursuit 
of liis chosen industry, to which the greater 
part of his attention was given. 

In 1877 Mr. McOuade was elected sheriff 
of St. Louis county, and was re-elected five 
times, serving ten years in all in that incum- 
bency, where his services proved most satis- 
factory to all concerned. In 1891-92 he was 
chief of police in Duluth, and in that posi- 
tion also displayed executive ability and tact 
of a high order. He was well known in 
fraternal circles as a Scottish Rite Mason, 
and held a number of official positions in the 
order. During the last few years of his life 
Mr. McOuade was afflicted with poor health, 
caused by heart trouble, and he spent con- 
siderable time in the South and West in the 
hope of improving, but in vain. Always con- 
spicuous for ambition and enterprise, the in- 
action which uncertain health entailed was 
contrar}- to his nature and distasteful to him. 
lie was energetic and efiicient in everything 
he undertook, and in his day held a high 
place among the business and public men of 
liis adopted city. 

' Mr. McQuade was married Jan. i. 1856, 
to Miss Abbie Eliza Hayward, a native of 
Buffalo, 1S[. Y., and daughter of David and 
Betsy (Hoyt) Hayward, of Romulus, 
Wayne Co., Mich. Mr. Hayward was born 
in 1784 in New Jersey, of English de- 
scent, was a sawyer by trade, and died in 
1878 at Bayfield, Wis. He served for a 
time in a New York regiment during the 



war of 1812. His wife, who was born in 
1793 in Vermont, passed away in 1865 at 
Ypsilanti, I\Iichigan. 

To Mr. and Mrs. McOuade were born 
three sons and one daughter, viz. : William 
H., who resides in Tower, Minn.; Gertrude, 
Mrs. C. O. Flynn, of Duluth; Robert H., 
of Tower ; and Fred P., of Duluth. Mrs. 
McOuade still makes her home in Duluth, 
and is held in high esteem by a wide circle 
of friends and acquaintances. 

ERICK DAHLSTROM is one of the 
enterprising farmers of the town of Bashaw, 
Washburn county. He was born in Mora, 
Sweden, Nov. 21, 1855, son of Erick and 
.■\nna Dahlstrom, who came with their fam- 
ily to the United States in 1868. 

Erick Dahlstrom, Sr., a blacksmith by 
trade, lived for a year or two in Minnesota, 
and then settled in Polk county, Wis., where 
he took up a homestead claim. About 1884 
he moved to Shell Lake, where he died in 
1898, aged seventy-two years, after a life of 
quiet industry. Mrs. Anna Dahlstrom is 
now living, aged nearly four score years, in 
Rusk, Burnett county. Wis. Of her seven 
or eight children only two survive, Andrew, 
a farmer in the town of Rusk; and Erick. 

Erick Dahlstrom had little opportunity 
for schooling after coming to this country, 
but managed to acquire a good knowledge of 
English, and a fund of general information. 
When he was fourteen he began work as a 
farm laborer, and after about 1882 spent his 
winters in the w'oods, and his summers at 
carpentering. In 1886 he bought land in the 
town of Bashaw, where he now owns 270 
acres, alx)ut sixty acres of which he has 
brought under cultivation. The farm is 
watered by a living .spring, and a stream 
which he has stocked \\ith trout ; he has ample 
barns, and a good farm house, built by him- 
self. When he first located on this farm 
he was obliged to clear his own road through 
the woods from Shell Lake. He has given 
much attention to logging and contracting, 
cutting considerable timber on his own land. 
He has built most of the roads in the town- 
ship, and served as assessor for three years 
when the township was first organized. He 



COAIMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



387 



•was also for three years chairman of the 
.town board. In poHtics he is a Republican. 
In 1880 Mr. Dahlstrom married Bertha 
Nelson, who was born near Christiania, Nor- 
way, daughter of Hans Nelson, one of the 
early settlers in Polk county. Wis., where 
he located in 1869. Seven children have 
been born to this union, as follows : Anna, 
of Kalispell, Mont.; Hilda; Oscar; Harry; 
Mary; Jennie; and Melvin. The family is 
connected with the Lutheran Church. 

FRED PETERSON, the register of 
deeds of Ashland county, has been a citizen 
-of Ashland for more than three decades and 
is ranked among the most worthy and ex- 
€mplary citizens of that city and county. 
He was born in Lagmanshalm, Sweden, July 
5, 1845, the son of Peter and Johanna (An- 
derson) Anderson, natives of the same place, 
who lived and died there. 

Peter Anderson was a carpenter and 
blacksmith by trade. He and his wife had 
six children, viz. : A. P., who still lives in 
Sweden; John, of Madrid, Iowa; Iledda, 
the widow of John Johnson, and Annastina, 
Mrs. Carlson, both of North Platte, Neb. ; 
Fred ; and a sister, who has died. 

Fred Peterson left home at the age of 
twenty-one years and came to the United 
States. He spent several years in Iowa, 
Kansas and other parts of the West, and then 
paid a visit of a few months to Sweden. In 
1872 he again came to this country and lo- 
cated at .\shland, where he opened a board- 
ing house and kept it for eighteen years. He 
then opened a grocery store on the same lo- 
cation and conducted it until Dec. i, 1902, 
when be rented it, as he had been elected 
register of deeds for Ashland county, im the 
Repulilican ticket. 

Mr. Peterson has always been a Repub- 
lican since becoming a citizen of tin's coun- 
try, iiut hafl never before been a candidate 
for office. The original building in which 
Mr. Peterson began business has been re- 
peatedly enlarged and improved as his means 
])ermitted. and is now very commodious. His 
financial success is undisputed. 

At Ashland, Sept. 7, 1872, Mr. Peterson 
was married to E(lla M. Anderson, daugli- 



ter of Anders Burgeson, of Lagmanshalm, 
Sweden. They have had one daughter, 
Emelia, now an assistant in her father's of- 
fice. The family is connected with the Swed- 
ish Lutheran Church, which Mr. and Mrs. 
Peterson helped to organize in Ashland. Mr. 
Peterson was one of the first trustees and 
has also been a deacon and treasurer. 

JOSEPH W. WICKER. D. V. S., is a 
prominent citizen and business man in Med- 
ford, Taylor county, who has also taken 
considerable part in politics, and is now 
serving as sheriff of the county. He was 
born in Onondaga county, N. Y., June 19, 
1849, and is of (German and French descent. 

James D. Wicker, father of Joseph W., 
was a native of New York, of German line- 
age. An attorney by profession, he went to 
Wisconsin about 1850, and lived for some 
years at Barton, Washington county. He 
then returned to the East, and was in New 
\'ork City connected with the Brooklyn 
Navy Yard for several years, but went back 
to Wisconsin and spent the rest of his life 
there. Most of the time he lived in Bar- 
ton, but his death occurred in Colby, at the 
age of seventy years. His wife, Caroline 
( Freer) Wicker, who was born in Ithaca, 
N. Y., of French descent, died at Barton. 

Joseph W. Wicker was educated in the 
public schools of Barton and Brooklyn, N. 
Y., and about his sixteenth year began to 
study with Dr. Biden, a veterinary surgeon 
at Newburg, Wis., with whom he remained 
several years, and then in 1881 located at 
Colby and began practicing himself; for two 
years of his residence in Colby, he served as 
under sheriff of Marathon county. Later 
Dr. Wicl<er went to Chicago and was em- 
])loyed for some time as assistant chief of 
railroad detectives for the Chicago, Milwau- 
kee & St. Paul Railroad, where he had 
charge of twenty-six men. Returning to 
Wisconsin in 1890, he located at Medford 
and has l)een there ever since. For eight 
years Dr. Wicker conducted a livery stable, 
in a large building whicli was his own prop- 
erty, but he has now sold the whole estab- 
lishment. He is the owner of a number of 
buildings in different parts of the city. 



388 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Twice married i\Ir. Wicker's first wife 
was Ruth A. Stevens, of Washington county, 
to whom he was united in 1871. Only one 
child survived the mother, Anabel, Mrs. 
Cleveland, of Medford. In 1888 he was 
married to Miss Florence Vogen, of Wausau, 
Wis., and to this union one child. Ethel, has 
been born. 

Dr. Wicker dias always been active in 
local politics, and in the fall of 1902 was 
elected sheriff of Taylor county, on the 
Democratic ticket, though the county is 
strongly Republican. He had previously 
served two terms as under sheriff, and had 
shown such (lualifications for the advanced 
position that he was elected without regard 
to party distinctions. Fraternally he' is a 
member of the B. P. O. E., at Mansfield; 
of the I. O. O. ¥., the Knights of Honor 
and the W. O. W. When the Taylor county 
Agricultural Society was reorganized Dr. 
Wicker was a prominent mover in the mat- 
ter; he is superintendent of the speed de- 
.partment, and is much interested in the an- 
nual county fair held at Medford. He owns 
some of the best trotting horses in northern 
Wisconsin, and has probably the only horse 
in the world that will make a race without a 
driver. 

AARON H. FOSTER, of Central Park. 
West Superior, residing at No. 733 West 
5th street, dates his coming to the Head of 
the Lakes from May 17, 1879. He belongs 
to a family of English lineage, and is a de- 
scendant of the Pilgriiu Fathers. The rec- 
ords given below cover five generations, ex- 
tending from 1762 to the present time. The 
fiescendants of Thomas F'oster, the earliest 
member of the family in direct line are num- 
erous, as from his six children have come 
thirty-one grandchildren, 124 great-grand- 
children and 360 great-great-grandchildren, 
scattered now over all parts of the Union. 

(I) Thomas Foster was born in Con- 
necticut Nov. 2, 1762, and married Oct. 30, 
1780, Sally Meigs, who was born Sept. 25, 
1762, and who died in 1856, at the age of 
ninety-four. Six children were born to this 
union : ( i ) Phoebe, torn in Connecticut, 
March 18, 1782, died in 1832, aged fifty. 



She married, about 1806, Heman Warner, 
and they had four children. Both were life- 
long Presbyterians. (2) De Lanson, born 
in Connecticut, Jan. 11, 1784, died in 1878, 
aged ninety-four. His marriage is thought 
to have occurred in 1808, and his wife, Har- 
riet, bore him nine children. She was a 
Methodist and he also embraced that faith. 
(3) Martin, who was born in Connecticut,. 
Aug. 27, 1786, and died in 1836, aged fifty. 
He married Annis Marvin about 1810, and 
they had si.x children. They were also 
consistent Presbyterians. (4) Aaron was 
born in Connecticut June 22, 1789, and 
died in 1864, aged seventy-five. (5) 
Sally Alpha was boni in New York Aug. 
4, 1795, and died in 1880, aged eighty- 
five. She was married in 181 2 to Brad- 
ford Potter, and had four children. Mr. 
Potter was a Baptist and his wife also- 
became one. (6) Calvin, born in New York 
Nov. 20. 1798, died in 1836, aged thirty- 
eight. He married Cintha Dewy, in 1816, 
and had four children. He adopted the faith 
of his wife and became a Universalist. The 
first three of these children settled in the 
town of Van Buren. Onondaga Co., N. Y., 
upon homesteads of 100 acres each, given 
them by their father, Thomas Foster. 

In 1795 Thomas Foster and his family 
joined the stream of pioneers pouring into 
western New York State, then considered 
the "far West," and in a state of almost 
unbroken wilderness. It was a trip of 150- 
miles, and as they made it by ox teams, it 
took a month to accomplish the removal. 
Going away from all civilization they were 
obliged to carry with them all necessary 
household goods, furniture, tools and provi- 
sions, together with cattle and other stock. 
Thomas Foster settled in the town of Pom- 
pey. Onondaga county, where the land,, 
though very cheap at the time, was pros- 
pectively desirable. The soil was hard and 
stony, requiring much hard labor to culti- 
vate, even after the heavy timlier had been 
cut down. Eventually, however, it proved 
good for stock raising and dairying, while 
good crops of g-rain and fruit were secured. 
The Fosters were among the most success- 
ful farmers of the region, and Thomas Fos- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



389 



ter not only improved his original farm of 
300 acres, setting ont orchards and erecting 
a large house and barns, hut acquired more 
land, so that he was able to leave four of his 
children 100 acres apiece. Thomas Foster 
died suddenly Dec. 4, 1824, at the age of 
sixty-two, from heart rupture, falling dead 
while walking uphill in a snowstorm. He 
Avas buried in the cemetery of the First 
Church at Pompey, on land donated by him- 
self. In physique he was large and strong, 
a hardy, active pioneer, cheerfully enduring 
all the hardsiiips of frontier life in order to 
fulfill his ambition to leave his children well 
provided for. He was one of the old ortho- 
dox Presbyterians, and donated the ten-acre 
site for the first church established in Pom- 
pey, organized by himself and other early 
pioneers, in which he served faithfully as an 
elder and trustee. 

Thomas Foster had the truest helpmate 
possible in the wife he had chosen. Sally 
Meigs, born Sept. 25, 1762, was a daughter df 
Christopher Meigs, one of the pioneer settlers 
of Onondaga county from New England. 
She married Mr. Foster when eighteen years 
of age, and proved a model wife. Of Quaker 
descent, she was remarkable for her liberal- 
minded, sympathetic Christian character. 
The Golden Rule was her life long guide, 
and her influence was felt in a marked degree 
in her own family and in the church. She 
always inculcated and exemplified the value 
of practical Christianity as above all creeds, 
ceremonies or the superstitious beliefs of the 
past ages. After her husband's death Mrs. 
Foster continued to live in the old homestead 
for thirty-two years, passing at last to her 
heavenly rest in 1856, at the age of ninety- 
four. She died alone, most peacefully, while 
asleep upon her bed. 

(II) Aaron Foster, son of Thomas, was 
born in Guilford, Conn.. June 22, 1789, 
and was six years old when his father moved 
to New York. There were none of the i)res- 
ent educational advantages at that time, and 
he. like the others of the family, grew up 
accustomed to a life of the hardest toil, with 
no opportunity of rest or pleasqre. The 
onlv variation from labor was the religious 
training he received, which was rigorous 



and exacting. Only sickness was an excuse 
for absence from cliurch, where there were 
the orthodox long prayers and sermons, 
while at home family prayers and daily Bible 
readings^ morning and evening were re- 
quired from all. Thus their whole training 
and the entire system of family government 
was in those days based upon religion. 

On Oct. 20, 181 1, at the age of twenty- 
two, Aaron Foster married Betsey Hart, 
born Aug. 29. 1791, in Massachusetts, 
daughter of William Hart, a pioneer of 
Onondaga county. After his marriage Mr. 
Foster located u])on the 100 acres given him 
by his father, in the town of Van Buren, and 
put in several years of hard labor clearing it. 
He then sold it for $2,000, and going back 
to Pompey, about 181 5. bought a farm of 
eighty acres partly improved. Although 
stony, it was good, rich soil, well watered 
and heavily timbered, and he developed it 
into a fine place. The rude log cabin and 
shed, found there when he bought it, were 
replaced by a good house and barns, and he 
set out fine orchards. Later the death of a 
beloved daughter, and of his aged father, 
so preyed upon his health, increasing a weak- 
ness of the heart, that a change of scene and 
life became advisable. He sold his farm in 
May, 1829. and removed to Dryden, Tomp- 
kins Co., N. Y., where he spent the rest of his 
life. Although somewhat broken in health, 
he reached the age of seventy-five and died 
peacefully, in the full assurance of Christian 
faith, Feb. 2, 1864. 

.Aaron Foster strongly rcsenil)leil his 
father, being in early life large, strong and 
healthy, while in his character he was also 
nnich like him. Of positive convictions he 
was remarkable for his system of order, his 
industry, economy. perseverance and sense of 
right and justice, while he inherited also his 
mother's sympathetic nature. His name, 
Aaron, was given him by his parents as a 
special consecration to the life of a preacher 
of the Gospel, and he felt deeply the import- 
ance of the mission, but as he could not se- 
cure the needed educational preparation, he 
decided, instead, to give himself to the duty 
of assisting his parents and providing for 
his family, and to preach only through his 



390 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



life and example. Aside from his deeply re- 
ligious nature, his life was cha*-jcterized by 
his love for his home and family, and the 
many sacrifices made in their behalf. He 
was buried in Hope Dawn cemetery in Dry- 
den, and a monument was erected in accord- 
ance with his will, with the names of all the 
family engraved thereon, and with a hand 
pointing to the divine quotation : "Blessed 
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." 
The family of Aaron Foster consisted of 
four children, Bradford P., Milana A., 
Aaron H. and Betsey Maria, who were all 
brought up according to the same religious 
training which the father had received, 
though they enjoyed better educational ad- 
vantages in the district schools. Their home 
life was simple and regular in the extreme. 
Risnig before the sun the year round, they 
had breakfast at six in the summer, seven in 
the winter; dinner at twelve; supper at six; 
and a lunch of bread and milk, if required. 
On this regime they grew up strong and 
healthy, ready and willing to work. The 
mother, Betsey (Hart) Foster, was noted 
for her achievements in the way of making 
clothing for the family, for she manufactured 
all of it from materials supplied at home, 
such as flax, wool, etc. A faithful and de- 
voted wife and mother she was also to the 
end of her life an active member of the 
church, singing in the choir for many years. 
At her husband's death she was left with a 
homestead and control of the estate, while 
each of the children were given $2,000. 
Mrs. Foster died Oct. i, 1872, in Dryden, 
New York. 

(Ill) Bradford Potter Fo.ster, oldest son 
of Aaron, was lx)rn in Van Buren, Jan. 9, 
1813, and accompanied his father on his re- 
moval to Dryden. Besides the farm there 
Aaron Foster had secured a saw and grist- 
mill, and as Bradford P. preferred that work, 
he had charge of the mills until 1835. I'^ 
that year he married Harriet, daughter of 
Deacon Hitchcock. In 1837 he moved to 
Glencoe county, Mich., where liis father had 
bought 160 acres of pine and other timber 
land. He built a sawmill, improved the 
farm and then sold it, to purchase another 
better farm of eightv acres. This also was 



sold and he went to Vineland, N. J., where 
he secured 120 acres of sandy, fruit land. 
After about twenty years of almost wasted 
labor there, his wife died, and Bradford 
Foster, heartbroken and enfeebled, sold out, 
and returned to Genesee county to visit, and 
died at Flushing Sept. 28, 1889. He was 
buried there among the old settlers. Besides 
his headstone there his name is engraved on 
the family monument in Dryden. He left no 
children. Formerly a Presbyterian, in Dry- 
den he became a spiritualist, and passed 
away in that belief, which he considered an 
advanced religious development. It ap- 
pealed to his progressive mind as a new and 
higher field of thought, and he became a 
leader among the members of the sect at 
Vineland, where he spent time, lalxsr and 
money, reaping only misfortune in both fin- 
ancial and family life. Bradford Potter Fos- 
ter resembled his mother's family in size and 
general appearance, being of medium height, 
thick set, with dark hair and eyes ; he was 
self reliant, progressive, rather cosnbative 
in disposition, and of a mechanical inventive 
turn of mind, which made him in his youth 
waste much time in trying to work out the 
idea of perpetual motion. 

(Ill) Milana A. Foster, daughter of 
Aaron Foster, was born Dec. 20, 1814. and 
met with an untimely death July 18, 1825,. 
at the age of ten by drowning in an open 
well. She was a child of beautiful disposi- 
tion and of Christ-like life, and has always 
been held in fondest remembrance by the 
family. Her name is also engraved upon the 
family monument. 

(ill) Betsey ]\Iaria Foster, youngest 
child of Aaron, was born Dec. 20, 18 18, and 
died Alarch 31, 1882, aged sixty-four. In 
1844 she married George Pratt, who was 
born in New York in 181 5, and died in 1880, 
aged sixty-five. They had three sons, all 
born in Groton. N. Y., as follows : Harlan, 
born in 1846: Hart, in 1848: and George, in 
1850. who died in 1895, agetl forty-five. 

It is remarkable that Milana A.. Aaron 
H. and Betsey H. Foster were all born on 
the same day of the month. Dec. 20th, just 
two years apart. The year 1816, in which 
Aaron H. was born, is known as the "cold 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



391 



year." with snow and frost every niontli of 
the year, with tleatlis from freezing reported 
in July, and witli no erops, hence no business 
and no money in the farming districts. Dec. 
20th was the coldest day of tliat exception- 
ally cold period. 

(Ill) Aaron Hart Foster, born Dec. 20, 
1816, was raised in the State of New York, 
and assisted his father in his farming and 
milling operations, both at Pompey and at 
Dryden, whither the family removed when 
Aaron was thirteen years of age. His early 
3'ears were years of constant toil with only 
three months of school in the winter for the 
older children, or three months in summer 
for the primary pupils with women 
teachers. What education a child got 
then was mainly from home study. 
The only Iwoks in the region were 
text books and the small cheap Bibles, 
while all the news was gleaned from the A^czv 
York Observer, the old Presbyterian weekly 
paper, and the Nczv York Evangelist, to 
which list the Neiv York Independent was 
afterward added. These, however, were 
highly appreciated, as was also the religious 
training Mr. Foster received. 

As Mr. Foster grew older he gradually 
assumed entire charge of the business. In 
his real estate dealings Mr. Foster has met 
with many discouraging experiences, al- 
though one of his earlier purchases was very 
successful. This was at Corning, N. Y., 
where in 1842 he bought 550 acres of pine 
timber lands, where he manufactured lumber 
for twenty years or more. In 1853 he 
bought another tract of 3,000 acres in Penn- 
sylvania, where mills were put up and 
twenty million feet of lumber manufactured 
but both his partners and attorneys proved 
dishonest and the enterprise was a total loss 
on account of fraudulent mortgages and 
doubtful titles. The fact that property had 
been bought on lime payments, and that con- 
stant labor was necessary to meet the var- 
ious demands, together with the added un- 
certainty caused by Aaron Foster's poor 
health, made Aaron II. feel for a long time 
that it was his duty to remain in the East 
and help his parents, but so strong was his 
desire to go West, that it made him uncer- 



tain and changeable in his plans, often chang- 
ing his location, and tliis had much to do with 
his lack of permanent success, for loss gen- 
erally followed each removal. 

On June 4, 1838, Mr. Foster finally, with 
horse and buggy, set out for the West. 
Passing through Buffalo June 11, he took 
passage on the steamboat "Washington," 
which was to make her first trip, and on the 
third day arrived in Detroit — a head wind 
delaying them. On the return trip the boat 
was burned and fifty lives lost, a most dis- 
astrous record. From Detroit Mr. Foster 
went to Flint, Genesee county, to stop with 
Bradford P. Foster, arriving there June 15, 
and from there he made his way to Bloom- 
ington. 111., his final destination, by way of 
Michigan City and Joliet, reaching the latter 
July 4th. The trip of about 1,200 miles was 
covered in about forty days, and he arrived 
in Bloomington July 13th, having expended 
on the way about $75. He sold his horse 
and buggy for $200 and settled as he thought 
permanently in Blooming Grove. But a 
letter from his sister setting forth his pa- 
rents' need of him, and their failing health, 
roused both his sympathies and h.is sense of 
duty, so that he returned to Dryden, starting 
back only three days after he had reached 
there. The retiuMi journey was by private 
conveyance to Indianapolis, thence to Cin- 
cinnati by stage coach over dreadful cordu- 
roy roads, paying seven cents a mile, and 
then by river and canal to Sandusky. Go- 
ing from there by steamboat to Buffalo, be 
passed through a number of the towns of 
Central Ohio, and from Buffalo went by the 
Erie canal and Cayuga Lake to Ithaca, and 
finally Dryden, where he arrived Sept. 3d, 
the return trip ha\ing cost $98. 

From that time he remained in Dryden 
until 1847, when he took up his residence in 
Corning, N. \ ., where his timber interests 
have been referred to. He took an active 
part in public affairs there, was trustee and 
jiresident of the village, elected on the no- 
license issue, and re-elected trustee for five 
consecutive terms. He was also a trustee in 
the Presl)yterian Church. After twenty years 
residence there he went to Wisconsin, settled 
in Oshkosh, and was preparing to go into 



392 



CO:\Il\IEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



the milling business there when his wife 
died in 1870, and he decided to seek another 
locality. He went to Nashville, Mich., and 
later to West Superior, where he now makes 
+iis home. After coming to the West Mr. 
Foster invested heavily in Chicago real es- 
tate, buying in 1867 at low prices, with 
promise of large returns, but the fire of 1871 
and the g-eneral panic of 1873 made this a 
total loss, one of many thousands actually 
and of many millions in prospect. 

Aaron H. Foster was united in marriage 
Dec. 25, 1838, to Mary Elizabeth Card, who 
■was born Dec. i, 181 5, in Dutchess county, 
N. Y., eldest daughter of Jonathan and Irene 
(Mallory) Card. Miss Card had had a prac- 
tical training as a housewife at home, be- 
cause of her mother's poor health, and she 
made a most capable and devoted wife and 
mother, as well as an agreeable companion. 
She died in Oshkosh at the age of fifty-five, 
leaving two children, Sarah Maria and 
George W. Sarah M., born Nov. 25, 1840, 
was given that name by special request of 
the grandmother, one of the last she made. 
Sarah M. Foster was married in Michigan, 
Dec. I. 1875, to Charles D. Dean, by whom 
■she had no children. She died in 1901, and 
Mr. Dean passed away Oct. 9, 1900, in 
Nebraska, of heart failure. George W. Fos- 
ter was born in Dryden, May 24, 1844, and 
married at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Dec. 13, 
1865, Miss Oneida Lake. Three daughters 
were born to them namely: Julia E., born 
Feb. 7, 1868, married to Frank E. Guernsey, 
at Corning, in 1889; Georgia was born in 
April, 1873; and Marie Romana, born in 
August, 1877, married June 28, 1905, Ar- 
thur R. Stephens. 

Aaron H. Foster's second marriage was 
to Mrs. Sarah Frances (Mallory) Mott, a 
cousin of his first wife, to whom he was 
united in Nashville, Mich.. Feb. 22, 1872. 
By this union there were two children : Mary 
A., born in Michigan, March 21, 1873, was 
married in Wisconsin. Aug. 8, 1894, to- J. 
H. Somerville and has one daughter. Mary 
Frances, whose birth' occurred in Superior, 
Wis., May 27, 1895: Dean Mallory was 
born in Michigan Oct. 24. 1875, and was 
married in Superior, Wis., June 29, 1905, to 



]Miss Edith C. Hunter. ]\Irs. Sarah F. Fos- 
ter died Feb. 21, 1889, in Chicago, at the 
home of her cousin, Mrs. Alice B. Stockham, 
and was buried at Nashville, Michigan. 

Aaron H. Foster has been unfortunate in 
other than financial ways, for he has had a 
series of accidents. On his fourth birthday 
his left thumb w^as so seriously injured as 
to be almost useless ever after. When thir- 
teen his left elbow joint was broken, leav- 
ing a permanent disability. A railroad ac- 
cident in 1857 left him with two ribs broken 
on the left side near the heart, affecting his 
health for a number of years. In 1882 he 
dislocated the left ankle joint and in con- 
sequence he has ever since needed the aid of 
a cane. Mr. Foster has endured all things 
cheerfully, however, for his general health 
has been good, thanks to his temperate habits, 
and he is looking forward to many years yet 
of a peaceful life. 

JOHN KRAEMER. a respected citizen 
of Medford, Taylor county, and prominent 
in the ranks of the local Democratic party, 
was born in Fond-du-Lac county. Wis., Nov. 
29. i860, son of Anton and Maria (Brost) 
Kraemer. 

Anton Kraemer and his wife were natives 
of Prussia and came to the United States in 
1842. They went to Fond du Lac county, 
took up land, on which they settled, and soon 
turned it into a fine farm. Mr. Kraemer 
added to his original purchase, and at the 
time of his death owned a tract of 200 acres, 
which was divided among his children. 
Besides his farm property he was interested 
in a hub and spoke factory at Mt. Calvary, 
Wis. He was successful financially and had 
a place of honor and respect among his neigh- 
bors. Mrs. Kraemer died in January. 1880. 
at the age of forty-nine years, while her 
husband survived her ten years and passed 
away in September, 1890, in his seventy-first 
year. They were the parents of fourteen 
children, only four of whom are living, 
namely : Matt, of Medford ; Mary, the wife 
of Joseph Pauly, of Helena. Mont. ; Kattie, 
Mrs. John Classen, of Nebraska ; and John. 

John Kraemer was given his earlier edu- 
cational training in the public schools and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



393 



later attended St. Lawrence College, Mt. 
Calvary. .After tinishing his studies he re- 
turned to a farmer's life for a time at home, 
and then in 1881 started out for himself in 
Taylor county, on wild land which he bought 
in section 25, near Medford, a place which 
Mr. Kraemer still makes his home. About 
forty acres of it are under cultivation. In 
the life of the community alxjut him Mr. 
Kraemer has always been ready to do his 
part in anything tending to promote the 
prosperity of the town. For a number of 
years he has been president of the Farmer's 
Mutual Insurance Companj', of Little Black, 
and politically has been elected on the Demo- 
cratic ticket for county treasurer. Beginning 
with 1897 lie served in that capacity two 
terms, and in 1902 was made register of 
deeds for the county. In the latter year he 
■was sent as a delegate to the Congressional 
district convention, and he is also secretary 
of the Democratic county committee. Mr. 
Kraemer's services in each of these responsi- 
ble positions have been most valual)le and re- 
flect great credit upon him, while they neces- 
sarily increased his influence in the party. 

In 1885 Mr. Kraemer married Miss Liz- 
zie Gilles, a resident of Mt. Calvary, and a 
daughter of John and Barbara Gilles. Mr. 
and Mrs. Kraemer became the parents of five 
children, Anton, John. Anna, Josephine and 
Joseph. The family is connected with the 
Catholic Church, for which Mr. Kraemer has 
been treasurer for the pa^t fifteen years. 

JENS J. JENSEX. Norway has con- 
tributed to the United States many of its 
most reliable, sober and industrious citizens, 
and Grantsburg, Burnett Co., Wis., is no ex- 
ception to this rule, many of its leading men 
being natives of that far distant land. 
Among those thus referred to is one Jens J. 
Jensen, who was born in Norway. Aug. 
30, 1836, a son of Jens Hendricks and 
Ingeborg Marie (Ingersliricsen) Jensen, 
both of Middle Norway. By occupation the 
father was a farmer, and very useful in doing 
the various tasks about a ])lace. being really 
a bnrn mechanic. Eight children were born 
to himself and wife, five of who came to 
America : Mek.'il. deceased, lived in Bur- 



nett county ; Trena, who married Erick Han- 
son, of Burnett county; Julia Ann, of Eau 
Claire, Wis.; Christ, lived in Norway; Car- 
rie, deceased ; Christiana, residing in Nor- 
way ; Jens J. ; Mary, married to Lars Valem, 
and living at Eau Claire, Wisconsin. 

Jens J. Jensen received but a limited edu- 
cation in his native land, and remained at 
home until he was twenty-seven, working 
principally at cutting out timber. In 1857 
he was united in marriage with Anilia 
Stenerson, born July 27, 1835, daughter of 
Joakem Stenerson and Anna Jo'iana Myre, 
who lived and died in Norway. Eleven 
children were Ixirn to Mr. and Mrs. Jensen, 
six of whom grew to maturity; Ana married 
Andrew Anderson, and lives in Pine county; 
Ingeborg married Tobias Thoreson, and 
lives in Burnett county; Jensena is deceased; 
Theodore, farming on the old homestead, 
married Watilda Anderson ;Mandus married 
Emma Pitirson, and lives at Grantsburg; 
Simon is in a store at. Sandstone, Minn. ; 
William is clerking in a hardware store at 
Braham, Minn. ; and the others died in in- 
fancy. 

In 1862 Mr. and Mrs. Jensen and one 
daughter started for America in a sailing 
\essel, and were six weeks on the voyage, 
landing at Quebec, Canada, whence they 
came on to La Crosse, Wis., and then on to 
St. Croi.x Falls. This was during the win- 
ter, so they stayed at the latter place until 
warm weather, when they made their way 
to Grantsburg, Burnett county. During that 
summer they remained with Canut Ander- 
son, Mr. Jensen working in a sawmill, cut- 
ting timber and doing anything he could 
find at which to earn an honest penny. In 
1864 he located on his present place, which 
was then all covered with dense woods. 
In order to put up a crude log cabin, he had 
to make a cutting in the midst of the vast 
wilderness of trees. Energetic then, as al- 
ways, he ])ut up his log house with hinged 
logs, 16 X 22, and when it was done and his 
little family established in it. he began his 
mighty task of clearing off his land. Mrs. 
Jensen nobly bore her part, not only mak- 
ing the clothing for the family, but si)inning 
and weaving tlic cloth. She spun yarn and 



394 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



knit their stockings in addition to cooking 
and working about her httle home, with none 
of the conveniences of the present day. She 
also practiced midwifery. Mr. Jensen took 
up 1 60 acres, clearing about eighty acres, 
and later he sold the remaining eighty acres 
to his son. At present he is raising wheat, oats 
and potatoes, and kills a good many cows, 
sheep and hogs, doing a large business in this 
line, although at present he is living some- 
what retired at Grantsburg. He has always 
been an active Republican, and for thirty- 
five years was a member of the county board 
of Burnett, and was also road commissioner 
for fifteen years, proving a very efiicient of- 
ficial. One of the pillars of the Norwegian 
Lutheran Church, in 1872, he helped -very 
materially in building the church, and is al- 
ways exceedingly prominent in church work. 
Starting in his new life almost without 
a cent, Mr. Jensen by persistent, untiring 
hard work, combined with thrift and good 
management, has succeeded far beyond his 
expectations when he landed in this country, 
and he has the satisfaction of living to see 
his sons and daughters grow up about him, a 
credit to their parents and the several com- 
munities in which they reside. 

JOHN PETERSON, a citizen of Doug- 
las county for a score of years past, and 
now residing on a farm in the town of Su- 
perior, was born in Eslof Skone, Sweden, 
Aug. 10, i860. 

The parents, Peter and Annie (Nelson) 
Johnson, were natives of the same place. 
The father, a brick layer by trade, is still 
living, being now over seventy-five years old ; 
his wife died in 1896, at the age of si.xty. 
Two children survive her, John Peterson 
and a daughter, Christine, now Mrs. Pear- 
son, of Eslof Skone. 

John Peterson attended the pulilic schools 
and an institution of penmanship. When 
about twenty vears old. in the spring of 1880, 
he came to the United States and spent his 
first year in lumbering, at Manistee, Mich. 
Then he went to Ludington, in the same 
State, next to Chicago, where be spent four 
months only, and then on to Minnesota, 
where he was engaged in railroad grading 



between Hastings and Stillwater. After 
finishing that work, Mr. Peterson spent some 
time in Minneapolis and other places in the 
State, and then was employed in railroad 
work again on the Great Northern, between 
Grand Eorks and DcN-il's Lake, N. D. In 
June, 1883, he reached Duluth and took a 
contract for grading on the Northern Paci- 
fic between Old Superior and Brule. The 
next winter was spent in logging and he has 
followed lumbering every winter since. The 
following summer, in 1884, he graded one 
and a half miles on the Milwaukee, Lake 
Shore and Western Railroad, at Odanah. 
Wis., and built one of the first structures 
put up there ; later he assisted in similar work 
at Hurley, Wis. His next essay was to 
engage in business in West Superior, which 
he continued for four years. 

In 1894 Mr. Peterson bought forty acres 
of timber land in Douglas county, in sections 
eighteen, forty-seven and thirteen, and there 
he has since made his home. The place is 
watered by a branch of Copper creek, and 
well adapted to agriculture ; at present he 
has about twenty acres under cultivation. 
Pie continues to do more or less logging con- 
tracting each winter. Since 1897 ^'i''- Peter- 
son, who is a Republican in politics, has been 
one of the supervisors of Superior, and has 
given considerable attention to road build- 
ing in the township. 

Mr. Peterson was reared in the faith of 
the Swedish Lutheran Church. His pres- 
ent location does not give him the oppor- 
tunity of attending church regularly, but he 
is usually present at any religious service in 
the neighborhood, and loy his moral and up- 
right character commands the respect of all 
of his acquaintances. 

JOHN DIAMOND, a prosperous 
farmer and chairman of the town of Flam- 
beau, was born in that town. Rusk county. 
Wis., in 1864. son of Benjamin Diamond, 
a native of Canada, who about 1852. came to 
northern Wisconsin. At that early day, this 
section was unexplored by a white man. He 
settled upon the Chippewa river at the site 
of Flanil>eau. eighteen miles from Lady- 
smith. One of the few neightors of this- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



395 



lirave and adxciUurnus ]iii)neer was a Mr. 
LeRange, a sketcli of whom appears else- 
wliere. For many years, tlie nearest trad- 
ing [lost was Sparta, one liundred miles away 
but he also traded largely with the Indians, 
and on account of his fair treatment they 
held him in high esteem. In later years, Mr. 
Diamond became a man of affairs, and was 
always an earnest worker for whatever he 
believed would prove beneficial to the com- 
munity. B}' his wife, .\ngeline Corbine. he 
had children: Madeline (Airs. Cota) ; John, 
William, Charles. Susan (Mrs. Torman- 
coure), Albert, Mary (Mrs. Wright), Lucy 
(Mrs. Savordj, and Louis (who ilied at thic 
age of twenty-four). Mr. Diamond died 
in 1882, aged fifty years, while his widow 
died in 1892, aged fifty-five years. 

John Diamond, our subject proper, is a 
most highly respected citizen of Rusk county, 
in which his life has been spent. Although 
his schooling was confined to the public 
schools, lie gained an excellent education, 
and has improved himself by reading and ob- 
servation. Until 1895, he resided at Elam- 
bcau, but at that date, he settled on his 
farm, twn miles north of Lady.smith. This 
property he has greatly improved, and has 
made of it a very comfortable and productive 
farm and place of residence. 

Mr. Diamond takes an active interest in 
local affairs, being one of the leading Re- 
publicans of his locality, and he has held 
with honor the offices his party has be- 
stowed upon him, among them being those 
of town clerk, town treasurer, town assessor, 
and in 1901, he was elected chairman of the 
town. He has shown an unswerving fidelity 
to all trusts imposed in him, and he is re- 
garded as one of the representative men of 
the county. Frequently he lias been clioscn 
delegate to the county conventions, and he 
is always called into consultation with others 
of his township, upon matters of higher im- 
port in the party. 

Mr. Diamond was married in 1890, to 
Miss Mary Donahoe. and they have five 
children: John, Kate, Earl. Mary and Lucy. 

CAPT. HENRY W. NEWTON. The 
Spanish-.American war afforded many of the 



young men of the Nation an opportunity lo 
break away from the routine of regular busi- 
ness life, and. while gaining an immensely 
broadened outlook on the world, to reverd 
in themselves qualities and capabilities that 
would otherwise never have been fully de- 
veloped. One of these, wdiose energy, quick 
intelligence and ability to command have 
raisetl him to the rank of Captain in the 
United States service, is Henry W. Newton, 
a native of Superior, who has served both in 
the Porto Rico and the Philippine campaigns 
and is now stationed at Fort Washington. 
Maryland. 

Capt. Newton comes of a family which 
has been conspicuous in the history of Su- 
perior, where his father resided for several 
decades. The grandparents, Henry and Har- 
riet (Walbridge) Newton, had lived in New 
York State, where their ancestors had been 
of early colonial families, while several of 
them served in the Continental army. Henry 
Newton died in the East and his wife died 
in Superior in 1878, aged seventy-eight. 
William H. Newton, one of the sons of 
this couple, in 1854, became the agent of 
the Company which owned the town site 
of Sui)erior. He took charge of most of the 
improvements made by that concern, and 
was one of the most conspicuous citizens of 
the place for some years. John and George 
Newton, .son of the same couple, also en- 
gaged in business there for a time, while 
another son. named I"' rank, was drowned in 
the Ncmadji river at the age of sixteen 
years. 

James Newton, the father of Capt. 
Henry, was born in Syracuse, N. Y., in 
1830. When alxiut twenty-four years old 
he left home and came to Superior, where 
he made his home until his death April 
2, 1889. For a number of years he served 
as sheriff of Douglas county, and filled other 
official positions. In the early days he pre- 
empted land on the present site of West 
Superior, then only an unbroken wilderness. 
In Malone. N. \.. on Jan. 5. 1866. James 
Newton was married to Matilda A. Brennan. 
daughter of William and Polly (Dearborn) 
Brennan. Miss Brennan was born in Ot- 
tawa. Canada, and was educated at the 



396 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



]\Ialone Seminary, and for several years 
before her marriage was engaged as a 
teacher in an Indian school, at Fort William, 
Ont. Her death occurred at Superior Jan. 
7, 1900, in her fifty-eighth year. To her 
and her husband were born four children, 
namely : Henry \V. ; Charles W. ; Herbert 
W. ; and Rio Matilda, wife of Rev. T. K. 
Howard, now of Olympia, Washington. 

Henry W. Newton was born Jan. 14, 
1867, and attended the public schools of 
Superior during his boyhood. Later he 
spent three years at Racine College, in the 
classical course, and then worked in a rail- 
road office for several years. For a period 
of four years he acted as deputy clerk and 
deputy city comptroller • at Superior, and 
then in 1898 abandoned civil life, to begin 
his military career. On April 28th he en- 
listed in Company I, 3d Wis. V. I. : he 
helped to recruit this company, and was com- 
missioned captain of it. The military ex- 
perience he gained in Porto Rico convinced 
Capt. Newton that that should be his 
chosen career, and when his company was 
mustered out, he was reappointed to the 
34th U. S. A. with a commission as first 
lieutenant. On Aug. 6, 1900 he was pro- 
moted to Captain. 

Immediately after his second appoint- 
ment the regiment was ordered to the Philip- 
pines and reached there in September, 1899, 
the first of the new volunteers to land. The 
34th took part in many skirmishes and 
marches, and visited nearly every province 
in Luzon, becoming familiar with Philip- 
pine character and customs. Capt. Newton 
had many interesting experiences ; at one 
time he commanded an expedition to release 
Father Mariano Gill, a Spanish priest who 
had been captured in the first uprising of 
the natives, two years before and was the 
last priest rescued. With five men Capt. 
Newton rowed in an open boat forty miles 
along the coast, reaching the village of 
Casaguran in the night. He captured the 
chief and compelled him to lead the way to 
the priest's prison for the work of rescue. 
Capt. Newton also formed a part of Gen. 
Funston's famous expedition, when Agui- 
naldo was captured. He became acquainted 



with that native chief, and considered him 
intellectually inferior to many of his coun- 
try men. 

On June 30, 1901, Capt. Newton was 
again mustered out, but was re-appointed 
to the regular service as a first lieutenant of 
artillery Aug. 8, 1901, and assigned to his 
new post at Honolulu. He was given sev- 
eral months furlough and spent most of the 
time at home. Naturally Superior delighted 
to do him honor, after his loyal service to 
his country, and both there and in other 
cities, as Duluth and Minneapolis, a number 
of receptions were given for the returned 
soldier. He was presented an elegant 
sword by the citizens of Superior, and re- 
ceived a gold medal from the State of Wis- 
consin. At present Capt. Newton is sta- 
tioned at Fort Washington, Maryland. 

HON. SIMON THORESON, member 
of the Lower house of the State Senate of 
^Visconsin. representing Grantsburg, is a 
leading merchant of that village, and is the 
proprietor of the "Big Store." He is a na- 
tive of Norway, where his birth occurred 
May 29, 1849, and he is a son of Thor, a 
farmer there. 

The parents came to the United States 
in 1862, and first located at St. Croix Falls, 
later coming to Burnett county, it then being 
Polk county. They located two and one- 
half miles southwest of where Grantsburg 
is now located, when there were but six or 
seven white families living in the section. 
Settling in the woods, the father erected a 
little log cabin on his 160 acres of land, and 
of this property he cleared about twenty 
acres. Although he never sought public of- 
fice, he was a stanch Republican. He was 
a member of the Lutheran Church. Of the 
seven children born to the parents of Mr. 
Thoreson, three died in the old coun- 
try. Those that came to America were: 
Andrew, deceased, was a hotel keeper, and 
ran a ferry across the river west of Grants- 
burg; Tobias is now farming the old home- 
stead ; Bessie, deceased, married John 
Hagen. of Grantsburg; and Simon. 

Simon Thoreson received but little 
schooling, and as a boy was compelled to 



COiMMEAIORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



397 



work very hard. lie lived at home until 
twenty-tliree years old, when he engaged in 
lumbering and in working in the pinery, 
continuing in that work for about ten years. 
He then engaged in a general store busi- 
ness, about four miles south of Grantsburg, 
and also operated a threshing machine there 
for many years, owning the first one in 
Burnett county. Locating in Grantsburg, 
he formed a partnersiiip with O. Oleson, 
under the firm name of Oleson & Thoreson, 
to whom Mr. Thoreson sold his interest 
three years later, and engaged in the busi- 
ness at his present location, "The Big 
Store." where he has since continued. Mr. 
Thoreson was married to Isahelle Newgard, 
of Stillwater, Minn., and to this union have 
been born : Silas T., a bookkeeper in his 
father's store; and Herman, attending High 
school at Grantsburg. 

Mr. Thoreson is a stockholder in the 
Hickerson Roller Mills and in the Farmers' 
Starch Company, and is vice president of the 
First Bank of Grantsburg. He owns two 
farms, aggregating 260 acres of land, and 
one of the fine homes of Grantsburg, which 
he had remodeled and fitted with all modern 
conveniences and improvements. He is a 
Blue Lodge Mason, belonging to lodge No. 
244, Grantsburg. and a member of the 
Woodmen of the World. Religiously he is 
connected with the Lutheran Church. Mr. 
Thoreson has been school director for si.xteen 
years, is a stanch Republican and is the pres- 
ent representative. He was postmaster of 
Grantsburg in 1898. He is an enterprising 
business man. a po])ular public official and an 
important factor in the religious and educa- 
tional movements of the comnuuiity. He is 
public spirited and progressive, and is one of 
Wisconsin's representative men. 

HEXRV MAURER, one of the pros- 
perous citizens of Medford. Taylor countv. 
was born near Kaiserslautern, Bavaria, Feb. 
18, 1854, son of Philip and Mary Elizabeth 
(Goedel) Maurer, who li\c<i and died in 
that locality. 

Frederick Maurer, the grandfather of 
Henry, was a miller by trade and operated 
a gristmill which was built by his father-in- 



law, a Air. Bieler. This mill has descentled 
from lather to son, was run by Philip 
Maurer and is now owned by Carl Philip 
Maurer, brother of Henry. This son, Carl 
Philip served through the Franco-Prussian 
war, and was wounded at Bel fort, where he 
was on duty with the Heavy Artillery. 

Henry Maurer was too young to serve 
in the h'ranco-Prussian war, but was later 
eiu'ollcd in the German army, and served for 
the three years required of all citizens of 
the Empire. When discharged he had the 
rank of sergeant. After leaving the military 
service he went into business as a baker, 
and was so engaged until he left Germany. 
In 1882 Mr. Maurer came to the United 
States, and spent the first nine months in 
Chicago, where he attended a private school 
and acquired a good command of the Eng- 
lish language, so that from the first of his 
residence in the new country, he has been 
able to keep himself well informed on gen- 
eral topics, and has ever been in the ranks of 
progressive citizens. 

Leaving Chicago in May. 1883, Mr. 
Maurer went to Aledford, and opened the 
first bakery there, an enterprise which he 
has since continued. Soon, he also opened 
a business in groceries, glass, chinaware, no- 
tions, toys, etc., which has likewise proved 
a profitable venture. He is located in a two- 
story double brick building, which he erected 
in 1890, and which is one of the most sub- 
stantial blocks in Medford. 

Mr. Maurer was married before leaving 
German)', Miss .\nna Week becoming his 
wife in 1880. Mrs. Maurer was born in 
Prussia, dau.ghter of John N. and Anna 
Maria Week, who likewise came to .America 
and settled in Medford, the same year that 
their dau,ghtcr went there. They died in 
1894 and 1896, respectively. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Maurer five children have come, as 
follows : Robert, assistant bookkeeper for the 
Milwaukee Harvester Company. Milwau- 
kee: Eugene, who is employed in the State 
Bank at Medford: Herman, a student in Gil- 
bert's Business College, in Milwaukee: 
h'lsie and Erna, at home. The family be- 
long to the German Lutheran Church. 

Mr. Maurer from the time of his coming 



398 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



to the United States has been keenly inter- 
ested in politics, and as soon as he became 
a citizen joined the ranks of the Republi- 
can party. He has been somewhat active in 
local affairs, has served one term as alder- 
man, and is now acting as supervisor of the 
First ward for his second term. Fraternally 
he belongs to the Equitable Fraternal Union, 
the M. W. A., and the local Masonic lodge 
and chapter. 

LAFAYETTE STAPLES has been 
since 1887 a resident of Superior, where he 
is chief engineer of the Daisy Roller Flour- 
ing Mill. Mr. Staples is a son of William 
B. and Viola (Alden) Staples, and was born 
in Belfast, Maine, Nov. 17. 1859. 

Grandfather Jacob Staples was a mill- 
wright and spent his early life in Maine, 
where his son William B. was born. About 
i860 the family went to St. Cloud, Minn., 
where Jacob Staples lived until over eighty 
years of age; his wife, whose maiden name 
was White, died at the age of about seventy 
years. William B. Staples learned his trade 
of iron moulder in the shipyards at Belfast. 
His later life was passed on a farm near St. 
Cloud, where he died in 1897, when sixty- 
five years old. He was a Spiritualist in re- 
ligious faith. His wife, Viola (Alden)_ 
Staples, who is still living at the age of 
sixty, was a native of Derbyshire, England. 
Her father came to Montreal, Canada, and 
about i860 settled in Stearns county, 
Minn., later moving to Central Park, Colo., 
where he died at an advanced age. 

LaFavette Staples gained his education 
in the public schools of St. Cloud, and when 
aljout twenty-two years old began learning 
the trade of machinist at Brainerd, Minn. 
After three years he went to Wadena, 
Minn., where he studied to become a sta- 
tionary engineer. He was employed by the 
Sawyer Elevator Company as traveling 
engineer through Minnesota and Dakota, 
and in July, 1887, came to Superior. Mr. 
Staples has been employed as engineer by 
various plants, and since 1901 has been 
chief engineer of the Daisy Mill, which is 
the largest mill in Wisconsin, and has a 
1 1 72 horse power engine. Mr. Staples has 



always been interested in mechanical exper- 
iments and has invented a number of useful 
appliances. He is at present devoting his 
leisure to the construction of a compound 
engine. Mr. Staples is president of the Na- 
tional Engineers' Association, No. 17, State 
of Wisconsin. 

Mr. Staples's family included seven 
children, of whom tive died in childhood ; 
the survi\ing members are Emma, who is 
Mrs. A. C. McKinnon, of Doty, Lewis 
Co., Wash; and Clara. The family are at- 
tendants of the Methodist church. Mr. Sta- 
ples, while independent in local politics, is 
a firm believer in the principles of the Re- 
publican party. 

ANDREW E. KENNEDY is a success- 
ful and influential citizen of Washburn 
county, who has resided at Shell Lake since 
1898. His birth occurred in Minneapolis, 
April 27, 1863, his parents being John H. 
and Bridget (O'Brien) Kennedy, natives of 
County Tipperary, Ireland, who were mar- 
ried in Elmira, New York. 

Grandfather John Kennedy was a farm- 
er who lived and died in Ireland; his wife's 
maiden name was Mary Hennessey. His 
son, John H. Kennedy, came to the United 
States in 1845, lived in New York State 
until 1858, and then went to Minneapolis, 
where he engaged in farming, and later in 
railroad contracting. He constructed por- 
tions of the Minneapolis & St. Louis, the St. 
Paul & Duluth roads, and the Northern Pa- 
cific railroad west of Brainerd. He died in 
Colorado in August, 1882, when sixty-four 
years of age. Mrs. Bridget (O'Brien) 
Kennedy died in Minneapolis, April 25, 
1904, aged eighty-one years. Her parents, 
!\Iichael and Elizabeth (Conrad) O'Brien, 
lived and died on a farm in Ireland. John 
H. and Bridget (O'Brien) Kennedy had 
seven children, of whom but two are living: 
-Vuna, Mrs. John O'Brien, of Kalispell, 
Mont., and Andrew E., mentioned below. 

Lhitil he was eighteen years of age An- 
drew E. Kennedy attended public school in 
Minneapolis and then began work as a clerk 
in the lumber woods. In 1884 he located in 
Minong, Washburn county, and was em- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



399 



ployed as a clerk by J. S. and John O'Brien, 
who erected the first building at that place, 
and opened a logging camp. He afterward 
worked in the camp of this company at 
Veazie. spent two seasons in Minnesota, and 
in 1 89 J began cutting timl)er on his own ac- 
count. This business he still continues, 
.buying timber and timber lands, and cutting 
and selling the same, his market being at 
Stillwater. Since 1898 he has been a mem- 
ber of the firm of Kennedy & McCawley, 
their logging operations being carried on 
mostly in Washburn county, in addition to 
which they buy and sell huge tracts of land. 
Mr. Kennedy married Sept. 5, 1893, at 
Stillwater, Minn., Agnes Mulligan, a native 
of Plainheld, Minn., daughter of John Mul- 
ligan, now a resident of Superior, Wis. To 
this union have been born the following 
children : Agnes, John, Marie and James 
Stephen. The family are members of the 
Catholic church. In politics Mr. Kennedy 
is a Democrat. His first official position 
was that of town clerk of Veazie, later he 
was chairman of the same town, and for 
four years chairman of the county board. 
While filling the latter position he prose- 
cuted the suit of Washburn county vs. the 
bondsmen of A. C. I'robert, of Shell Lake 
Savings Bank, securing a judgment of over 
$15,000 for the county. In the fall of 1898 
Mr. Kennedy was elected county sheriff and 
served as such two years, being the first ofii- 
cial occupant of the new jail erected by the 
county. In 1902 he was nominated for 
county treasurer, but declined to become a 
candidate for that ofticc. 

SAMUEL WALPOLE BAILEY, one 
of the l)est known citizens of Ashland, and 
the superintendent of the Eahrig Metal 
Company, is a. native of England, born in 
North Walsham, near Norwich, Aug. 29, 
1841. The family had lived there for several 
generations, and the grandfather died tliere 
at an advanced age. 

Samuel Bailey, the fatlier, came to the 
L'nited States in 1855. He was a carpenter 
and worked at his trade in Elmira. X. Y., 
and Toronto. Ontario. He remained only 
a few vcars in this countrv, Imwever, and 



in 18O2 relurncd to England, where he died 
at the a(.l\'anccd age of eighty-two years. 
For many years he held the office of con- 
stable. Air. Bailey married Aliss Mary Ann 
Walpole, daughter of Jonas Walpole, a 
country gentleman related to the great 
statesman, Sir Robert Walpole. Mrs. Bailey 
lived to an extreme old age. 

Samuel Walpole Bailey attended school 
in his native place and in Elmira, while in 
Toronto he attended a normal school. He 
became a modeler in stucco work for archi- 
tectural purposes, but did little work of that 
kind after the first few years. In 1864 he 
went to Houghton, I\lich., where he was em- 
ployed as a bookkeeper, and also learned 
photography and sketching. Leaving 
Houghton Mr. Bailey went to Marquette, 
Mich., where he remained for eighteen 
years, prospering meantime. For a short 
time he dealt in groceries, but during the 
greater part of his residence there he con- 
ducted a photograph gallery. In 1886 he 
removed to Ashland and opened the gallery 
there which has ever since been successfully 
carried on; at the present it is in charge of 
his son, Arthur. Mr. Bailey has collected 
a great variety of scenes on Lake Superior, 
and there is a great demand for his pictures 
among tourists and visitors. He is the cap- 
tain of the yacht "Stella," and during the 
summer makes manv excursions about the 
lake. 

Photography is only one among several 
of Mr. Bailey's interests. Another is taxi- 
dermy, and for the last few years he has 
given a large share of his attention to that 
art. He also does more or less metal and 
machine work, and has a workshop ecpiipped 
for many kinds of handicraft. In the Eah- 
rig Metal Company he holds the position of 
supcrinlcndent, and oversees the manufac- 
ture of the famous Fahrig metal boxing or 
shafting dynamos. Their product is re- 
garded as a great improvement on the Bab- 
bitt metal. 

In March, 1863, during his residence at 
Houghton, Mr. Bailey was married to Sarah 
Rcjberts, who was born in Bovey Tracey, 
Devonshire. England. They have six chil- 
dren : Emily, Mrs. D. D. McDonald, of 



400 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



San Francisco; Edith, Mrs. Tooker, of Iron- 
wood, Mich.; Daisy, Mrs. Ritchie, of Mani- 
towoc, Wis. ; Frances, Mrs. J. E. Byrns, of 
Ashland; Arthur, manager of the Ashland 
gallery; and Sheffield, a student in the pub- 
lic schools. There are eleven grandchildren 
in the family. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bailey are connected with 
the Presbyterian church. Mr. Bailey has 
always been a Republican, and while in 
Marquette was city treasurer. Fraternally 
he is a thirty-second degree Mason, of the 
Wisconsin Consistory, Ashland Lodge, Ash- 
land Chapter, and Ashland Commandery, 
Knights Templar. 

EDGAR NEWTON BOWERS,- pub- 
lisher of the Rice Lake Chronotype, and one 
of the representative men of Barron county, 
was born at Roxbury, Dane Co., Wis., eldest 
son of Lunian B. and Mary (Chase) Bowers. 

Luman B. Bowers was born at Lyme, 
Jefferson county, N. Y., in 1832, and his pa- 
rents. Zachariah and Adeline (Hubbard) 
Bowers, were natives of the same county. 
Luman B. Bovvers came to Wisconsin when 
he was twelve years old, residing in W^auke- 
sha county until 1848, when he removed to 
Dane county, and still later to Trempealeau 
county. On Feb. 22, 1864, at the call of 
his country, he enlisted in Company K, 36th 
Wis. V. I., and served until July 12, 1S63, 
when he was mustered out at Jefferson, Ind. 
At the close of the war this gallant soldier 
went to Chippewa county and located at the 
town of Auburn, where he still lives, re- 
spected by all who know him. 

Edgar N. Bowers was born Nov. 4, 1854, 
and in 1865 was taken by his parents to 
Chippewa county, where he assisted in im- 
proving the homestead, and whenever oppor- 
tunity offered he attended school until he 
was able to secure a certificate. After teach- 
ing for some time this ambitious young man 
attended the Wesleyan Seminary at Eau 
Claire, W^is., two terms beginning in 1879, 
and was for some time at the Northern Indi- 
ana Normal school, at Valparaiso, and also 
the Normal school at River Falls, Wis., after 
which he taught again for ten years. Later he 



studied law for a period, but all this time 
his inclinations were for a literary life. He 
spent a year traveling through California 
and other western States, residing in Los 
Angeles during the summer of 1887, where 
he worked for a life insurance companv. 
In 1890 Mr. Bowers purchased the Bloomer 
Advmicc, and built this publication up from 
the very bottom into one of the best papers 
in that section, and one whicii made money 
rapidly. In 1896 Mr. Bowers became the 
owner of the Rice Lake Chronotype, with 
which he has worked wonders. This paper 
was founded in 1874, by C. W. Carpenter, 
and is the oldest paper at Rice Lake and in 
Barron county. It is recognized as an ex- 
ponent of the best ideas of the Republican 
party, and its editorials are extensively 
quoted, not only locallv, but by the papers in 
the larger cities. Mr. Bowers has always 
been a Republican, for four years serving on 
the county board of supervisors, and was 
chairman of the committee on finance and 
equalization. So diplomatic was he in the 
latter position that he preserved harmony, 
and satisfied even the most carping of his 
constituents. I""or some years past he has 
lieen chairman of the Republican City 
Central Committee, and for a long period 
has been secretary of the county central com- 
mittee of his party, a position he now holds. 
Mr. Bowers was one of the incorporators of 
the Rice Lake Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
pany, and has acted as its secretary since 
the organization of the concern. 

Mr. Bowers has been twice married, his 
first union, in February, 1890, being to Mary 
C. Brown, daughter of Charles Brown, of 
Dansville, N. Y. She died in 1894, leaving 
one child, Ina Mabel. For his second wife 
Mr. Bowers married Stella G. Mohr, a na- 
tive of Boyd, Wis. Mr. and Mrs. Bower.s 
have two living children, Newton and 
Miriam. The family attend the Presbyterian 
Church. Fraternally Mr. Bowers is a 
Mason, lielonging to the local lodge and 
chapter. He is also a member of the I. O. 
O. F., local lodge and Encampment, and 
the M. W. A., and has filled offices in all 
of these organizations. 




^'fel/lcT^-^^-t^^-^^-^ 



COMMliMORATlVE BlOGRAriilCAL RIZCORD 



401 



(ilLBERT A. STEXSRUD, an enter- 
prising young business man of Superior, 
was born at Michigamnic, Alicii., May 23, 
1876, son of Evan and Carrie Stensrud, na- 
tives of Christiania, Norway, wlio came to 
tlie United States about 1867. 

Evan Stensrud lived in Chicago for sev- 
eral years, and from there moved to Isiipeni- 
ing, Mich. About 1876 he opened a hard- 
ware store in Michigamme, which lie carried 
on until liis death, which occurred Dec. ly, 
1895, when he was sixty years old. He was 
a member of the Methodist church, and his 
political afifiliation was with the {■Republican 
party. Evan Stensrud was eminently a self- 
made man, having been left an orphan at the 
age of eight. His widow still lives in Mich- 
igamme. Her father died in Norway, and 
lier mother passed away in Michigamme, 
agetl eighty-si.x years. Evan and Carrie 
Stensrud were the parents of four sons and 
one daughter: Charles O., a prominent bus- 
iness man of South Superior; Dora M., 
Mrs. John McConville, of Houghton, 
Mich.; Herman, a business man of Mar- 
quette, Mich.; Gilbert A.; and Edwin M., 
of Michigamme, Michigan. 

Gilbert A. Stensrud attended the public 
schools at Michigamme and learned tlie 
liardware Inisiness in his father's store. In 
1895 he started in business for himself, re- 
moving his stock to Superior, April i, 1898, 
where he has ever since carried on the busi- 
ness. In addition to general hardware Mr. 
Stensrud carries the largest stock of agri- 
cultural implements in the city; he has sold 
most of the haying tools used in his vicinity, 
and in 1901 sold the first threshing machine 
that was used in Douglas county. In De- 
ceml)er, 1901, he enlarged his estaijlishment 
by adding a grocery department. 

Mr. Stensrud married, in December, 
1895, Lena lihingson, of Michigamme. wIkj 
was born in Norway, daughter of I-llling 
Oleson, whose home is still in that country. 
Mr. and Mrs. Stensrud are l)oth members of 
the Methodist church. Fraternally Mr. 
Stensrud belongs to Rosewood Camp, M. 
W. A. 

I 



IRA HOLMES. The true development 
of a new country begins with the cultivation 
of the soil. It is not until forests are leveled 
and roads built that the way is opened up 
for the husbandmen. Ira llolmes was one 
of the first to establish im a sound agri- 
cultural basis in Washburn county. Born 
in Erie county, N. Y., March 4, 1851, he 
was a son of Winlield Scott and Sally (Eck- 
ert) Holmes, the former a native of Eric 
county, N. Y., the latter of Ulster county, 
same State. 

ira Holmes was reared on a farm, re- 
ceiving his education in the district schools, 
acquiring the same before reaching his sev- 
enteenth year. In 1878 he became imbued 
with the idea that the restriction in the East, 
handicapped young men of meagre fortune,, 
in consetpience of which he took Greeley's, 
advice to "Go West," and settled in Jonia 
county, Mich., where he found employment 
on a farm during tlie summers and worked 
in the woods during the winters for four 
years. He then returned to his former home 
ni New York, where he folhjwed farming 
for two years, and in 1884, prompted by the 
return of the Western "fever,"' he went to 
Stillwater, Minn., which place was just then, 
beginning to take prominence in the com- 
mercial world as a great lumber manufac- 
turing point, where he obtained employ- 
ment with the St. Croi.x Lumber Company. 
Eor ten years he faithfully performed the 
duties recjuired of him in a manner so satis- 
factory to his employers as to win their ut- 
most conlidence and esteem. In 1888 the 
St. Croi.x Lumber Company began opera-, 
tions in W'ashburn county lo which place he 
came to accept a position that had t(j do 
with furnishing supplies for the comi)any's 
several camps, and in this cai)acity he re- 
mained si.\ years. By economic manage- 
ment he succeeded in hoarding up a little 
capital, and, having contidencc in the agri- 
cultural future of the immediate region, he 
invested his savings in 78J acres of land in 
1891, the same being Section 1. Town 38. 
Range 12. In 1894 he bought half of Sec- 
tion 31, Town 39, Range 11, and on thi^ 



402 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



purchase he estabhshed himself and began 
the work of development, since when he has 
given exclusive attention to improving his 
farm, and has demonstrated the productive- 
ness of the soil. It was a herculean task 
that confronted him, but, nothing daunted, 
he took hold of his work with an energy 
that has resulted in his getting into cultiva- 
tion nearly loo acres, which annually yields 
him rich returns for labor expended. His 
improvements are of exceptionally g^ooa 
character, comprising a comfortable house, 
barns and all essential outbuildings. Mr. 
Holmes has particularly interested himself in 
introducing into the county grade Belgian 
horses, of which he has quite a number. De- 
spite Mr. Holmes's unusually busy li-fe he 
has found time to take a good citizen's part 
in political affairs, having represented the 
town of Spooner as supervisor for a num- 
ber of terms and is now serving as chaimian 
of the town toard. The cause of education 
lias in Mr. Holmes a strong advocate, and 
he has freely given of his time in perfecting 
and bringing to a higher standard the schools 
of his town. 

Mr. Holmes's marriage was consum- 
mated in 1887, at South Stillwater, Minn., 
Miss Mary Myers becoming his wife. To 
their union seven children have been born, 
namely : Grace, George, Gertrude, Bertha, 
Alice, Elsie and John. 

H. C. JOHNSON, M. D., is a promi- 
nent physician and surgeon of Glen Flora, 
Rusk Co., Wis. A most excellent citizen, a 
companionable man, easy of approach and 
alwa};s genial in manner, he is a native of 
Slieboygan county, Wis., where he was born 
in 1875, son of Richard and Eva (Conover) 
Johnson, both of whom were natives of 
Wisconsin. 

Richard Johnson's father was of Ger- 
man descent and he settled in Wisconsin 
during the fifties. Like so many of his 
countrymen who had immigrated to "the 
United States prior to the war, he enlisted 
and served until he was killed in the mighty 
conflict. On the maternal side of the house 
the founder of the family in Wisconsin was 



Hiram Conover, a pioneer of Wisconsin, 
who settled in the State in 1842, near Janes- 
ville. 

Dr. Johnson was rearetl in Sheboygan 
county and educated in the public schools, 
from which he entered the Medical De- 
partment of the Northwestern University in 
1896, and was graduated therefrom in 1900. 
In March, 1901, Dr. Johnson settled at 
Glen Flora, where he has since devoted him- 
self to the demands of his profession, and 
the duties of his office as postmaster, to 
which office he was appointed in 1904. He 
is a member of the Wisconsin State Medi- 
cal Society and keeps himself well posted in 
recent disc^overies in his profession, as well 
as in current events. As an intelligent citi- 
zen he takes an active interest in the affairs 
of the community, and in addition to his 
practice and official position, he is interested 
w-ith his brother Ernest in a sawmill just 
south of Ingram. Fraternally he is con- 
nected with the Masonic fraternity. Mystic 
Tie Lodge, of Ladysmith; the Order of 
Woodmen, and the Maccabees, the last two 
being local lodges. 

Dr. Johnson was united in marriage 
with Miss Anna Carter, of Clintonville, 
Wis., in 190 1. Dr. Johnson's office is re- 
plete with the best medical books extant, 
and is supplied as well with the other para- 
phernalia and surgical instruments used in 
the medical profession. 

FRANK G. DAHLBERG, county 
judge of Burnett county, has been a resi- 
dent of that county for thirty six years. He 
was born Feb. 2, 1857, in Dalarne, Sweden, 
son of Olaf and Sophia Dahlberg, natives 
of Sweden. 

In his native country, Olaf Dahlberg 
was a foreman in a smelting works. On 
coming to America in 1868 he located for a 
time in Minneapolis, Miim., after which he 
removed to Tradelake, Burnett Co., Wis., 
where he took up 160 acres of government 
land and settled in the woods where he 
erected a log cabin and started to clear a 
home. Mr. Dahlberg was killed in a run- 
away accident in 1890, while his wife passed 



COMMEiMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



403 



.away in 1871. Altliough a stanch Republi- 
can he never aspired to ottice. He was a 
member of the Lutheran church, and was 
well known and esteemed throughout the 
community. He and his wife had children 
as follows : Fred, a carpenter by trade, re- 
sides in Minneapolis; Frank G., our subject; 
Aaron Oscar, who runs a sawmill at Trade- 
lake, Wis. ; John A., residing- in Oklahoma, 
where he carries on contracting and build- 
ing; Hilma, wife of N. L. C. Briggs, of 
Sioux City, Iowa; Otto B., a carpenter of 
Grantsburg; and Ida, who married a Mr. 
Walsh, and resides in Minneapolis, Minne- 
sota. 

Frank G. Dahlberg received only a com- 
mon school education and remained at home 
until his marriage to Mary Sniborg, of 
Sweden, daughter of Xels F. and Anna 
Maria (Brosill) Sniborg, natives of Swe- 
<len. The parents of Mrs. Dahlberg came to 
America in 1869, and after living in Chi- 
cago, 111., for one year, came to Washburn 
county. Wis., and took up 160 acres of gov- 
•ernment land, one and one-half miles south- 
west of the village of Grantsburg, where 
Mrs. Sniborg died, and where the father 
still makes his home, at the age of eighty- 
seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Dahlberg have 
these children: Laura, assistant register of 
<leeds of Burnett county; Hulda, a teacher; 
Lydia, a stenographer at Sioux City, Iowa ; 
Esther, attending the high school at Grants- 
Ijurg; and Hildegard, Francis, Florence and 
Gladys, at home. 

For a number of years Mr. Dahlberg 
■engaged in railroad contracting in different 
places and also owned a sixty-acre farm at 
Tradelake, where he makes his home. In 
1885 he was elected town clerk of Trade- 
lake and served two terms, was chairman of 
Tradelake for two years, postmaster for one 
term, and a member of the Legislature in 
1895, i8g8 and 1899. He was justice of 
the peace for many years, and was elected 
county judge of Burnett county in 1901 to 
serve four years. He has always been a 
stanch Republican. Judge Dahlberg is a 
consistent menil)er of the Lutheran church. 
He has engaged in a number of successful 



business enterprises, among which was a 
farm implement business, and he is very 
well known and highly respected all over 
the county. 

NATHANIEL DURFEE RODMAN 
is government farmer at the Lac Court d- 
Oreilles Indian Reservation in Sawyer 
county. Wis. His birth occurred at South 
Kingston, R. I., July 27, 1867, his parents 
being Capt. Rowland G. and Marcia (Dur- 
fee) Rodman. 

A tradition in the Rodman family tells 
that its progenitors were descended from 
some Norse navigators named Routman, 
who visited the New England coast long be- 
fore the coming of the English ; and authen- 
tic records show that the ancestors of the 
present family were among the earliest white 
settlers near Newport. Members of the 
family, which has always taken an active 
part in public affairs, fought in the Revolu- 
tion and in the war of 1812. Grandfather 
Thomas Rodman, a farmer by occupation, 
held the rank of captain in the Revolution- 
ary war, and was colonel of militia in the 
war of 18 1 2, having charge of the coast de- 
fense on the Rhode Island side of Narra- 
gansett Bay. His son, Samuel J. Rodman, 
built at Newport one of the first woolen 
mills in Rhode Island, and at one time he 
and his sons operated seven mills in that 
State. The Civil war injured his business, 
and he died at South Kingston, at the age 
of eighty. He had nine sons who grew to 
maturity, two of whom distinguished them- 
selves in the Civil war. Isaac P. Rodman 
became a brigadier general and was mortally 
wounded at Antietam, where he led the 
charge against the Confederates. Rowland 
G. Rodman helped recruit Coiupany G, 7th 
R. I. V. I., and was commissioned captain; 
he was wounded at Fredericksburg, losing 
tile use of his right arm. After the war 
Capt. Rodman continued in the woolen busi- 
ness, in which he had been associated with 
his father. He also organized the Narra- 
gansett Hosiery Company, but on the de- 
struction of this i->lant by fire he went West. 
Cominsr to Wisconsin in 1880 he had charge 



404 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



of a sawmill at Ashland for several j-ears, 
and there he died March lo, 1901, at the age 
of sixty-nine. He was a lifelong Republi- 
can. Mrs. Marcia (Durfee) Rodman, who 
was born at Warwick Neck, R. I., still lives 
at Ashland. Her father, Nathaniel B. Dur- 
fee, was a farmer and represented Rhode Is- 
land in Congress two terms, being one of 
the earliest speakers on behalf of a protective 
tariff. His ancestors came from the North 
of Ireland. He married Harriet Greene, a 
niece of Gen. Nathaniel Greene, the Revo- 
lutionary hero. Capt. Rowland G. and Mar- 
cia (Durfee) Rodman had four children 
who grew up: Harriet G., of New York 
City; Row^land Gibson, of Ashland, chief 
clerk, Lapointe Indian Agency; Marcia D., 
assistant principal of the West Side high 
school, Milwaukee; and Nathaniel Durfee. 
Nathaniel Durfee Rodman was educated 
in a priv'ate school, known as the South 
Kingston University. When he was seven- 
teen he joined his father at Ashland and 
spent eight years on Lake Superior, two 
years as mate on an excursion steamer and 
later in command of tug boats. For several 
years he was a member of the Ashland Na- 
tional Guards. In August, 1894, he re- 
ceived the appointment of government farm- 
er at Lac Court d'Oreilles Reservation, 
where he has charge of 1,150 Indians. He 
has proved a useful friend to the Indians 
and has won their confidence as well as that 
of his white associates. Mr. Rodman is a 
Mason, member of Keystone Lodge, No. 
263, at Hayward; and of the B. P. O. E., 
Ashland Lodge, No. 558. He was reared 
in the Episcopal faith. 

JULIUS C. PETERSON, cashier of 
the Nebagamon Lumber Company, and one 
of the most influential citizens of Douglas 
county, had a long and varied mercantile ex- 
perience before assuming his present respon- 
sible position. By birth he is a Norwegiaxi, 
son of Christian and Inger Peterson, and 
was born in Drammen, Oct. 12, 1852. 

The ancestors of Christian Peterson 
lived for many generations on a farm called 
"Lundle," and his nephew, Charles Olson, 



was a captain in the Norwegian army_ 
Christian Peterson himself left home at the 
age of sixteen and learned the trade of shoe- 
maker, which he followed for some years at 
Drammen, his native place. In 1868 he 
came to the United States, settling in West- 
by, Vernon Co., Wis., where he carried on 
a shoe shop for a few years before moving 
to Eau Claire, and finally, in 1874, he set- 
tled on a homestead near Rice Lake, where 
he is still living. He is now over seventy 
years of age. His wife, about two years 
younger, is also living. Her parents died 
when she was only three years old, and her 
only brother, Andrew, a ship carpenter by 
trade, went on a voyage to the East Indies 
in i860 and has never been heard from 
since. Of the seven children born to Chris- 
tian and Inger Peterson, four are living, 
namely : Julius C. ; Clara, now Mrs. Hans 
Lundle, of Rice Lake; Josephine, the wife 
of Mr. Anderson, of the same place ; and 
William, a farmer on the old homestead. 

Julius C. Peterson attended the public 
schools of Drammen and also for a time 
those of Wisconsin, but his mastery of the 
English language has been mainly acquired 
unaided. Very soon after reaching Westby 
he entered a general store as clerk, and after 
working there two years spent the same 
length of time in a grocery store at Eau 
Claire and likewise in the general store of 
Kepler & Co., one of the leading firms of 
that place. Leaving Eau Claire, Mr. Peter- 
son spent a year in a clothing store at St. 
Peter, Minn., but at the end of that time 
returned to Wisconsin and located at Rice 
Lake, where he was employed for six years- 
as assistant bookkeeper and cashier for 
Knapp, Stout & Co., one of the largest lum- 
bering concerns in the State. 

Having acquired an ample experience in 
all the details of mercantile business, Mr. 
Peterson engaged in it for himself and 
opened a general store, which he conducted 
for a number of years. Finally disposing of 
it, he spent a year in Sawyer county, taking 
charge of the logging operations of Dobie 
& Stratton, on the Court d'Oreilles Reser- 
vation. Thence he went to West Superior, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL K!-:C()R1) 



405 



looking after tlie real estate and logging in- 
terests of David Dobie for a number of 
^•ears. During his residence there he served 
three years as a member of the board of city 
assessors. Subsequently his supervision of 
Mr. Dobie's business took him to the town 
•of Nebagamon, where he employed a large 
force of men. In 1898, when tlie Nebaga- 
mon Lumber Company was formed, he was 
offered the position of cashier an<.l has since 
that date filled the place most creditably. 

Mr. Peterson was married Oct. 22, 1873, 
to Eliza Sherman, daughter of Reuben and 
Ziiia Sherman, of Chippewa Falls. Mr. and 
Airs. Peterson attend the Presbyterian 
church and are active in its work. Since re- 
siding at Lake Nebagamon, Mr. Ptterson 
lias built two residences there, tlie second 
being a charming modern house which com- 
mands a fine view of the lake. 

Always a Republican in his views, y.h\ 
Peterson has taken little part in practical 
politics. During his residence at Rice Lake 
he received the appointment as postmaster 
and held the position four years. In 1877 
lie joined the I. O. O. F., and is now con- 
nected with Nebagamon Lodge and En- 
campment and the Canton at West Su- 
perior. 

DANIEL IIOFFLUND. who eflicient- 
ly filled a responsible clerical position in the 
Douglas County Court House, was born 
April 18, 1850, in Theingoold, Trondhjem, 
Norway. He is a son of Rev. Peter D. and 
Theodora A. T. P. M. Ilofllund, who still 
live at Trondhjem, where the former was 
l)orn. Rev. Peter D. Hofllund is now eigh- 
ty-one years old and has been pastor of the 
same church since 1888, being the oldest 
minister of the Lutheran church ncjw in the 
active ser\'ice in Norw'ay. The ancestors of 
the Rev. Peter D. Hofflund have been not- 
able people for over two centuries. His 
grandfather, Peter Olivarius Bugge, came 
to Norway from Denmark and was the first 
bishop of the Lutheran church in Norway. 
Several of Peter O. Bugge's sons were 
prominent in the ministry and as professors 
in the University of Norway, among them 
Leing Prof. Bugge. of the Trondhjem Cath- 



edral School, one of the most renow-necl 
Latin scholars in Northern Europe and au- 
thor of several text books. Mrs. Theodora 
A. T. P. M, Hofflund was bom near Stav- 
anger, Norway. Her mother, Gustava 
Kjelland, was a writer of note in Norway, 
and published a number of poems. Her 
father. Rev. Gabriel Kjelland, was always 
actively interested in educational work, and 
was the founder of the Lyngdal Foreign 
Mission. 

Daniel Hofflund received his education 
at Trondhjem and the Norwegian Univer- 
sity at Christiania, graduating from the De- 
partment of Philosophy. He came to the 
United States in 1872 and located at Red 
W ing, Alinn., where he was employed as a 
clerk in a store and taught instrumental 
music for some time. He was appointed 
United States railway mail clerk and in this 
capacity was for four years on the Winona & 
St. Paul Railroad, at the same time con- 
tinuing his music teaching near Red Wing. 
In uS88 Mr. Hofflund \vent to Duluth, 
where he taught music and was employed 
in the county auditor's otlice. He came to 
Superior in 1889, as a clerk in the county 
clerk's otilice, and in 1890 he was elected 
clerk of the court, a position he held two 
years. After that Mr. Hofflund served con- 
tinuously either as deputy clerk of court or 
deputy county clerk. 

In 1875, at Vasa, Minn., Mr. Hofllund 
married Christina Englund, who was born 
in Sunne, Sweden, and came to this country 
in 1872. Mr. and Mrs. Hofflund have two 
daughters : Theodora Christina and Frances 
Gustava. The family is connected with the 
Swedish Lutheran cinn-ch of West Supericn", 
where Mr. Hofflund is organist. Mr. Ploff- 
luiid is a Republican in politics. 

/' 

BERSVEX THORESON, a prosperous 
farmer of Burnett county, was born April 
25, 1835, at Aason, Bardo, Norway, son of 
Thore Ingebrigtson and Hanna Olson, both 
of whom were also natives of Norway. In 
1862 the father came with his family to Bur- 
nett county, W^is., and took up a claim of 
160 acres of land within a half mile of the 
village of South Grantsburg. 



;o6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



At this time the country was ahiiost a 
wilderness, and the father built his little log- 
cabin in the woods. He cleared his land 
and remained on this farm until 1873, when 
he spent two years in Missouri, and then 
returned to Grantsburg, where both father 
and mother of our subject died, aged about 
ninety-two years. They had eight children, 
as follows : Ingebrigtson, who lives in Nor- 
way, engaged in farming and fishing; Ole, 
engaged in farming in Burnett county ; 
Karen, married Erick Tholff, and both are 
deceased; Bersven; Iver, who lives one mile 
south of Grantsburg ; Jorgina, deceased ; 
Ola A., a county judge and a farmer near 
Red River, Minn., formerly postmaster at 
East Grand Forks ; and Isabelle, who hiar- 
ried Arne Higdon, and lives at Seattle, 
Washington. 

Bersven Thoreson enjoyed but few early 
educational advantap-es, and his youth was 
spent in hard work, farming, lumbering and 
fishing. In 1859 he was (first) married to 
Randi Olson, of Norway, who died in 1887. 
In i860 he started for America, taking pas- 
sage on a sailing vessel, which, after a voy- 
age of seven weeks, landed him at Quebec, 
Canada, from which point he came to La 
Crosse, Wis., arriving with fifty cents as 
his whole capital. He soon found work at 
farming and spent three months at Taylor's 
Falls, Minn., and then came to Burnett 
county, where he was employed by Canute 
Anderson. Mr. Thoreson assisted in build- 
ing a mill and worked in the woods getting 
out pine, during the winter of 1861. During 
the following summer he worked in Good- 
hue county, Minn., at harvesting. In the fall 
he went through Minnesota to look at land, 
but did not find a place to suit him and spent 
the winter again at work in the woods in 
Burnett county. 

In the spring of 1862 he went to work 
on the drive for Canute Anderson, and then 
worked for a time at Taylor's Falls again. 
When he found his people were coming, he 
collected all due him and went to La Crosse 
to meet them, remaining to do some work 
that came in his way, and then brought 
them to Burnett county. Here he took up 
160 acres oi land in Sections 26, 38 and 19, 



all of it being still wild. Erecting a logf, 
cabin in which he lived for twenty-six years, 
he cleared and improved the land and sold 
the place to advantage in 188S. 

Mr. Thoreson then took a trip to look 
over farming land in other states, visiting 
Washington, Oregon and the Puget Sound 
territory, and bought a lot at Ballard, 
Wash., returning to Wisconsin two years 
later, in 1891 going to Red River, Minn. 
After several months here he went again to 
Burnett county and resided with his children 
for a time. In the spring of 1895 he mar- 
ried Mrs. Mary Forsmand, widow of John 
Erick Forsmand, formerly of Sweden, who 
came to Burnett county in 1870. 

Mr. Thoreson had seven children born 
to his first marriage, namely : Oliver, living 
at Grantsburg, Wis. ; Isabelle, wife of James 
H. Jenson, of Grantsburg; Theodore H., of 
Shell Lake, Wis. ; Anna, wife of Sever Jen- 
sen, harbor master at Grantsburg; Tobias 
B., a barber who has settled in the Klon- 
dyke; Pefer A., of Grantsburg. The eldest 
child, Hanna, died young. Mr. Thoreson 
gave his children every educational advan- 
tage possible and has always taken a deep in- 
terest in their welfare. 

At the time of her second marriage Mrs. 
Thoreson had four children, namely : Al- 
fred, a painter at Minneapolis ; Emma, wife 
of Oscar Westman. of Pine City, Minn. ; 
Eda, wife of John Holm, of Minneajwlis ;. 
and Oscar, still living at home. 

While Mr. Thoreson has made farming: 
his principal business in life, he has been 
prominent in public affairs and has been 
chosen by his party to fill a number of town 
offices. He has been assessor, town treas- 
urer, chairman of the town board, and for 
many years has been one of the school direc- 
tors. In politics he has always been identi- 
fied with the Republican party. He is a 
member of the Norwegian Lutheran church 
and a man who is honored and respected for 
his sterling traits of character. 

FRED W. WILLIAMS, foreman of the 
farms of the Shell Lake Lumber Co., was 
horn in Waite, Washington Co., Maine, 
July 18, 1856. His parents, Andrew and 



COiMMEMORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



407 



Margaret (Mcl'"arl;uie) Williams, were na- 
tives of the same county, the father being 
of Welsh descent. Andrew Williams was a 
farmer. When the Civil war broke out he 
enlisted in Company G, 6th Maine V. 1., 
dying in the service about a year later. One 
of his sons, Hiram, enlisted in the same 
company and was killed in the battle of Bull 
Run. Mrs. Margaret (McFarlane) Will- 
iams is still living in Washington county, 
Maine, and has reached the age of seventy- 
eight years. Her parents lx)th lived to a ripe 
old age, her father, Walter McFarlane, a 
millwright, who came from Scotland, dying 
in Maine at the age of eighty-eight, and her 
mother, Matilda McFarlane, living to be 
eighty-three. 

Fred W. Williams passed his boyhood 
on the farm. In 1887 he came to Shell 
Lake and was employed by different lumber 
companies until 1890, when he entered the 
employ of the Shell Lake Lumber Company, 
with which he still remains. Since 1900 he 
has had charge of the farms of the company, 
consisting of about 800 acres, on which are 
employed about twenty men and twenty- 
four horses. He had a pleasant cottage 
home in the village of Shell Lake, but is now 
located at Atlanta. 

On Sept. 24, 1896, Mr. Williams was 
married to Anna Ellecson, who was born in 
Forest, Fond du Lac Co., Wis., daughter of 
Seymour and Salome Ellecson. Mr. Ellec- 
son, a native of Krogre, Norway, came to 
the United States in 1846 and settled two 
years later in Fond du Lac county, where he 
lived until 1897, since when he has resided 
in Chicago. He served three years in Com- 
pany B. 8th Wis. V. I., during the Civil 
war. His wife, Salome, wlio was born in 
Homer, Cortland Co., N. Y., came to Wis- 
consin in 1847 with her parents. John and 
Phoebe Snell. They settled in I'ond du Lac 
county, where Mrs. Snell died and Mr. 
Snell passed away in Peiitwater. Mich., at 
the age of eighty-nine. Mr. and Mrs. Ellec- 
son have a family of eight children, all of 
whom are living and married. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Williams have been born three chil- 
dren, as follows: Roy .Mien, Marguerite 



Salome, and an infant son. Mr. Williams 
is a charter member of Shell Liike Camp, 
AI. W. A. in politics he is a Republican, 

HUGH A. McDonald, a leading cit- 
izen of Rib Lake, Taylor Co., Wis., was 
born Jan. 13, 1865, in County of Glengarry, 
Ontario. He comes of hardy Scotch stod<, 
his first ancestors this side of the water hav- 
ing come from Scotland several generations 
ago, and his grandfather, Duncan j\Ic Don- 
ald, reached the age of about seventy years. 
He was a farmer by occupation. 

Alexander McDonald, father of Hugh 
A., is still living on the old homestead farm 
in Ontario, now (1904) aged seventy-seven 
years. He, too, was born in the County of 
Glengarry, Ontario, and his wife, Christina 
(AlcDonald) was born in the 9th Conces- 
sion, Charlottenburg, County of Glengarry, 
daughter of Alexander McDonald, who 
came from Scotland and settled down to 
farming in Canada. He reared a large fam- 
ily and lived to be nearly ninety. Mrs. 
Christina (McDonald) McDonald passed 
away at the early age of twenty-one years, 
leaving three children : Angus, of Silver 
^ity, Idaho; Catherine, still living at home; 
and Hugh A. 

Hugh A. McDonald received his educa- 
tion in the public schools antl was seven- 
teen years old when he left home to come lo 
Wisconsin. Fie located at Rib Lake, which 
was then a wilderness, and became connect- 
ed with the J. J. Kennedy Lumber Co., with 
which he continued for twenty years. After 
three years he became foreman of the plan- 
ing mill and lumber yard, and later acted as 
shipping, clerk. Meantime he commenced 
to invest in real estate, buying and selling 
considerable farm and timber land, as well 
as village property, and for a time he carried 
on a hotel in Rib Lake, one oi the leading 
hostelries of the place, still known as the 
"McDonald House." Mr. McDonald has 
been active in the promotion of the public 
welfare as well as in the furtherance of his 
own business enterprises, and has been espe- 
cially prominent as a leading member of the 
Republican party in his locality, tie has 



4o8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



acted with tlie Republicans ever since lie 
became a citizen of the United States, has 
been a delegate to numerous conventions, 
and for six years was a member of the 
County Central Committee. In 1904 he 
represented Rib Lake on the county board 
of svipervisors, and in the fall of that year 
was elected to the office of county register 
of deeds. Mr. McDonald is secretary of the 
Rib Lake Live Stock Association, of which he 
was one of the incorporators. Thus it will 
be seen that many interests claim his atten- 
tion, all of them beneficial to the community 
in which he has located. 

On June 28, 1893, Mr. McDonald was 
married to Miss Margaret McDonald, 
•laughter of John C. and Anna (McDonald) 
^McDonald, of Alexandria, Out., both of 
whom were descended from ancestors who 
came from Scotland. John C. McDonald 
lived for a time in Rib Lake, but he died at 
lidmonton. Northwest Territory, Canada, 
where his widow still lives. Mr. and Mrs. 
Hugh A. McDonald have had seven chil- 
dren, of whom the eldest, Leander, died in 
1903; when nine years old; Catherine Mar- 
ion died the same year, when eighteen 
months old. The survivors are Christina 
Ann, Florence Irene, Mary Celestine, John 
Alexander and Roy Anthony. 

CHARLES ARTHUR SWANSON, 
one of the rising young business men of 
West Superior, Douglas county, is one oi 
the newcomers to the town, but has already 
firmly established himself and demonstrated 
the value of energy and a progressive spirit 
in any business enterprise. 

Mr. Swanson \yas born in Red Wing, 
Minn., Oct. 23, 1875. His father, Andrew 
Swanson, is a native of Sweden but came 
to this country in 1850, at the age of six- 
teen. After drifting about the States for sev- 
eral years seeking a suitable opportunity to 
locate permanently, he settled at Red Wing 
in 1853 ^"•^^ foi" some years dealt in grain. 
Later he changed his field of operations and 
opened a business in furniture, while he also 
owned an interest in a furniture factory at 
Red Wing. Although now in his seventies 



he is still actively engaged in business, in 
which he has reaped a well deserved success. 
His wife, Olive (Olson) Swanson, is also 
a native of Sweden, born in 1841, a daughter 
of Hawkins Olson, an unusually skillful 
cabinet and organ maker, who came from 
Sweden to Red Wing and made his home 
there till he died, at the extreme age of 
eighty-seven. 

Charles A. Swanson was educated in the 
public schools of Red Wing, which he at- 
tended until he was eighteen. At that time 
he decided to learn the trade of a jeweler, 
and in order to prepare himself thoroughly 
he served as apprentice for over four years. 
Then he engaged in business for himself at 
Wabasha, Minn. After about four years 
there he bought out a jeweler's stock at West 
Superior and established himself there in 
March, 1901. Under his capable manage- 
ment the business has constantly enlarged, 
until to meet the demands of his increasing 
patronage he has extended his line so that 
nnw his stock includes jewelry, watches, 
diamonds, cut glass, china and bric-a-brac, 
and is one of the most complete to be found 
anywhere in the region. Mr. Swanson is a 
member of the Commercial Club and of the 
Business Men's Association. 

On Oct. 30, 1901, occurred the marriage 
i){ Charles A. Swanson and Maude Myrte- 
tus, the daughter of Samuel Myrtetus, of 
Wabasha. Minn. Mr. and Mrs. Swanson 
attend the Congregational church and are 
actively interested in its work, while social- 
ly thev are prominent in the best circles of 
the city. Mr. Swanson has always been a 
Republican. 

ANDREW A. ANDERSON, register 
of deeds of Grantsburg, Wis., and a promi- 
nent and influential citizen of that place, 
was born in Orebro (Lan), Sweden, Aug. 
20. 1848, the only son of Anders and Mary 
(Erickson) Anderson, natives of that coun- 
try, where the former followed the occupa- 
tion of a farmer. The parents of our sub- 
ject both died in Sweden in the faith of the 
Lutheran church. 

Andrew A. Anderson attended the com- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



409 



inon schools of his native country and there 
learned the shoemaker's trade, at which he 
worked for three years. He then followed 
fanning until his twentieth year, in which 
he started for America. Landing at Quebec, 
Canada, he first located at i'eshtigo. Wis., 
and worked in a sawmill for about eleven 
months, at the end of which time he came to 
liurnett county, and, locating in Tradelake, 
took up 160 acres of land in the woods, be- 
ing one of the first settlers of the section. 
He proceeded to clear his farm and to build 
a home, antl there he married Dec. b, 1883, 
Miss Louisa Johnson, of Sweden, by whom 
he had these children; Hilma; Edwin, a 
merchant of Grantsburg; Emma,; Arthur; 
Alvin ; Mamie; Erick, deceased; Elmer and 
^Alfred, twins; and Violet, all of whom were 
educated in the Grantsburg schools. Mr. An- 
derson lived at Tradelake from the spring of 
1869 until January, 1887, and during this 
time he engaged in a general store business 
and also carried mail between St. Croix 
Tails and Grantsburg once a week for two 
years. He was town clerk there about eight 
years. On Jan. 3, 1887. he removed to 
•Grantsburg and was elected register of 
deeds of Burnett county, a position he has 
held ever since. He was village clerk in 
Grantsburg in 1888. Mr. Anderson has at- 
tended many conventions in the State, and 
lias always supported the Republican party, 
casting his first vote for General Grant. 

Mr. Anderson sold his old place in 
Tradelake and purchased twenty acres in 
Grantsburg and a residence and embarked 
in the store business. He is a member of 
the Swedish Lutheran church of Grants- 
burg and is very active in its work. Mr. 
Anderson is very well known and highly re- 
spected, and is one of Hurnclt county's lead- 
ing politicians and jirominent business men. 

SORIAX THRO.XDSOX. a most wor- 
thy and respected citizen of South Sujierior, 
Douglas county, was lw)rn in Nf)rway in 
1832 and. like many of .\merica's adopted 
sons from that land, has proved himself 
most loyal to his new country. 

In 1854 the Thrond.son family left Xor- 
wav for .\nierica and settled in Manitowoc 



county, Wis., where the parents spent the 
rest of their lives. Out of a family of eight 
children, only Sorian and his sister survive. 

Sorian Throndson entered the Union 
army in 1864, enlisting in Company E, i8tli 
W. V. I., and served till the close of the 
war. He was with his regiment in the 
South Atlantic States and took part, among 
other battles, in that of Kinston, N. C. 
When the war was over the regiment was 
discharged at Washington, D. C, and Mr. 
Throndson then returned to W'isconsin and 
settled in Manitowoc county. 

In 1886 Mr. Throndson was married to 
Augusta Thompson, a native of Norway, 
who was brought by her parents to this 
country when only an infant. Mr. and Mrs. 
Throndson have a family of four sons and 
two daughters ; Richard ; Carl ; Thomas, 
deceased ; Cyrus, Mary and Louise. By vir- 
tue of his military service Mr. Throndson is 
in full sympathy with the purposes of the 
G. A. R. and is an esteemed member of the 
order. 

JOSEPH TAYLOR HAZARD, prin- 
cipal of public schools in Spooner, Wash- 
burn county, comes of a family of scholars, 
whose members for generations have distin- 
guished themselves in educational work. He 
was born in Tyrrell, Texas, Jan. i, 1879, 
.son of Edgar and Martha (Taylor) Hazard, 
both natives of Lagrange, Walworth Co., 
Wis., where their parents were among the 
prominent pioneers. 

Hon. Enos J. Hazard, the grandfather, 
was the first representative sent by the town 
of Lagrange to the State Assembly. He 
was a successful farmer, and his many ex- 
cellent qualities of mind and heart brought 
him a wide jxipularity. His prospects for a 
brilliant and (listinguished career were cut 
short by his premature death in middle life. 
He was a collateral descendant of Oliver 
Hazard Perry, the hero of Lake Erie, whose 
mother was a member of this family. Many 
members of the Hazard family were promi- 
nent in New England affairs, some of them 
distinguishing themselves in the Revolution 
and in the war of 1812. Joseph Taylor, the 
maternal grandfather, was a native of York- 



410 



COALMEiMORATR'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



shire, England, who in early hfc sctlled in 
New York Slate. There he was a near 
neighbor of Asa Gray, the famous botanist, 
by whom he was inspired with sucii a pas- 
sion for the study of phmts, that he also be- 
came an expert botanist. Later he settled 
in LaGrange, Wis., where he was a success- 
ful farmer and a recognized authority in 
horticulture. His early educational oppor- 
tunities had been limited, but he more than 
made up for this lack by his long study or 
the best literature on current and technical 
topics. Of his large family of sons and 
daughters, educated mainly in the State 
Normal School at Whitewater, many were 
successful teachers. The eldest son,.Capt. 
William R. Taylor, who won his title in the 
Civil war, combined the occupations of 
teaching and farming for many years. He 
subsequently became superintendent of 
schools in Walworth county, a position held 
later by his son, Ray W. Members of the 
family in England had also been prominent 
as teachers, the honorable calling seeming to 
be an hereditary possession. Mr. Hazard's 
maternal grandmother was descended from 
the Knights, a family long prominent in the 
political and social life of Ireland. Her 
American ancestor found refuge in this 
country on being forced to leave Ireland 
because of his connection with a political up- 
rising against the government. 

Mrs. Alartha (Taylor) Hazard was 
educated in Milton College, antl was for 
many years a popular and successful teaclier 
in the public schools. Her daugluer, Mar- 
ian, only sister of Joseph Taylor Hazard, is 
a graduate of the State Normal School at 
Whitewater. She taught at New Richmond 
in 1S96, at Fox Lake in 1898 and 1899, was 
first assistant in the Hayward schools in 
1900, and is at present assistant principal 
of the Ward school in Everett, Washington. 

Joseph Taylor Hazard's early education 
was obtained in the public schools of White- 
water, Wis., where he prepared for the 
State Normal, from which he graduated in 
1898. The following winter he taught a 
country school near Oakland, in the sum- 
mer traveling for the W'emer School Book 



Company, of Chicago. The next year he 
w'as chosen third assistant and teacher of 
science in the Spring Green high school, 
performing his duties so acceptably as to be 
promoted to the place of first assistant; 
teaching German and the sciences. He at- 
tended the summer school at the State Uni- 
versity at Madison in 1901 and spent the 
summer of 1902 traveling for the Globe 
School Book Company, of New York, re- 
taining his position in the Spring Green 
school until the autumn of 1902, when he 
accepted the principalship of the Spooner 
schools, which he holds at present. He is a 
member of F. & A. M. Lodge No. 212, 
Spring Green, and has attained to the mas- 
ter's degree. 

On Aug. 22, 1900, Mr. Hazard married 
Grace M. Porter, an accomplished young 
lady of Lake Mills, Wis. Mrs. Hazard was 
educated in the Minneapolis public schools. 
and in the State University of Minnesota. 
She is an expert china painter, an occupation 
in which she has interested herself from 
girlhood. Her parents are A. H. Porter, 
western manager of the Globe School Book 
Company, and Jennie Keyes, whose paternal 
grandfather was the pioneer settler of Lake 
Mills, Wis. Mrs. Porter is a niece of Judge 
E. W. Keyes, the present postmaster of 
Madison, and one of the prominent Repub- 
licans of Wisconsin. The Keyes family are 
related to the Lord Yt)nngley family and 
are among the heirs to the famous Young- 
ley estate in England. Mrs. Porter is also 
a niece of Damon Fisher, one of Wisconsin's 
wealthy iron kings, who had a prominent 
part in developing the immense iron depos- 
its of the great Wisconsin range. 

PATRICK H. MULLALEY. a weal- 
thy and infiuential resident of Medford, was 
one of the original settlers of Taylor county, 
going there before Medford was thought of 
and when the railroad had just been put 
through that wild, unbroken region in 1873. 
Mr. Mullaley was born in County Meath. 
Ireland, in 1848. son of Walter and Bridget 
(Blied) Mullaley, of that country. 

About 1849 the parents crosseil the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



4ii 



ocean to make a lionie in the New World, 
and scttletl tirst at Lockport, N. Y. They 
lived there for ten years, and just previous 
to the breaking out of the Civil war moved 
westward to Oshkosh, Wis. There the 
mother died in 1861, and the family went 
to Fond du Lac. The same year Walter 
Mullaley and his eldest son, Thomas, en- 
listed in Company C, 7th W. V. L, for three 
ye;irs. The former saw active service in 
the Army of the Tennessee and was in the 
battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Alilliken's Bend, 
and Jackson, Miss. His health was not 
equal to the strain upon it and he was dis- 
charged for physical disability, returning 
home. Thomas Mullaley went through the 
war, was in many battles, and was wounded 
at Vicksburg, ^lay 22, 1863. He is now 
deceased. 

In 1863 Patrick Mullaley also enlisted 
in Company C, 17th W. V. 1., was in Sher- 
man's campaigns in Georgia and Carolina, 
taking part in all those battles, and was dis- 
charged at the close of the war. Returning 
to Wisconsin he worked either at farming 
near Fond du Lac or in the lumber regions 
until 1873, when he began making ties for 
the Wisconsin Central Railroad, then just 
being Ixiilt through northern Wisconsin. In 
that way he had an opportunity to see more 
of the State. The natural advantages were 
great and Mr. Mullaley foresaw that there 
was a prosperous future for the region. Con- 
sequently he selected 160 acres now adjoin- 
ing the city limits of Medford, built a log 
cabin and kept bachelor's hall for two years. 

In 1875 Mr. Mullaley was married to 
Miss Mary A. Coyne, daughter of John and 
Bridget Coyne, pioneers of El Dorado, Fontl 
du Lac county, and the two began their life 
together upon the farm. Three daughters, 
Anna, Mamie and Ella, arc living. The two 
elder ones are teachers in the [)ul)lic schools, 
and all are most talented young ladies. Their 
first daughter. Katie, died in 1881, at the 
age of five years. The family are membcr.s 
of the Catholic church. Mrs. Mullaley is a 
most unusual woman, with many graces of 
mind, which were heightened by a careful 
education, and she became a prominent 



eilucator in the Wisconsin public schools. 
The log cabin which was their first home 
gave place long since to a good frame house, 
and the family residence now bears evi- 
dences on every hand of the cultured tastes 
of the mistress. 

Mr. Mullaley has greatly improved his 
farm and has put up good barns and other 
buiklings. The last few years he has gone 
into the dairy business and keeps nineteen 
cows. He has for many years believed in 
the principles of the Democratic party, and 
has wielded considerable influence, but has 
never been an active pt)litician, being con- 
tent with the part of a really public-spirited 
citizen. The only office he has ever held was 
that of deputy sheriff, and he was the first 
man elected in Taylor county to fill that po- 
sition. In 1902 he ran for sherifif as an in- 
dependent Democrat and was defeated by a 
small majority. Twice he has represented 
Taylor county at the State Fair held at Mil- 
waukee, having charge of the Taylor county 
exhibits, and in 1905 he helped write up the 
history of Taylor county in the early days. 
He is a member of James Shields Post, G. 
A. R., No. 145, and belongs to the Taylor 
County Agricultural Society, of which he 
has been both vice-president and presiden.t. 
Mr. Mullaley is a whole-souled, big-hearted 
man and has many warm friends. 

1'. B. HAND, editor of the Montreal 
Miner, has had a wide experience in news- 
pai)er work in different States. He came to 
Hurley, Iron county, in 1886, where, with 
the exception of a year spent in Arkansas, 
he has since resided. He was born .Aug. 25, 
1854, in W'al worth county. Wis., son of Na- 
than and Caroline (Hand) Hand, both na- 
tives of New York State. Nathan Hand 
was a farmer in New York and later in 
Walworth county. Wis., where he died in 
1895. ^''^ wife passed away in 1879. 

When about si.xtccn years of age 1~. B. 
Hand left home and was employed in var- 
ious ways, finally learning the trade of 
printer. He worked at his trade in different 
places, and in 1877 opened a printing office 
(if hU own in Reiiiberk, Town, .\ftcr leav- 



-412 



COMAIEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ing there he conducted newspapers in sev- 
eral different places in various States, com- 
ing in 1886 to Hurley, where he took charge 
of the Iro)i Tribune. This paper he carried 
on until 1892, when he sold out his interests 
and moved to Arkansas, where he was con- 
nected with several newspapers. After two 
years in Arkansas, Michigan and Iowa he 
returned to Hurley and bought the Montreal 
River Miner, a weekly paper, which he con- 
tinues to publish. He also has a half inter- 
est in the Bessemer Herald, the Ribb Herald 
and the Lake Nebagamon Enterprise, and 
does considerable job printing. 

Mr. Hand married April 26. 1898, Eliz- 
abeth Gardner, of Spencer, Wis. He is a 
member of the F. & A. M., Blue Lodge, No. 
22,7, of Hurley. 

FRANK HENRY CARD, a millwright 
at West Superior, Douglas county, whose 
reputation as an industrious and skillful ar- 
tisan extends through several States, was 
born at Crystal Lake, McHenry Co., 111., 
Dec. 7, 1848. His parents were C. W. H. 
and Anna (Turner) Card, the former a na- 
tive of New York, of Irish descent. 

C. W. H. Card was a blacksmith by 
trade, and while a young man moved to Mc- 
Henry county, 111., and operated a shop 
there. Later he started another at Crystal 
Lake, and still another at Himtley, 111., in 
the latter place dealing in merchandise also. 
A Republican in his politics, he served as 
justice of the peace for twenty years. In 
his early days in Illinois he lived for a while 
at Woodstock, and his was the second house 
liuilt there. His death occurred in Huntley, 
111., in 1872, when he was in his fifty-sixth 
Tear. His wife, Mrs. Anna T. Card, who 
was born in Ypsilanti, Mich., is now living 
in Renwick, Iowa, more than eighty-four 
years of age. The paternal grandmother of 
Frank H. Card died in Madison, Wis., at 
an advanced age. 

Frank H. Card attended the public 
schools at both Crystal Lake and Huntley, 
and then at the age of eighteen years began 
to leani the carpenter's trade, which he fol- 
lowed for several years. In 1872 he re- 



moved to Algona, Iowa, and two years later 
to Deadwood, S. D., where he remained for 
ten years. His next residence was in Still- 
W'ater, Minn., where he lived until 1889, 
when he located at West Superior. In Still- 
water hc' had filled the place of head mill- 
wright in a flour mill, having followed that 
trade for twenty years. Later he traveled 
for a firm dealing in mill supplies and has 
done considerable work in West Superior. 
For five years, from 1893 to 1898. he was 
employed as a guard at the penitentiary in 
Stillwater. During the Civil war Mr. Card 
was too young to enlist until almost the close 
of the struggle, but in 1864, when nearlv 
sixteen, he enlisted in Company C, 153d I. 
V. I., and sen-ed until the close of the war 
under Gen. Thomas, most of the time hunt- 
ing guerrillas in middle Tennessee. 

Even before reaching his majority Mr. 
Card assumed the responsibilities of married 
life and was united to Betsy Fenwick, July 
4, 1868. Mrs. Card was born in Lincoln- 
shire, England, the daughter of Joseph and 
Jane (Canty) Fenwick, the former a mer- 
chant tailor. The family came to America 
in the sailing vessel "Arctic," and settled in 
Belvidere, 111., where Mr. Fenwick remained 
for many years. His death occurred in Chi- 
cago in 1893, at the age of seventy-two. His 
wife is still living in Belvidere, now aged 
seventy-four years. The marriage of Mr. 
and Mrs. Card has been blessed with six 
children. May, Charles Eugene, Francis Jo- 
seph, Fred Reuben, Vera Jane and Lewis 
Philip. 

Mr. Card is a member of the G. A. R., 
and like .so many of the old soldiers, is a 
stanch Republican, though he has never 
cared to take any active part in politics. He 
is largely absorbed in the cares of business, 
and wherever known is esteemed and liked. 

JAMES N. CHRISTIE, who enjoys 
the distinction of being the first .\merican 
settler of the village of Lake Nebagamon, 
and who is one of the prosperous citizens of 
that place, now living practically in retire- 
ment, was born near Jamestown, Crawford 
Co., Pa., Julv 22. 18^6, son of Adam and 



COMxMEAlORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



413 



Mary (Miller) Christie, the former also a 
native of Pennsylvania. 

James Christie, the grandfather, came 
from Scotland in Colonial times, becoming 
one of the pioneers of Crawford county. He 
sened in the Revolutionary war and re- 
ceived a wound which crippled him for life, 
but in spite of this he also took part in the 
war of 1812. He lived to a good old age in 
Crawford county. 

Adam Christie, son of James, was a 
farmer by occupation. In 1859 he left 
Pennsylvania and came to Wisconsin, set- 
tling in Clark county, where. he died about 
1872, aged tifty-two years. His wife, Mary 
(Miller) Christie, died there a few years 
later. She was born in Morgan county, 111., 
where her father, a German farmer, had set- 
tled near Jacksonville, early in the nine- 
teenth century, and where he died. Adam 
and Mary Christie had twelve children, of 
whom six are living, namely : Robert, of 
West Superior ; Jacob, of Sawyer county. 
Wis. ; Samuel, of Clark county, Wis. ; 
James N.; Philip, of Two Harbors, Minn.; 
and John, of Clark county. 

James \. Christie was only three years 
old when the family removed from Pennsyl- 
vania to Wisconsin, and he was brought up 
on the farm in Clark county. When he was 
fourteen, in company with his brother Jacob, 
he went to Puget Sound, reaching that point 
by the Union Pacific Railroad (then recent- 
ly completed) to San Francisco, from which 
city the travelers took a steamer to Washing- 
ton. James was engaged in lumbering four 
years and another year in mining and pros- 
pecting, after which he returned to Wiscon- 
sin, spending several years in Clark county 
as a lumberman. Not content with this he 
tried farming, and passed the next four or 
live years on a farm near Jamestown, X. D. 
About 189J Mr. Christie returned to Wis- 
consin and settled in Sawyer county, where 
he was employed by the Norton Lumber 
Company. The next year he went to Brule, 
Douglas county and made his first essay at 
keeping a boarding house. 

In 1893 Mr. Christie settled at Lake Xe- 
bagamon. The Duluth, South Shore & At- 



lantic Railroad had been built through the 
place the previous season, but there was no 
station, so Mr. Christie circulated a petition 
among the few settlers who followed him, 
and a few Scandinavians in the vicinity, to 
induce the company to locate a box car for 
a depot. This was replaced by a substantial 
building eighteen months later. Mr. Chris- 
tie began by building a hotel known as the 
"Club House," for the accommodation of 
campers and sportsmen who visited the lake, 
and also kept boats to let, etc. A few years 
later, as the town began to grow, he erected 
a more commodious building, known as the 
"Lake Hotel," which he has conducted most 
of the time since the opening, in 1898. It has 
always been a popular hostelry, and enjoys 
the best patronage of any in the village. He 
also owns two farms, 185 acres in all, a part 
of which he has improved, and in addition 
does some teaming. His homestead, near 
the famous Brule river, is a most pictur- 
esque spot. 

In May, 1884, Mr. Christie married 
Maiy Ann McKinn, daughter of Samuel and 
Isabella (Courtney) McKinn, of Clark 
county. Wis. Mrs. Christie was born near 
Toronto, Canada. Her father came from 
Scotland atout 1840, and thirty-tive years 
later settled on a farm m Clark county, but 
his wife is a native of Ireland. They are 
still living on their farm, aged respectively 
seventy-live and seventy-three years. Mr. 
and Mrs. Christie have one son, Floyd. 

Mr. Christie is a charter member of Ne- 
bagamon Lodge, Xo. 70, I. O. O. F. ; and of 
Xebagamon Camp, No. 5582, M. W. A. A 
Republican in p(jlitics, he was in the spring 
of 1902 a candidate for the office of chair- 
man of the town board of supervisors, but 
was defeated by a small majority. Mr. 
Christie has made his way largely by his 
own efforts and the success he has met with 
commands the reject of his associates, 
while his personal character has won their 
esteem. 

alii1':rt DOXX1-: gibsox. m. d.. 

whose high attainments and natural ability 
have made him a leader in the metficaf 



414 



COMMEiMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



profession in Price county, Wis., is pleas- 
antly located at Park Falls. He was born 
at St. Austell, Cornwall, England, Nov. 20, 
1874, son of Rev. John and Angeline 
Matilda (Donne) Gibson, both natives of 
England. The latter was born in Hereford, 
and was a direct descendant of Rev. John 
Donne, a poet of considerable renown, and 
dean of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, a 
position to which he was appointed by King 
James I. Mrs. Gibson was also related to 
the Miss Donne who became the wife of the 
noted poet, William Cowper. 

Rev. John Gibson was educated for the 
ministry, which profession he has followed 
since 1865. In 1883 he came to America, 
and located at Byron, 111. While -in his 
native land he was identified with the Primi- 
tive Methodist Church, but in his new home 
he became a pastor in the Congregational 
Church. Later he engaged in Home Mis- 
sion work in Southern Illinois. For some 
time he was located in Springfield, 111., 
whence, in 1892, he went to South Kau- 
kauna, Wis., where he spent five years. The 
next five years were passed in Washburn, 
and in 1902 he located in Iron River. He 
has been recognized as a power for good 
in the different communities in which he 
has lived and he has always been public- 
spirited and progressive. 

Albert D. Gibson attended the public 
and high schools in Springfield, 111., and 
later in South Kaukauna, in 1893. he was 
a member of the first class ever graduated 
from the excellent high school. Before com- 
pleting his public school work, he began the 
study of medicine with Dr. H. B. Tanner, 
of Kaukauna. He entered the Wisconsin 
College of Physicians and Surgeons at Mil- 
waukee, and after a complete four years 
course was graduated there in 1897. He 
immediately located for practice at Park 
Falls, where he has remained continuously 
in general practice, except for about eight 
months spent in Kaukauna, as a partner of 
his beloved preceptor. Dr. Tanner. He has 
won the confidence of the public by his con- 
scientious devotion to his profession, and 
his careful attention to his patients. 



Dr. Gibson has, notwithstanding his 
wide practice, found time also to be a good 
citizen. He is progressive and is interested 
in everything that tends to advance or im- 
prove the locality in which he has made his 
home. He was an incorporator and is vice- 
president of the Great Northern Excelsior 
Co., which established a plant at Park Falls, 
and is an incorporator and director in the 
Park Falls State Bank. Fraternally he is a 
member of the I. O. O. F., in which he has 
passed all the chairs in the subordinate lodge, 
and he belongs to the Rebekahs, in which his 
wife has also passed all the chairs. Both 
were representatives to the Grand Lodge and 
Rebekah Assembly respectively which as- 
sembled in Milwaukee in June, 1905. He is 
also a member of the K. P. He belongs to, 
and is examiner for, the K. O. T. M., M. W. 
A.. R. N. A., U. O. F., National Fraternal 
l^eague. W. O. W., and Modern Brother- 
hood of America, Beavers, etc. He also is 
examiner for about a dozen leading old line 
companies. The Doctor is greatly inter- 
ested in all educational movements, and has 
served as clerk of the school board. He has 
also been secretary of the Business Men's 
Association. In his religious connection Dr. 
Gibson is a Congi-egationalist, and in the 
church of that denomination he has served 
as deacon, trustee, clerk, and also as super- 
intendent of the Sunday-school. Profes- 
sionally he is secretary and treasurer of the 
Price County Medical Society, and is a mem- 
ber and regular attendant of the State Medi- 
cal Association, to which he contributed an 
able paper in 1903. 

On July 19. 1898, Dr. Gibson was united 
in marriage with Clara M. Eckardt. daugh- 
ter of Fred T. and Caroline M. (Drumm) 
Eckardt. then of Kaukauna. now of Park 
Falls. Mrs. Gibson was born in ]\Ianitowoc, 
Wis., and graduated from the Kaukauna 
high school, and the Oshkosh Normal 
School, being one of the youngest graduates 
of the latter institution. She afterward 
taught most successfully for some time. Dr. 
and Mrs. Gibson have two children : Donne' 
Evans, born Feb. 12. 1902; and Wallace 
Eckardt, born Sept. 23, 1903. 



COMiMEiMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



415 



ED.MUXD J. ST. ONGE, who for a 
dozen years past has made his home in 
Superior, is head milhvriglit of the Diduth- 
Superior Milhng Co. He is a nati\'e of 
St. John, Quebec, where he was liorn Sept. 
I, 1862. His parents were I'eter and EHza- 
beth (Hubert) St. Onge, both natives of 
Paris, France, who came to America in 
1859. They moved from Canada to Fari- 
bault, Minn., in 1865, and there passed the 
remainder of tlieir lives, Mr. St. Onge dying 
at the age of fifty-nine, and his wife when 
forty-eight years old. Peter St. Onge had 
learned the carpenter's trade in France and 
after coming to Faribault erected a number 
of buildings. He also spent a few years in 
Seattle, Wash., engaged in building and con- 
tracting. The St. Onge family has been 
for many generations engaged in farming 
in France, but most of the brothers and sis- 
ters of Mr. and Mrs. St. Onge are now in 
the United States. 

Until he was seventeen Edmund J. St. 
Onge attended the public schools of Fari- 
bault, after which he went to Minneapolis, 
where he learned the trade of millwright. 
He followed this occupation in Minneapolis 
until 1892, when he came to Superior as 
assistant superintendent millwright on the 
construction work of the Daisy and Listman 
mills; on the completion of these mills Mr. 
St. Onge took charge of the machinery. 
He is now head millwright of the Duluth- 
Superior Milling Co., which operates nearly 
all the flouring mills at the Head of the 
Lakes. 

The marriage of Mr. St. Onge took place 
March 31, 1884, to Sarah Dring, a daugh- 
ter of Thomas and Elizabeth Dring of Fari- 
i)ault, Minn. Mrs. St. Onge was born at 
Fort Wadsworth, N. D., Sept. i, 1867, and 
was the first white child born in North 
Dakota. Her father, who was an English- 
man, came to this country in 1849; he en- 
listed in Chicago in 1862. and took part in 
the Sioux war, being stationed at Fort 
\\'adsworth until 1869. Later he became a 
market gardener at Faribault. Mr. and 
"Mrs. St. Onge have a family of ten children : 
Lionel Edmund, Telcsfurc, Cordelia, 



Ernest, Harold, Richard, Allonione, Marie, 
h'rances and Joseph. The family are com- 
municants of the Catholic Church. 

Mr. St. Onge is a Republican and takes 
an active interest in local politics. He is a 
member of the K. O. T. M. and in 1900 
was a delegate from the local lodge to the 
State convention at Fond du Lac. 

JOHN C. ROEHM, a prosperous land 
owner and meat dealer of Ashland, Ashland 
county, was torn in that city, where his 
father was one of the pioneers. As his 
name indicates he is of German descent, his 
parents, Martin and Christina (Coelo) 
Roehm, both being natives of Germany. 

Martin Roehm came to the LTnited 
States in 1842. settling in Buffalo. N. Y.. 
and later in La Pointe, Wis. from which he 
came to Ashland in 1854. He was a 
\-erital)le pioneer, lieing for ten years the only 
while man in the vicinity. For nearly twen- 
ty years he devoted himself to farming, 
and raised considerable stock, feeding 
as many as fifty head of cattle in one winter. 
In 1870 he gave up his farm, and went into 
the hotel business in Ashland, which he had 
helped to lay out as a town. He died in 
1899, in his seventy-eighth year; his wife 
is still living in Ashland, now seventy-nine 
years of age. Their family consisted of three 
children, as follows : William, a farmer in 
Wisconsin ; Lucy, wife of James Duket, of 
Ashland; and John C. of this sketch. 

John C. Roehm was born in .-Xshland, 
Feb. 6, 1864, and attended the jniblic schools 
until he was sixteen. He then worked for 
his father in the hotel for eight years, at the 
end of that time setting up his own estal)- 
lishment as a butcher and meat dealer. This 
occupation he has ever since followed, with 
much success and profit. 

Mr. Roehm married, Nov. 8. 1887. 
Laura Jorsch. of Manitowoc, daughter of 
Theodore and Rosalia Jorsch. Mr. Jorsch. 
who was a contractor of public works in 
Manitowoc, died April 18. 1904; his wife 
died in 1900. He was the father of five chil- 
dren, all living. Mrs. Roehm being the eldest. 
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Roehm 



4i6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



are as follows : Norma R., Faye E., Linus T. 
and Ruth M., all living at home. The fam- 
ily attend the Presbyterian Church. Mr. 
Roehm is a Republican in politics, and fra- 
ternally is connected with the Alasons, the 
Elks, No. 558, of Ashland, and the I. O. 
O. F., Lodge No. 63, of Ashland, Camp 
No. 71, and Canton No. 6. He is a con- 
siderable land owner, having a good deal of 
real estate in Ashland, a tract of 160 acres 
adjoining the city, and being also the owner 
of timber lands in Idaho. 

CONRAD E. NYSTRUM, ^I. D., a 
successful and popular physician of Med- 
ford, Taylor county, has been a resident of 
the city since 1892, and in these years has 
ministered with his healing art to numbers 
who feel that now no other physician could 
really fill the place that Dr. Nystrum has 
won in their confidence. The Doctor is one 
of the younger practitioners of Medford. as 
he had just received his medical degree when 
he settled in the city. He is one of Wiscon- 
sin's own sons, born in Waupaca, June 4, 
1869, and his parents were John P. and 
Mary (Nyquist) Nystrum. 

John P. Nystrum left his home in Stock- 
holm, Sweden, in 1865 and embarked for 
the United States, where he went first to 
Waupaca and looked the ground over there. 
The following year he located at Scandina- 
via, where he built a tannery, but after op- 
erating it one year, he removed to Mellen, 
Wis., and opened a boarding house there, 
which proved a much more successful venture 
than his first one. About 1878 Mr. Nystrum 
left Mellen and made his home in Medford, 
though he spent considerable time in the 
woods logging. He also built another tan- 
nery which he operated for some time, and 
then finally took up a homestead in the town 
of Holway, where he passed his declining 
years, a farm situated in section 12, T. 30, 
R. I.E. Mr. Nystrum died there, Nov. 12, 
1900. in his sixty-ninth year. His fatlier 
had lived to be 1 12 years old. Mrs. Mary N. 
Nystrum still survives, now over seventy- 
five years of age. She bore her husband 
eleven children, all of whom are living. 



Dr. Nystrum was a precocious boy and 
completed his course in the public schools 
at an early age, being prepared to enter 
Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, 
when only seventeen. Before he finished his 
studies there he taught school several years, 
thus securing both a wider experience and 
knowledge of human nature, as well as ma- 
terially improving" his finances. He was 
graduated from the college, March 19, 1892, 
and immediately opened his office in Med- 
ford. where his success was prompt and un- 
mistakable. His ability to speak five differ- 
ent languages is a valuable aid to him in 
treating the mixed population of Taylor 
county. 

A year after locating in Medford. April 
16, 1893, Dr. Nystrum was married to 
Maria Connaughty, then residing in that 
city, though born in Fond du Lac. They 
are the parents of three children: Martha, 
born in 1S94; Raymond, 1S96; and Lester, 
1 901. 

Unlike many in the profession. Dr. Nys- 
trum is not only a fine physician but also a 
good business man. and he has been con- 
cerned in several enterprises of some magni- 
tude. He was one of the incorporators of 
the Medford Pea Canning Company and of 
the Medford & Perkinstown Telephone Com- 
pany. The Doctor's political principles are 
those of the Republican party and he has 
been nominated on that ticket for both al- 
derman and mayor. His defeat on both 
nominations by a small majority was due 
mainly to his own lack of effort. While he 
is genuinely interested in all movements 
for the advantage of the city, he takes some 
part in politics generally. In 1904 he was a 
delegate to the Senatorial District Conven- 
tion at Ashland and served as secretary of 
that gathering. Since 1897 he has been 
health officer of the city and for five years be 
served as county physician of Taylor county. 

Professionally Mr. Nystrum keeps him- 
self completely up with the times and is 
well posted on all topics connected with his 
work. He holds several positions as examin- 
ing surgeon in addition to his general prac- 
tice, and is connected in that way with the 







') ^^^-yj^uy-^L^t^^'^^^^^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



417 



Maryland Casualty Company, ihe Illinois 
Life Insurance Co., and the Globe Fraternal 
Accident Association, of Alinneapolis. Since 
1897 he has been secretary of the United 
States Pension Examining Board, and is a 
member of the Wisconsin Leaj^ue of Medi- 
cal Licentiates, as well as a memlier of Tay- 
lor County Medical Society and the State 
Medical Society of Wisconsin. 

Dr. Xystrum is also connected with var- 
ious social and fraternal orders; he belongs 
to the A. O. U. W. ; the K. of II. ; the Fra- 
ternal Order of Eagles; and the Yeomen of 
America; while he has been chosen vice- 
president of the Medford Social Club. The 
family are members of the Catholic Church. 
The Doctor is skilled in his profession, while 
his genial manner and kindly disi)osition 
have also contributed to his success and have 
won him many warm friends. 

JOHN H. RVAX. in years of continu- 
ous service one of the oldest locomotive en- 
gineers at the Head of the Lakes, is a New 
luiglander by birth, of Irish ancestry. Pie 
was born in Wells River, Vt., Nov. 8, 1853, 
the son of John and Annie (Larkin) Ryan, 
natives of County Tipperary, Ireland, who 
came to the Uniterl States while young peo- 
ple. 

John Ryan was employed on railroad 
construction work in \^ermont for the 
greater part of his life, and died in Bellows 
Falls in that State in 1890, aged sixty- 
four years. His wife's demise, at the age of 
sixty, had occurred there four years earl- 
ier. Mrs .\nnie L. Ryan was the daughter 
of Mrs. I'llizabeth Larkin. wiiose deatii tuok 
place in Chicago, when she was over eighty 
years old. To John and .Annie Ryan were 
iKjrn three children, namely : William, an 
engineer on the Great Xorthern Railroad, at 
St. Cloud, Minn.; John IL; Helen, Mrs. 
Riley, of Bellows Falls, X'ermont. 

John H. Ryan, before entering the rail- 
road shops, had received a goixl education 
in the pui)lic schools of his native place, 
where he had studied until he was seventeen. 
He then entered the shops of the Central 
\'ermont Railroad anrl remained there for 



three years. At the end of that time he 
was made a lireman, and three and a half 
years later an engineer. After leaving the 
Vermont road, he was with the Connecti- 
cut River Railroad as conductor for seven 
years. In April, 1888, he removed to Oel- 
wein, Iowa, where he was employed for a 
few months on the Chicago & Great West- 
ern, but in October of the same year he came 
to West Superior and entered the employ of 
the Eastern Railroad of Minnesota, the 1 
completed to just about that point. For nine 
years he was on a transfer engine between 
Superior and Dulutli, next on a work train 
between Superior and Ilibbing, and is now- 
one of the oldest engineers on that road, 
which has become a part of the Great North- 
ern system. 

The marriage of Jolm H. Ryan to Mar- 
garet Plarty was solemnized in Walpolc. 
X. H.. Feb. 10, 1883. The bride was a 
(laughter of Cornelius and Margaret (Sav- 
age) Harty. the former of whom was a 
native of County Cork. Ireland, but immi- 
grated to this country and settled at Walpole. 
X. 11., where he died. His wife, a native of 
the same county, is still li\ing in Walpole. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan have five children, 
all daughters, Cecelia, Anna, Helen, Mary 
and Katherine. The family are connected 
witli the Catholic Church. Mr. Ryan is a 
nu'uiber of the C. O. F. and of the B. of 
I.. E. : in politics he has always been a Demo- 
crat. 

JAMi-:S P. BAKER, one of the earl- 
iest settlers in Washburn county, and post- 
master at Shell Lake, is a successful man 
with a record for industry, perse\erance and 
integrity of character. lie was born in Sol- 
on, Somerset Co.. Maine, Dec. 5, 1836, son 
of I'Vancis and Deborah (Buckman) Baker. 

Francis Baker was torn in New Hani])- 
shire, and his ])arents, who were of Scottish 
descent, dying in his boyhood, he was 
adopted by a family named l^aton, with 
whom he went to Maine, where the remain- 
der of his life was passed on a farm. He 
was a fleacon in the M. E. Church, and an 
exemplary citizen, and lived to be eighty- 



4i8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



four years of age. Mrs. Deborah (Buck- 
man) Baker died on the old homestead farm 
in April, 1902, aged 100 years. She was a 
native of Norridgewock, Maine, where her 
father, Asa Buckman, who was of German 
descent, and a potter by trade, kept a gen- 
eral store. 

The boyhood of James P. Baker was 
spent on a farm. After working early and 
late as a farm hand for $13 a month, he de- 
cided in 1857 to try to better his fortunes in 
the West, and borrowing $60 he set out. 
He went by rail to Prairie du Chien, Wis., 
and from there to Lake Pepin by stage. Al- 
though it was the latter part of April the 
lake was still filled with ice, and with a few 
companions he completed the thirty-five 
miles of his journey on foot. In Stillwater 
he secured a position at a dollar a day, which 
seemed to him a princely income. Here 
he soon went into the lumber business, an 
occupation which he followed for thirty-one 
years. He cut and sold logs on the St. Croix 
river and tributary streams for several years. 
His first visit to Washburn county was in 
1 861, there being but three white men in 
the county at that time, and he spent two 
years logging near the site of the present 
town of Shell Lake. In 1872 he returned to 
Washburn county and began logging on the 
Yellow river, where he has been interested 
ever since, Ijringing his family and perman- 
entlv locating in the county in 1884. In 
addition to the logging, at which he em- 
ployed from fifty to one hundred men each 
winter, he soon began clearing a farm in 
the town of Bashaw, west of Shell Lake, this 
being the first farm of any size to be cleared 
in the county, no other settler having at that 
time more than one acre under cultivation. 
This farm was subsequently sold, and since 
March, 1891, the family has resided in Shell 
Lake village, where Mr. Baker bought a 
meat market that is carried on by his son. 
Mr. Baker has always been a Republican 
since casting his first vote for Lincoln'; he 
has served several years as a member of the 
county board, and since 1897 has been post- 
master. Fraternally he is connected with 
the Knights of the Maccabees. 



In ]868 Mr. Baker married Addie Jack- 
man, a native of Charlotte, Maine, daugh- 
ter of Joseph and Louise (Murphy) Jack- 
man, with whom she moved, in 1850, to 
Stillwater, Minn. Mr. and Mrs. Jackman 
were both natives of Maine, where the latter 
died ; the former passed away at Stillwater. 
When the Jackman family came to Minne- 
sota there were about half a dozen houses in 
St. Paul, and a few more in Stillwater. Mr. 
and Mrs. Baker have two children, namely : 
James J. and Edith E., both of whom were 
educated in Shell Lake, the daughter also 
attending school in St. Paul ; she is now em- 
ployed in the Shell Lake postoffice. 

PATRICK H. LAWLER, one of the 
trusted employes of the Duluth, South Shore 
& Atlantic Railway Co., at West Superior, 
was born in Hancock, Mich., March 11, 
1864. His parents, Patrick and Kate 
(Lamb) Lawler, natives of Waterford, Ire- 
land, came to the United States in 1861 
and settled at Hancock. The Lawler fam- 
ily for generations has lived at or in the 
neighborhood of Waterford, and Patrick 
and his brother John were the first to immi- 
grate to America. John Lawler, who had 
been a soldier in the British army, went to 
California, where he was accidentally killed 
in the gold fields. Patrick Lawler was a 
miner in Ireland, and still follows that oc- 
cupation in the copper mines at Hancock. 
He has always been a stanch Democrat and 
is a member of the Catholic Church. Mrs. 
Kate (Lamb) Lawler is still living; her 
father died in Ireland and her motlner came 
to the United States and died in Sioux 
City, Iowa, at the age of seventy. 

Most of the boyhood of Patrick H. Law- 
ler was spent in Marquette. Mich., where he 
attended the public schools. At sixteen he 
entered the employ of the Detroit, Mackinaw 
& Marquette Railway Co. (now the Duluth, 
South Shore & Atlantic Railroad Co.). after 
a few years he became a fireman and since 
1888 has been employed as a locomotive en- 
gineer. For some years his headquarters 
were at Marquette, but since 1895 he has 
li\-ed in West Superior, his run being from 



:OMMEMORATIVE BlOGRAPlllLAL Kl^^U-v:) 



419 



there to Tliomaston, j\Iicli. lie is one of 
the oldest engineers on tlie road at the Head 
of the Lakes. 

In November, 1890, Mr. Lawier married 
Stasia Mclntyre, of Brimfield, 111., daugh- 
ter of Patrick and Catherine (Farry) Mcln- 
tyre, natives of Ireland, who came to the 
United States about 1850, settling at first in 
Maine, and moving later to Peoria county, 
111. Mr. Mclntyre was born in Londonderry, 
Ireland, and died in Peoria county, Dec. 28, 
1901, having been all his life a farmer. His 
wife, a native of County ilayo, Ireland, is 
still living in Peoria county. Mr. and ]\Irs. 
Lawlcr are the parents of three children, 
Irene Catherine, Helen Marie and Francis 
Charles. The family are communicants of 
the Catholic Church. Their home is a pleas- 
ant and tastefully furnished cottage which 
Mr. Lawier built in 1897. Since 1891 Mr. 
Lawier has been a member of the Brother- 
hood of Locomotive Engineers. He is a 
Democrat but not an active politician. 

JOHN TYMAX, one of the most highly 
•esteemed and respected citizens of Ajioll- 
<inia, Wis., was probably, with the exception 
of a Mr. Belial, the first settler in what is 
now known as Rusk county, coming here 
in 1869. Belial was a I'Venchman and came 
to this country from Canada some time in 
the thirties, engaging in trading with the 
Indians along the Chippewa. His death oc- 
curred Init a few years since, at the age of 
:oo years or more. He reared three families 
by three Indian wives. Later Thomas But- 
ler settled at Flaml)eau and Alexander Dia- 
mond and Samuel Johnson ke])t a kind of 
stopping place for the early prosjjectors. 

Mr. Tyman was born in 1848 in Mer- 
rickville. Ont., Canada, where he was reared 
and sent to the public schools. In 1862 he 
went to New '\'ork and at a place called 
Rossie worked for two years in the mines. 
He then became a woodsman on the Black 
river and in this early experience obtained 
a knowledge of surveying and was employed 
there until 1869. when he came to Wiscon- 
sin. 

Mr. Tyman came first to Eau Claire, and 
hired out to H. M. Stocking, a logger, and 



came to his camp in what is now Sawyer 
county. In the following May he started 
cruising for the First National Bank Co., of 
Eau Claire, which carried him to the lakes 
both east and west. This experience famil- 
iarized Mr. Tyman with every section and 
locality covered by him, and this business 
he followed for seven years, enduring much 
hardship. These years were spent almost 
entirely without association with white 
men. The Indians w-ere plentiful but very 
peaceful, entirely belying the fierce nature 
popularly attributed to them. 

In 1878 Mr. Tyman located a homestead 
of 160 acres, one mile north of w'hat is now 
the flourishing town of .\polloiiia. Here 
he put up a log cabin and settled down to 
the development of his claim in the wilder- 
ness. This cabin has long since disappeared 
and on its site now stands a comfortable 
and commodious residence and he is the 
owner of 340 acres of improved land. He 
continued lumbering and carried it on in 
connection with his farming until 1898. 

Mr. Tyman's success can be attributed 
entirely to his own efforts. His position as 
one of the county's substantial citizens lias 
been honestly earned. Always taking a 
lively interest in the progress of local af- 
fairs, he has served in the greater number of 
the offices, as chairman of the town of Big 
Bend, for nine years, justice of the peace 
for eight years and as a supervisor for eleven 
years. He has displayed in all these offices 
the business tact and wise foresight which 
liavc marked him as a comjietent man of af- 
fairs. The establishment of the first school 
in Big Bend township was mainly due to his 
efforts, it being created out of Eagle Point 
township in 1877. 

Politically Mr. Tyman is a Democrat and 
has been a frequent delegate to conventions, 
although he does not uphold all party meas- 
ures. He is a man of solid character, a good 
citizen and a loyal friend and neighbor. A 
close observer, he keeps in touch with all 
current events and is companionable in 
every way. He has seen remarkable changes 
in Northern Wisconsin since he first set- 
tled here. In those early days the comforts 
of life were not considered, for the necessi- 



420 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ties cost so much that all energies were de- 
voted to securing them. Mr. Tyman recalls 
when potatoes sold here for $2 a bushel, 
hay for $50 a ton and other commodities in 
like proportion. Even then the supplies had 
to be obtained at Eau Claire or Chippewa 
Falls and brought up on skiffs and canoes 
and carried by portages to the camps. 
This rich and beautiful country has been 
settled, but its cost can never be adequately 
understood except by those who ha\-e born 
the brunt of the battle. 

EUSTACE ROUSSAIN, once a pro- 
gressive merchant of Duluth, was born in 
Fond du Lac, Minn., Feb. 17, 1840, son of 
Francis Roussain. 

Francis Roussain was born in France, 
and was a member of the same family from 
which came Gen. Roussain, the famous 
French general who fought in the Revolu- 
tion. He came to America in early man- 
hood, and must have reached Fond du Lac 
.some time previous to 1840. He was in the 
employ of the. Arctic American Fur Com- 
pany as long as they had a station at Fond 
du Lac, and afterward opened a store of his 
own there, where he traded with the Indians 
for their furs. There being so few white men 
there at that time, no other trade was profit- 
able. He employed quite a number of men, 
and at one time ran two posts, the second at 
\'ermillion Lake. He was very successful 
and accumulated considerable property. He 
was also employed by the government as a 
blacksmith, as he had learned that trade early 
in life. Francis Roussain's wife, Zoe, was 
of mi-xed blood, French and Chippewa, and 
they became the parents of five children: 
Cecelia R., who married W. R. Durfee; 
Francis, deceased; Eustace; John B., who 
died at the age of seven years; and Eliza- 
beth, who only lived two years. Mr. Rous- 
sain died about 1884, and his wife in 1901, 
aged eighty-two years. They were both 
members of the Catholic Church. 

Eustace Roussain grew up in Fond du 
Lac and at a time when there were no schools 
there, and he received no education what- 
ever until he was sixteen, speaking up to that 
time only in the Chippewa tongue. At that 



age his father took him to ^Montreal, where 
he remained at school for three years, ac- 
quiring a fairly good practical education, 
and learning to speak both French and Eng- 
lish. When he returned to Fond du Lac he 
assisted his father in his stores as long as 
the latter continued in business. Afterward 
he carried on a similar business for himself. 
Mr. Roussain was for many years the post- 
master at Fond du Lac. He has also served 
on the school board as clerk, and is deeply 
interested in developing the school system of 
tlie town to the utmost. In politics he is a 
Democrat, and always supports his party 
on every question at issue. 

]\Ir. Roussain's home in Fond du Lac 
is a very comfortable one, and is presided 
over by his sister, ]\Irs. Durfee, and her 
daughter, Celia J. Durfee. The latter is a 
talented young lady, finely educated, and one 
of Duluth's most popular and successful 
teachers, while the easy grace with which she 
plays the part of hostess in her uncle's home 
makes lier a social success as well. Mr. 
Roussain and his sister are both members of 
the Catholic Church. 

GEORGE HERBERT RYERSE. The 
Ryerse family, to which belongs George 
Herbert Ryerse, an engineer on the Duluth, 
South Shore and Atlantic Railroad, is of 
Holland descent, and people of that name 
were among the early colonists of New Jer- 
sey, locating there in 1646, but during the 
Revolution they joined the L'nited Empire 
Loyalists in their emigration and settled in 
New Brunswick. Several members of the 
family joined the British army and two of 
them rose to the rank of colonel. The name 
was originally Ryerson, but one of these of- 
ficers was recorded as Col. Samuel Ryerse 
and his descendants have retained that form 
of spelling. Col. Samuel Ryerse removed 
his family to Ontario and settled on a grant 
of government land on the north shore of 
Lake Erie, and at this place, called Port 
Ryer.se. many of his descendants still live. 
He built a sawmill and also a grist-mill 
which was burned by L'nited States troops 
in 1814. 

Elder George J. Ryerse, grandfather of 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



42 r 



'George H., was a fanner and also a iluctor 
antl a local preacher of tlie Baptist Cliurch, 
bestowing his professional services in most 
cases without pay. His demise took place 
at the age of seventy-seven years. His son, 
Capt. Lewis Ryerse, has always been a sail- 
or. He built first a boat at Port Ryerse, an- 
other at Tonawanda, X. Y., and later be- 
came master of a fleet of tugs at Sault Ste. 
Marie. He lived several years at Buffalo, 
but in 1876 made his home at St. Ignace, 
Mich. A stanch Republican in his politics, 
lie was the first president of the village of 
St. Ignace. His death occurred there June 
20, 1903. in his sixty-eighth year. His 
wife, nee Catherine Kelly, died Aug. 11, 
1902, aged sixty-four. She was born in 
Limerick, Ireland, but after her parents' 
death came to America with a brother and 
settled at Victoria, Ontario, where she mar- 
ried Capt. Ryerse. She was a woman of 
unusual character and to her training are 
largely due the useful lives and exemplary 
character of her sons, of whom there were 
.seven : Lewis E., was a diver by occupation 
and made his home at St. Ignace : George 
H., was the second son, born at P'ort Ryerse, 
April 20, 1861 ; Charles died when only six 
years olri ; Harry H., is the sheriff of Mack- 
inac county. Mich. ; Fred (j.. is the captain 
of the tug "Sampson," at Sault Ste. Marie: 
Frank H. is captain of the tug "Niagara" 
and lives at St. Ignace: and Charles (2) died 
at St. Ignace in 1900, aged twenty-.seven. 
When the family moved to St. Ignace it 
was only a frontier village, and George 
Ryerse enjoyed only such educational ad- 
vantages as could be obtained in the little 
log school house in that place. When he 
was fifteen he liegan work as a fireman on 
a pile driver tug and afterwards was on 
another tug as engineer. In the spring of 
18S2 he entered the employ of the Detroit, 
Mackinaw & Marquette Railroad (now a 
])art of the Duluth. South Shore and At- 
lantic system) and beginning as a fireman, 
worked there four years. He was next host- 
ler of the round house at St. Ignace, and 
since 1887 has been an engineer on the Du- 
luth, South Shore and .Atlantic Railroad. 
He brought one <if the lirst trains of that 



company to the Head of the Lakes and has 
ever since made his home in that region, in 
1894 settling permanently in West Superior, 
and in 1897 building a pleasant home of his 
own, where he now lives. Since June, 1899, 
he has been running a passenger train be- 
tween Duluth and Michigamme. 

In 1891 j\lr. Ryerse was married to 
Laura Catherine, daughter of Benjamin and 
Harriet Inieson, of Wyandotte, ^lich. She 
has one son, George Herbert, Jr. Her father 
Benjamin Imeson, was born in Lancaster, 
England, and came to Canada in 1844; he 
had learned the trade of a stone mason in 
England and has always followed it. He is 
now living in Marquette, seventy-five years 
old. His wife was a native of Canada, born 
in Leamington, Ontario. 

Mr. Ryerse is a member of several fra- 
ternal orders, belonging to the A. O. U. W. ; 
to Superior Lodge and Diamond City Chap- 
ter, of the Masons : and to Farrell Division, 
No. 94, B. L. E., at Marquette, Mich. How 
good a Republican he is can be inferred from 
the fact that he traveled 500 miles to cast 
his vote for McKinley in 1900. The family 
belong to the Episcopal Church and are de- 
servedly popular among their many friends. 

JOSEPH LA ROUGE, postmaster and 
merchant at Reserve, Sawyer Co., Wis., has 
been settled on the reservation since 1886, 
when he came thither from Chippewa county. 

Mr. La Rouge was born in Chippewa 
county in 1868, son of Adolph and Sophia 
(Gokey) La Rouge. The father was horn 
at Wolfe River, Quebec, and came to Wis- 
consin previous to the Civil war. He was 
one of th^ organizers of the French Lumber 
Company of Chippewa Falls, after a few 
years selling out his interest in that concern, 
but continued his logging business for five 
years. He next opened a hotel at Cameron 
Junction, Wis., which he conducted for three 
years, an<l then going to Flambeau, ran a 
hotel and saloon for six years previous to 
his tleath, which occurred in 1891. In poli- 
tics he was a Republican, and he held the 
office of chairman of the town board for 
several years. 

Adolph La Rouge married a Chippewa 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRArKICAL RECORD 



woman, a daughter of one of the prominent 
Indians of the tribe, Mack Gokey. This 
chief, who for a number of years kept a trad- 
ing post on the Lac Court d'Oreilles Reser- 
vation, bought his goods in West Superior 
and at La Pointe, and transported them over 
a hundred miles through the wiklerness to 
his store. He was a man of much business 
abibty and became wealthy. He died in 
Chippewa county in 1901, at the most un- 
usual age of 117 years. Mrs. La Rouge 
became the mother of a number of children, 
of whom four survive : Adolph, of Reserve ; 
Louise, now Mrs. Henry Christian, of Flam- 
beau Lane ; Maggie, now Mrs. John Berger, 
of Hayward, Wis. ; and Joseph. The mother 
is still living, and has her home in Reserve. 

Joseph La Rouge had the opportunity 
of attending school only about five years 
while in Chippewa county, but he made the 
most of those years. From the age of 
thirteen until he was twenty-six he was en- 
gaged in lumbering in the Wisconsin woods, 
and in 1897 he established himself in the 
general store business at Reserve. Mr. La 
Rouge takes considerable interest in politics 
and has been delegate to county conventions 
several times. In 1901, under President 
McKinley, he was appointed postmaster, and 
is tilling that position most acceptably. 

The first wife of Mr. La Rouge was Miss 
Julia Relille, by whom he had one child, 
Clarence, now a student at the government 
Indian school at Hayward, Wis. Mrs. La 
Rouge died, and Mr. La Rouge afterward 
married Miss Eva Witenhall. To them have 
come three children : Gertie, Nora and 
Florence. All tlie members of tlie family 
are connected with the Catholic Church, and 
they are respected members of that church 
and of society. 

PHILANDER ELEAZER LEON- 
ARD, county clerk of Washburn county, has 
been a resident of Shell Lake since 1882. 
His birth occurred in Savoy, Berkshire Co., 
Mass., Oct. 30, 1838, his parents being Elea- 
zer Carey and Delanie (Cornell) Leonard. 

Grandfather Carey Leonard was proba- 
bly of English descent, though little is known 



of his life or ancestry. Eleazer Carey Leon- 
ard was born in Worthington, Mass., in 
early manhood was a farmer in Berkshire 
county, that State, and about 1840 moved to 
New Lebanon, Columbia Co., N. Y., where 
he passed the remainder of his life, dying at 
the age of eighty. For many years he was 
superintendent of the Tilden Company, 
manufacturers of proprietary medicines. 
Mrs. Delanie (Cornell) Leonard passed 
away some years before her husband. Her 
father, James Cornell, was a brother of Ezra 
Cornell, founder of Cornell College. Of the 
six sons of Eleazer Carey and Delanie (Cor- 
nell) Leonard three are living, as follows: 
Philander Eleazer, mentioned below; Henry 
D., of Watertown, N. Y., and Charles R., of 
New A'ork City, traveling representative of 
a commercial house. Another son, Hiram, 
grew to manhood and died in New Lebanon, 
New York. 

The early education of Philander Eleazer 
Leonard was obtained in the public schools 
and a select school at New Lebanon, where 
he prepared for college, which he never en- 
tered, however, owing to ill health. He 
taught school in New Lebanon for some 
time, and then kept a store there for four- 
teen years, serving as postmaster for twelve 
years of that time. In 1877 he went to Min- 
nesota, studied law at Hastings, with L. 
VanSlyck, and was admitted to the Bar. In 
the spring of 1882 he located at Shell Lake, 
entering the employ of the Shell Lake Lum- 
ber Co., of whose store he had charge^ for 
four years. He was elected district attorney 
in the fall of 1886, and was several times 
re-elected, serving until 1892, when he was 
elected to the office of county clerk, in which 
position he is now filling his fifth term. He 
has always been a Republican, his first vote 
having been cast for Lincoln in i860. 

In 1868 Mr. Leonard married Mary J- 
James, \\'ho was born in Stephentown, 
Rensselaer Co., N. Y., daughter of Amos C. 
and Laura D. (Coleman) James, of Forest- 
port, N. Y. Mrs. Leonard was educated in 
New York City, where she taught school 
several years before her marriage. Two 
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs, 



COMMK-MORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



4-'d 



Leonard, namely: Albert Philander, of 
South Bend, Wash., county auditor of Pa- 
cific county, that State: and Lucy Agnes, 
who was educated in the public schools, and 
in the State Normal School at River Falls, 
Wis., now a public school teacher in' Shell 
Lake. Mr. Leonard is a member of Dakota 
Lodge, No. 7, A. F. & A. I\L, of Hastings, 
Minn. He is highly regartled by every one, 
and has made many friends during the score 
of years he has resided in Washburn county. 

FRANK MAGUIRE. Among the men 
who have been instrumental in developing 
St. Croix county. Wis., stands Frank Ma- 
guire, now holding the highest office within 
the gift of the people of his city, he being 
its wise, efficient and capable mayor. His 
birth took place Feb. i, 1855, in Enniskillen, 
Ireland, and he is a son of Hugh and Bridget 
(McMunn) Maguire, both of whom were 
born in Enniskillen, Ireland, where they still 
reside engaged in farming. The following 
children were born to these worthy parents : 
Frank ; John was a Scotland Yard detective 
for many years, and is deceased : Mary : 
Patrick for twenty-one years was also a 
Scotland Yard detective, but is now retired ; 
Thomas was also a Scotland Yard detective; 
Hugh is in the postoffice at London : Philip 
was also a Scotland Yard detective, but is 
now deceased. These children were care- 
fully educated in the national schools. 

Until he was sixteen years of age, Frank 
Maguire remained at home, but then the am- 
bitious spirit of the lad forced him out into 
the world and he landed at Boston. Mass., 
alone and unfriended. However, he soon 
made his way to Dubucpie, Iowa, and found 
immediate employment, young as he was, 
as a fireman on the Illinois Central Rail- 
road, thus continuing for six years, when 
be met with an accident, which changed the 
course of his after life. Recovering from 
this, lie left the road and worked in the 
freight office for a winter, but in 1880, he 
left the employ of the Illinois Central and 
went with the Wisconsin Railroad as a pile 
driver for a season, after which he located at 
Hudson, Wis., and entered the employ of 



his father-in-law, the late Patrick McGuire. 
in his saloon, remaining with him for five 
years, when he purchased the business, and 
operated it himself for five years more, since 
which time he rented the saloon. He pur- 
chased during this time a fine farm of 160 
acres, located one and a quarter miles east of 
Hudson, which he operates. Mr. Maguire 
has also taken charge of the ferry between 
Hudson and Lakeland. Minn., and has thus 
continued, his boat being the steamer 
"J. O. Henning." 

On Oct. 6. 1886. Mr. Maguire was mar- 
ried to Margaret F. McGuire. daughter of 
Patrick and Mary McGuire. both natives of 
Ireland, who came to America in 1847, and 
1852, respectively, settling at Hudson. Pat- 
rick McGuire was a stone mason by trade, 
and built the first court house in St. Croix 
county, as well as many of the finest build- 
ings in this locality. He operated the ferry 
for many years, and was one of the promin- 
ent men of the community, and a very highly 
respected man. In politics he was a Demo- 
crat, and always took a deep interest in 
local affairs. In religious matters Patrick 
McGuire was a Catholic His wife passed 
away at Hudson, a very estimable lady, 
beloved for her many virtues and gentle, 
kindly disposition. Mr. and Mrs. Patrick 
McGuire had three children who grew to 
maturity, and several who died in infancy : 
Barney, now deceased, operated the ferry for 
thirty-five years: Libby died in 1878; Mar- 
garet F. is Mrs. Maguire. 

Seven children have been born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Frank Maguire: Thomas Bernard: 
John E.. deceased; Mary; Francis John; 
Hugh Leo; Henry lulwin. deceased; and 
one that died in infancy. 

Mr. -Maguire has always been prominent 
in politics as a stanch Democrat, and for 
twelve years he was a member of the sc-h. hi] 
lioard, six of which he served as president. 
He was honored by election to the oflice of 
treasurer, and held that responsible office 
for seven years, and in y\pril. 1901, he was 
elected mayor of Hutlson, an office he still 
holds. His administration is a clean, hon- 
orable and business-like one, and reflects 



424 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



credit upon himself, his city aiul the men 
who by their votes placed affairs in such able 
hands. Fraternally Mr. Maguire is a mem- 
ber of the Catholic Kniojlits, Branch Xo. 39. 
Hudson, and he attewded the first conven- 
tion of this order at Milwaukee, Wis., in 
1886, and every one since, \vith the excep- 
tion of one. He and all the members of his 
family are devout Catholics, and stanch sup- 
porters of the church. The success which 
has attended the efforts of Mr. Maguire is 
well merited and is but the just reward of 
honest endeavor, intelligently directed along 
legitimate lines. 

MARION THEODORE OSBORX. a 
well-known locomotive engineer of the 
(ireat Northern Railroad, residing at West 
Superior, was born Aug. 18, 1859, at Port 
Crane. Broome Co., N. Y. His parents were 
J. G. and Harriet (Weeks) Osborn, the 
former a native of New York State. 

Grandfather Franklin Osborn came to 
Broome county from Massachusetts : he was 
a shingle manufacturer and also filled con- 
tracts on construction work on the Chenango 
canal. For some "time he served as justice 
of the peace, and practiced law in the local 
courts. His son. J. G. Osborn, became a 
house painter and followed his trade in 
Westfield, Pa., where he died, !^Iarch Jj;, 
1902, aged sixty-nine years. In his later 
^'ears he was successful as a cultivator of 
ginseng. Mrs. Harriet (Weeks) Ostorn 
is still living in Westfield, Pa. Her birth- 
place was in Tioga county. Pa., where her 
father. Dyer Weeks, had come from Ver- 
mont alxiut 1800. In early life he was an 
officer in the Pennsylvania militia, and he 
was an influential citizen of Tioga county, 
where he was a farmer the greater part of 
his life and where he died at the age of 
eighty-six. 

Marion Theodore Osliorn completed the 
course at the Westfield high school when 
he was twenty years old, and then engaged 
in lumbering. He served four years as high 
constable of Westfield borough, and in 1886 
went to Fergus Falls, Minn., where he was 
employed in a flouring mill. Later he be- 



came store keeper for the St. Paul, Min- 
neapolis & Manitoba Railroad Co,, at Barnes- 
ville, Minn., and in March, 1887, took a 
position as fireman on the same road. He 
then spent several months in St. Paul, Min- 
neajwhs and Sault Ste. Marie, and in Aug- 
ust, 1888, became a fireman on the Eastern 
Ivailway of Minnesota, with headquarters 
at \\"est Superior, being promoted to the po- 
sition of locomotive engineer the following 
year, and retaining that position most of the 
time since. From October, 1898, Mr. Os- 
born has been engineer of a passenger train 
running between Duluth and Cass Lake, 
Minnesota. 

On May 7. 1901, Mr. Osborn married 
Florence Allen, a native of Orwell, N. Y., 
daughter of Charles and Charlotte Allen, of 
Pulaski. N. Y. Mr. Osborn is a Democrat 
and at one time took quite an active interest 
in local politics, being nominated in 1891 
for clerk of Douglas county, although he 
failed of election through the hopeless min- 
ority of his party in the coimty. For a num- 
ber of years he was master of the local divi- 
sion of the Brotherhood of Locomotive En- 
gineers, for some years he was assistant en- 
gineer of the local division, and in 1896 was 
a delegate to the international convention of 
the order in Ottawa, Canada. He js also a 
]\rason. 

J. E. STANLEY, junior member of 
the firm of Wheeler & Stanley, pioneer mer- 
chants of Bruce and Rusk county. Wis., is 
of that class of men whose influence is al- 
ways directed toward the ad\-ancement of 
any community. He was bom in Frances- 
town, N. IL, in 1846, and there the years 
of his youth were spent. In the public 
schools he was instructed in the English 
liranches of learning, but further than this 
his educational advantages did not extend. 
William and Mary (Sjiaulding) Stanley, 
parents of J. E., were both from early fam- 
ilies in New England, and bodi descend 
from an English ancestry previous to the 
Revolution. The parents of Mr. Stanley 
came to Wisconsin, settling in Oshkosh in 
1861, and later moved to Fox Lake, Wis., 



COMMEMORATU'K BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



425 



where Mr. Stanley died. He was in the grain 
and lunii)er bnsiness and was a successful 
man. Mr. and Mrs. Stanley had four chil- 
dren born to them: William H., of Min- 
nesota; Elizabeth, Mrs. Duncklce, of Eran- 
cestown, X. H. (Mr. Duncklee"s father 
was a Revolutionary soldier) ; one who is 
deceased; and J. E., mentioned below. Mrs. 
Stanley died in Minnesota in 1903. 

In 1 86 1 J. E. Stanley came to Wiscon- 
sin with his parents, who located at Osh- 
kosh, where he acceptably filled a clerkship 
until the fall of 1864, when, fired by patri- 
otic impulses, he enlisted in Company C, 
46th Wis. V. I. His service was detached, 
principally in Athens, Ala. In the fall of 
1865 he was honorably discharged and re- 
turned home, but later went to Minneap- 
olis to accept a position with the Minneap- 
olis Harvester Co., remaininsr with same 
until December, 1883. Then he removed to 
Bruce, which was just s])ringins^ into exist- 
ence, the "Soo" line having just been com- 
pleted from Turtle Lake to Bruce that year. 

He, havinsT a natural inclination toward 
a mercantile life, immediately engaged in 
merchandising, and has been so successful 
that he is recognized as the leading mer- 
chant of Rusk county. Not only has he 
been successful, but he has attained his suc- 
cess by fair and honorable dealing. He is 
a gentleman of affable manner, courteous in 
his relations with men and deservedly pop- 
ular. The marriage of Mr. Stanley took 
place in 1872 when he was united to Miss 
Mary J. Perry. Mr. Stanley's fraternal re- 
lations e.Ktend to the Blue Lodge Masons, 
the Chapter, Commandery, Consistory and 
the Eastern Star; K. of P.; the Knights of 
the Maccabees; and he is a member of Col- 
burn Post, G. A. R., of Bruce. Mrs. Stan- 
ley is a member of the Eastern Star, the 
Ladies of the Maccabees, and the Woman's 
Relief Corps. 

ALLEN ERASER, the present chair- 
man of the town board of Fificld township, 
is one of the early settlers of that region, 
having located in Price county in 1880, when 
h wa.s just being opened up. He is a native 



of Canada, born in Cornwall, Ontario, in 
1859 and he was reared there on a farm^ re- 
ceiving the limited education available in 
the public schools. 

On reaching his majority in 1880, Mr. 
Eraser left Canada and made his way to 
Wisconsin. His first work was on the dam 
at Chippewa Falls, after which he went to 
Eifield. In 1898 he established his present 
livery concern, and with his invariable en- 
ergy and ability has built up a good busi- 
ness. Pie has a well-stocked livery barn, 
and his prosperity is still further attested by 
his comfortable and well-appointed home. 

Mr. Eraser was married in 1S90 to Miss 
Bertha Tesmer, of Colby, Wis., and their 
union has been blessed with one child, Marie 
Elizabeth. 

In his political sentiment Mr. Eraser is a 
Rejiublican. WHiile he is well informed on 
general politics, his principal interest is in 
local matters, and the welfare of his com- 
munity. He has acted as clerk of the school 
board, and since 1902 has been chairman of 
the town board. He gives to his public 
trusts the same care and attention which he 
bestows on his own affairs, and his fellow 
townsmen feel perfect confidence in his ad- 
ministration of town matters. 

GEORGE WILLIAM LEAMON. 

The proximity of Canada has resulted in 
the presence of a large proportion of Cana- 
dains in the population of W'isconsin, and 
none have done more to assist in the develop- 
ment of the country. Among the younger 
men of this class, who bid fair to carry the 
prosperity of Superior to a .still higher point, 
is George William Leamon, one of the pros- 
perous young liusiness men of \\^est Su- 
perior. 

Mr. Leamon was born in Jancsville, 
Ontario, Sept. 28. 1874. His parents. 
Thomas and Mary (Nottley) Leamon, were 
natives of England, who came to America 
in 1872. Thomas Leamon learned the trade 
of a baker in England and followed the 
same business both in Ontario and in St. 
Clair, Mich., whither he moved in 1878. 
After seven years there he came to Superior, 



426 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



wliere lie and his wife have Hved ever since. 
For ten years after locating in Superior, 
Mr. Leamon continued his bakery business, 
having a good location in a substantial build- 
ing put up by himself. Since 1895 he has 
lived in retirement. 

George ^V. Leamon attended the public 
schools of Superior but from an early age 
was employed around his father's bakery, 
thus learning the business thoroughly. In 
1896 he began for himself, buying an inter- 
est in the "City Bakery" at West Superior. 
For six years the firm was known as Taylor 
and Leamon and under their management 
the trade of the establishment steadily in- 
creased. Sept. 15, 1902, Mr. Leamon be- 
came sole proprietor. He has given his per- 
sonal attention to building up the trade 
with the restaurants of the city, most of 
which are using his goods and so well has 
he succeeded that he has now the leading 
bakery establishment of the city. 

Mr. Leamon was married Aug. 29, 1900, 
to Leah Swalm. daughter of Jacob Swalm, 
of Collingwood, Ontario, where Mrs. Lea- 
mon was born. They have one child, Ken- 
neth Roger. The family are connected with 
the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Leamon is 
a Republican in his politics and fraternally 
a member of the M. \\'. A. He is energetic 
and progressive in his business methods and 
as one of the rising and prosperous young 
men of the city commands the respect of all 
who know him. 



native country, and engaged in fiishing until 
1868, when seeking to better his condition, 
he came to America, but before leaving he 
married Sophia Anderson, also a native of 
Sweden, by whom he has had children as 
follows : Emma, Lydia, Emil, Albin, Lydia 
(2), Philip and Emma, all deceased, and 
Eva. After six weeks upon the ocean, Mr. 
Anderson landed in New York, and from 
there came to Chicago, and thence to Burnett 
county. Wis., and secured 160 acres of land. 
This property was all timber at that time, 
and in the midst of the woods, he erected 
-a small log cabin, and began to clear his 
lanil. He now has about fifty acres of it 
cleared, and does general farming, raising 
wheat, oats, corn and rye, potatoes, as well 
as cattle and horses. Fle sells a number 
of his cattle and horses and also disposes of 
his milk to the creamery. Having devoted 
his time and attention since coming to Bur- 
nett county to farming, he has made a suc- 
cess of his work, although he was very poor 
when he first commenced. The first money 
he earned after coming here was eight dol- 
lars, and he worked a month to obtain it. 
Hard work, industrious habits" and thrift 
have been his watch words, and he has 
proven what can be accomplished with no 
other capital than them. While a good Re- 
publican, he has never sought office. In the 
Baptist Church he is an active member, and 
is a man \-ery highly respected in his neigh- 
borhood. 



LARS G. ANDERSON. Perhaps 
Sweden has given the United States some of 
its best citizens, and among those who owe 
their birth to that land, is Lars G. Anderson 
of Grantsburg, Burnett Co., Wis., a pros- 
perous farmer of that locality, who was 
born in the middle part of Sweden, in 1836, 
a son of Anders and Christina Anderson, 
hard working farmers who lived and died 
in Sweden. Four children were born to 
these parents : Lars G. ; Anna married John 
Erickson, a farmer of Burnett county. Wis. ; 
Lena C. married John Peterson, and is now 
deceased; and one that died in infancy. 

Lars G. ,\nderson Mas educated in his 



ERNEST PHILIP HOLGREN, cash- 
ier of the Sawyer County State Bank, at 
Hayward, is a native of Sweden, having 
been torn in Visby, that country, March 
8, 1876, son of Olaf and Myra Holgren. In 
1885 the family came to the LTnited States, 
living for a year at Bayfield, Wis., and then 
settling in Washburn, where the father soon 
took up a homestead farm, and where he 
still lives. He is one of the trustees of the 
Swedish Lutheran Church, of Washburn. 
The ancestors of Olaf Holgren were among 
the original settlers of the Island of Got- 
land, which was his birthplace, and the fam- 
ily at one time belonq-ed to the Swedish no- 



CO-M.ME.MORATIXE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



427 



bility. A brother of Olaf Holgren was a 
member of the Swedisli Riksdag-. Olaf liini- 
self once owned a vakiable farm, which he 
lost througli unfortunate speculation. 

Ernest Philip Holgren graduated in 
1892 from the Washburn high school, and 
spent three years at Ripon College. Ripon. 
Wis., in the classical course, which he com- 
pleted at Oberlin, Ohio, in 1897. He then 
took the position of assistant cashier at the 
Bayfield County Bank, at Washburn, and 
served as treasurer for the town of Wash- 
burn, for three years. The first of October. 
1902, he became a stockholder and cashier 
of the Sawyer County State Bank, which 
was incorporated Oct. 8, 1902. Mr. Hol- 
gren's business ability and upright character 
have won him the esteem of all who know 
him. 

On June 18, 1902, Mr. Holgren married 
]\Iabel E. Grant, who was born in Marquette, 
Mich. Both Mr. and Mrs. Holgren are 
members of the Congregational Church. Mr. 
Holgren is a Mason, a member of Blue 
Lodge and the Chapter of Washburn ; he 
also belongs to the K. P., and the L O. O. 
F., L O. F. and K. O. T. M., and has filled 
many offices in these various orders. Poli- 
tically he is a Republican. 

GEORGE COMISKEY has been a resi- 
dent of South Superior since the spring of 
1893. He was born in Alleghany county. 
N. Y., in 1866, a son of James and Hannah 
Comiskey. 

James Comiskey went to Michigan with 
his family when George was not more than 
a year and a half old, so that the l)oy was 
reared and educated entirely in that State. 
The father is still living there, but the 
mother is deceased. 

Previously to leaving Michigan, George 
Comiskey was for nearly three years keeper 
of the Ionia State House of Correction, but 
he preferred to change his occupation, and 
hearing that Soutii Superior offered a good 
opening he settled there, and for ei.ght years 
was employed as a blacksmith in the Duplex 
Manufacturing Company. He is now em- 
ploye'l as toolsmith by the Superior Ship- 
building Company. 



Mr. Comiskey chose as his wife Georgia 
Atchady. horn in Portland, Mich., the 
daughter of George Washington Atchady. 
To them have been born four children, Paul- 
ine, Harold, Plelen and Lucile. Mr. Com- 
iskey belongs to the Odd Fellows; in his 
political affiliations he is a Democrat and in 
the spring of 1901 he was elected supervisor 
of the eighth ward and the next year elec- 
ted alderman. 

(i. D. YOUNG, a rising young journal- 
ist, and the editor and proprietor of the Park 
Falls Herald, since 1902, brought to his 
work on the paper a proficiency and power 
gained by long and thorough training in his 
profession, and gives promise of ever in- 
creasing success in his chosen career. 

Mr. Young was born in Paisley, Ont.,. 
Canada, in 1878, the son of John Young. 
He was educated in the public schools and 
was given a thorough training in the English 
branches. He very early displayed an apti- 
tude for journalistic work, and at the age of 
seventeen entered the office of the Paisley 
Advocate as an apprentice at the case. 
His natural liking for the work made the 
place interesting to him, and his diligence at 
it so commended him to the manager of the 
office that he was promoted from one stage 
to another, remaining seven years on that 
paper. 

.After one more year of exiierience on a 
country newspaper as foreman for the 
Tavistock Gazette, Mr. Young felt himself 
sufficiently equipped to start out for himself, 
and with laudable ambition began looking 
for a field where he could try his own 
powers. The Park l"""alls Herald offered 
good inducements and seemed to promise 
success, so in October, 1902, Mr. Young 
purchased it. and settled in Park Falls with 
liis mother and her family. 

The Park Falls Herald was established 
Sept. 21, 1900, by H. J. Smith. The fol- 
lowing .April it was bought by R. E. Smith, 
and he conducted it until 1902, when he 
sold it to Mr. Young. 

Since then Mr. Young has been joined 
in partnership by his brother, Thomas R. 
Young, recently in the employ of the Cana- 



428 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



dian Pacific Railway at Owen Sound, Ont. 
He was born at Paisley in 1874, receiving his 
education in public and high schools there. 
At the age of twenty he entered the employ 
of the Canadian Pacific Railway and re- 
mained with that company almost continu- 
ously until his arrival in Park Falls in De- 
cember, 1903. He is now agent for the 
National Express Company at this point, 
the business being conducted in the Herald 
Building. 

Young Brothers have enlarged the Her- 
ald from a five-column, eight-page paper, 
two of which were printed at home, to a 
six-column eight-page paper, and four pages 
are printed in Park Falls. They have moved 
their plant into larger quarters and- have 
added up-to-date presses, machinery and 
type. Both typographically and in literary 
form it is a most creditable paper. It is 
Republican in politics and is devoted mainly 
to the interests of Park Falls and Price 
county. 

Young Brothers find time for fraternal 
work in spite of their manifold personal in- 
terests, G. D. being an active and honored 
member of the I. O. O. F., while Thomas 
R. is popular in the Masonic organization. 

WILLIAM J. SULLIVAN. M. D. 
/'Kmong the young physicians of West Su- 
])erior who are rapidly building up fine prac- 
tices, one of the most promising is Dr. W. J. 
Sullivan, of No. 1716 Iowa avenue. 

Dr. Sullivan was bom in Wyandotte, 
Alich., Sept. 22, 1870, a son of John and 
Bridget (Hart) Sullivan. The parents were 
both natives of Ireland, from County Kil- 
larney and the citv of Cork, respectively, 
hut they met and married in Michigan, and 
after their marriage made their home in 
Detroit. William J. was one of five child- 
ren. Fie received his earlier education in 
the public schools and then entered Clayton's 
Business University in Detroit, where dur- 
ing his two years' attendance he completed 
liis literary studies. Previous to entering 
the university he had been for eight years 
connected with the drug business and had 
also been reading medicine under the direc- 
tion of the late Dr. Richardson. In 1894 



he matriculated at the Detroit College of 
Medicine, where he took two full terms of 
lectures, and then entered the Michigan Col- 
lege of Medicine and Surgery in Detroit; 
there he completed his medical studies and 
was graduated in 1897. 

Immediately after graduation Dr. Sulli- 
A-an opened an office in Detroit and practiced 
for a time, and then, after looking about for 
a favorable opening, finally located in West 
Superior in 1900. His residence is in the 
ninth ward, and there he is building up a 
constantly increasing practice. 

The Doctor has a very wide association 
\\ith fraternal organizations; he is a mem- 
ber of the LT. O. F., Court Hope, No. 90; 
K. O. T. M., Steel Plant Tent, No. 31; 
M. W. W., Superior Court, No. 426; A. O. 
U. W., North Star Lodge, No. 112; Degree 
of Honor, Au.xiliary to the United Work- 
men, Excel Lodge, No.' 22 ; I. O. R. M., 
Okoboje Tribe, No. 14; Auxiliary to Red 
Men, Pocahontas Wabunktippacot, No. 5 ; 
M. W. A., Superior Lodge; Auxiliary to 
the Woodmen, Royal Neighbors. Profes- 
sionally Dr. Sullivan is a member of the 
Douglas County Medical Society. 

CHARLES A. ANDRESEN has been a 
resident of Taylor county since an early day, 
and has diligently improved every oppor- 
tunity for advancing in the world until he 
has become one of the leading business men 
of Medford. He is an American only by 
adoption, as he was born in Christiania, 
Norway, Aug. 11, 1848, son of Ole and 
Ingeborg Andresen, who lived and died in 
their native land, the former being in busi- 
ness in Christiania as a meat dealer. 

Charles A. Andresen completed the 
course in the public schools in Norway, and 
was' graduated from the high school in Chris- 
tiania when seventeen years old. Like st 
many of his countrymen he looked to the 
New World as a wider field for his energies, 
and as soon as he finished school he came to 
this country^and spent the first year in Chica- 
go. Thence he went farther north to Fort 
Howard, Wis., and for eight years was 
employed in a general store in thnt town. 

Mr. Andresen removed to Taylor county 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPEIICAL RECORD 



429V 



in 1874, and at llrst was at Chelsea, where he 
was bookkeeper in a mill, and where he also 
received the first appointment as postmaster 
of the town. He discharged the duties of 
that office for one year, and then resigned 
in order to go to Med ford, where he had a 
position as bookkeeper in a sawmill, which 
he retained until 18S3. In that year he 
opened a restaurant and conducted it for 
about two years. It was in this connection 
that Mr. Andresen entered upon his present 
line of business, that of a dealer in groceries 
and general merchandise, for while running 
the restaurant he began keeping groceries 
in stock for sale, and before long added dry 
goods, etc. The building in which Mr. 
Andresen began business was burned in the 
fire of 18S5 which destroyed so much of the 
town, and he then erected his present store 
building, in which he has carried on his 
establishment ever since. He also owns a 
farm of forty-five acres inside the city limits, 
upon which he has built his home, one of 
the finest modern residences in Med ford, or, 
in fact, in the county. 

Soon after coming of age in 1869, Mr. 
Andresen married Anna Sorenson, daughter 
Thomas Sorenson, who, like himself was 
a native of Norway, but came to Amer- 
ica in her infancy. Her father was a ship 
carpenter by trade, and made his home in 
Fort Howard, and it was there that Mr. and 
Mrs. Andresen were married. Of their 
children, nine are living, namely: Olga, of 
Medford; Marius, of Bayfield; Ilalvor, of 
Chicago, 111. ; Thomas, a student in the Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin; Clara, wife of A. H. 
Flaig, of Abbottsford, Wis. ; Oliver, a stu- 
dent at law in the University of Michigan; 
and .'\da, Annie and Charles, at home. The 
family are connected with the Epi-scopal 
Church, in which Mr. Andresen is a warden. 

Mr. .\ndresen has always been a stanch 
Republican, and has taken .some part in Med- 
ford politics, serving several years as clerk 
of Medford, under both the town and city 
organizations. Socially he belongs to the 
K. O. T. M. and to the Equitable Fraternal 
Union. In the quarter of a century during 
which he has been identified with the life of 
Medford, Mr. Andresen has been prompt 



to do everything in his power to advance 
its development, antl has also won his own 
place among- the upright and capable and 
prosperous business men of the city. 

WILLIAM JACOB NEEE, a promin- 
ent merchant and well known citizen of 
Phillips, Price county, was born in Columbia 
county. \Vis., March 7, 1864, anil is of Swiss 
and Welsh lineage. 

Jacob Xeef, his grandfather, came from 
the Canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland, early 
in the nineteenth century. He died in Buf- 
falo, N. Y.. aged ninety-two years. 

Henry Neef, son of Jacob and father 
of William J., located in Columbia county, 
Wis., in 1856. He belonged to the Re- 
publican party and served four years as 
county treasurer. .\t the age of si.xtv-five 
he was still in active business, and had been 
employed for some years as a bookkeeper. 
His death occurred while on a visit to Jef- 
ferson, W'is., Nov. 2, 1903. His wife, Hel- 
vetia (Reese) Neef, w-as torn at Paines- 
ville, Ohio, of Welsh descent, and is still 
living, though now near the allotted span of 
three score years and ten. 

William J. Neef was educated in the pub- 
lic schools of Columbia county, which he 
attended until he was seventeen years old. 
.\t that age he went to Dorchester, Wis., and 
for eleven years was employed in a sawmill, 
a part of the time grading lumber. In 1892 
he went to Prentice and started in the mer- 
cantile business, which he followed there for 
si.K years. 

During two years of his residence in 
Prentice, Mr. Neef served as under sheriff, 
and in 1898 was nominated for sheriff on 
the Republican ticket, but was defeated. 
Two years later he was nominated again, 
and that time was elected. He also served 
as a town treasurer. Since the expiration of 
his two year term, he has resided in Phillips. 

Mr. Neef erected a store building in 
Prentice, and since going to Phillips has also 
put up a two-story, double-store building 
there, in the heart of the business district. 
He also owns quite a little other propertv 
in the city. 

On April 15. 1S84. Mr. Xeef was mar- 



430 



C0MMEM0RAT1\-E BIOGRAnilCAL Riaur 



ried to Agnes Rogers, who was born in 
l-'orilhani. Wis., the daughter of Andrew and 
Julia Rogers, now of Easton, Adams Co., 
Wis. ]Mr. and Mrs. Neef had four children, 
INIarie Agnes, Edward H., Shirley L. and 
Winifred. The wife antl mother was taken 
away Nov. 15. 1897. aged only thirty-two 
years, and in the very prime of life. Mr. 
Xeef is deeply interesteil in a number of 
fraternal orders, and belongs to the local 
lodge and chapter of the F. & A. M., I. O. 
O. F., JNI. W. A. and K. O. T. M. : he is also 
a member of the Marshtield (,Wis. ) Lodge 
of the B. P. O. E. In the Odd Fellows he 
passed all the degrees and is also a member 
of the EMcninpment. 

EDWARD AUGUST lUSliOFF is 
one of Superior's own sons, lxn"n there Oct. 
3. 1S57. His father, John Frederick Bishoft". 
was one of the pioneers of the town, having 
first located there in 1S55. 

John Frederick Bishoft' was born in Ger- 
many, April 7, iSii, and in that country 
learned his trade, that of a baker. Leaving 
Ciermany for the L'nited States, he went 
■first to Ontonagon, IMich., and while there 
had his interest aroused in copper mining. 
In 1855 he settled in the little town of Su- 
perior, erected a building in what is now 
known as the East luul. and started the first 
bakery in the place. Owing to business de- 
pression caused by the panic of 1858, Mr. 
Bishoft' abantloned his bakery and took his 
family back to Michigan, where he engaged 
in the coppermill business at Hancock. In 
1870, however, he went back to Superior, 
resumed his former occupation there, antl 
followed it as long as he was physically equal 
to the responsibility. 

In his early voting days Mr. Bishoft 
was strongly anti-slavery in his principles, 
and after the war he became a Reiniblican. 
He was a most excellent and respected citi- 
zen, and keenly interesteil in jniblic ques- 
tions up to the time of his death, Jan. 14, 
1895. "^^ the age of eighty-three. His widow 
survived until October, 1897, aged seventy- 
three. They were both Lutherans in their 
religious belief. Of their six children, the 
two daughters died in earlv infancv. The 



four sons were: John Frederick, of Su- 
perior, the first white child born in that place, 
Aug. _>4, 1855; Edward August; Frank Al- 
bert, who was born in Michigan, Oct. 5, 
1861, and died in Ashland, Wis., Aug. i, 
1900; and George Washington, born in 
]\lichigan, Feb. 22, 1866, who died Feb. 11, 
1900. 

The house in which Edward .\ugust 
Bishoft' was born is still standing. He was 
about a year old when his parents went back 
to Michigan, and in his twelfth year when 
they returned to Superior. He attended the 
public schools of Superior until he was fif- 
teen, and then began sailing on the lakes, 
first as a cabin boy. and later as a cook. 
At the age of seventeen he became a wheel- 
man, then was fireman, and advanced to be 
marine engineer, serving in that capacity ten 
years. Since May 16. 1S91. he has been the 
engineer of the Superior Water, Light and 
Power Company. 

Edward A. Bishoft" was married Oct. 3, 
188,:;. to Miss Isabella M. Fisher. Mrs. 
Bishoft' was the daughter of Henry and 
Dorothy Fisher, and was born in Michigan 
March 23, 1864. The first child born to this 
union was a son who lived only a few 
months. Their daughter, named Edna L.. 
was born Aug. 4, 1889. 

Henry Fisher was born in Germany and 
was brought to America when only five 
\ears old. He grew up in New York, where 
lie was married. He moved first to Cleve- 
land. Ohio, and then to Sault Ste. Mane. 
He was an excellent machinist, put in the 
first engine at the famous Calumet and Hecla 
mines, and did similar work all through the 
mining regions of northern Michigan. His 
wife died in Michigan in December. 1877, 
and he in Colorado in 1890. They had six 
sons and two daughters : John C, a resi- 
dent of Hancock, Mich.; Henry, for many 
years superintendent of the Calumet cop- 
per mills; Charles F.. of Calumet; Herman, 
who lives in Montana; William, of Granite. 
Mont. ; George, who died at the age of thirty- 
seven vears ; Amelia, who married a Mr. 
Steinbach. of L'.\nse. Mich.; and Mrs. 
Bishoft. 

Mr. r.ishoft' is a member of several fra- 



COMMEAIORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



431 



ternal orders, and is somewliat active in tlieir 
work. He belongs to the Knights of Pyth- 
ias, the Fraternal Reserve Association, the 
Maccabees, and the 1. O. 1"". In his chosen 
line of work he is proficient and is regarded 
as an authority, while his many admirable 
traits of character have won him a large 
circle of friends. 

W. A. DAY, M. D., recently physician 
and surgeon of Ladysmith, Rusk Co., Wis., 
who, until his removal, was associated with 
Dr. Ross, in that city, was born in 
Austin, !Minn.,_in 1879. He was reared 
in that locality, and after graduating 
from the iiigh school, matriculated in 
the Xorth western Medical School, and 
took the medical course in that university 
at Evanston, 111. ; after four years he 
was graduated in 1902. Following grad- 
uation. Dr. Day went to Eveleth, Minn., 
where he entered into practice, but after a 
year, in 1903. he went abroad to complete his 
studies, entering first a hospital at Vienna. 
where he tO(ik a post graduate course, giv- 
ing special attention to children's diseases. 
He then went to London, England, where 
lie studied in several hospitals, principally 
the hospitals for children. Returning home, 
he came to Ladysmith and entered into a 
partnership with Dr. Ross, which he con- 
tinued until he removed to Deer Park, where 
he is lueeting with much success. 

Dr. Day is a member of the St. Louis 
County Medical Society, and the Minnesota 
State Medical Society. Fraternally he is a 
member of the Royal Arcanum and the I. 
O. O. F.. Ladysmith Lodge. He is well 
equipped for the practice of his profession, 
liis prei)aration having been quite extensive 
and thorough. In addition to his hospital 
work abroad, he was interne at a hosjjital in 
Chicago. 111., and there, as elsewhere, care- 
fully studied the diseases of children. 

XELS PAULSOX. one of the popular 
hotel men of Cumberland. Barron Co.. Wis., 
was born Aug. 26, 1847, in Norway, 
a son of Jergen and ,\nn (Nelson) 
Paulson, both natives of Norway. The 



lather was employed in the smelting 
works in his native place, but hearing 
the wonderful tales of the opportunities of- 
fered in the new land, in 1867, the family 
emigrated, taking passage on the sailing ves- 
sel "Neptuna." After a six weeks' voyage 
they landed at Quebec, but in a week set out 
for Lansing, Iowa. The next year Jergen 
Paulson took up eighty acres in Meeker 
county, Minn., where they lived several 
years. After several changes, the father 
finally made his home with his son, Inge- 
bright, in Deuel county, S. Dak., where he 
died Dec. 10, 1898. The widow survives 
and is still living in South Dakota. Both 
were consistent members of the Lutheran 
Church. The following children were born 
to these worthy people : Andrew, of Barron 
county, a farmer of Cumberland township; 
Paul, a stone mason of Eau Claire; Inge- 
bright, a farmer of Deuel county. S. Dak. ; 
Xels; Ingeberg. deceased; Mathew, of Deuel 
county, S. Dak., where he is engaged in 
farming; Jergen, a farmer of Meeker coun- 
ty, Minn. All are prosperous and a credit 
to their parents and the name they bear. 

Nels Paulson was educated in Norway, 
and was also engaged at the smelting works 
at the time he came with his parents to 
America. He soon found employment in the 
woods at various places, spending about four- 
teen years at lumbering, but in 1881 he 
lx)ught 120 acres of railroad land, eight 
miles south of Cumberland, upon which he 
had squatted some several years earlier. 
Tiiis land was wild, a portion of it being in 
timber, and a portion in natural meadow. 
.\fter spending several years upon it. and 
making many ini])rovements. he disposed of 
it and engaged in hotel keeping. 

On July 22. 1882. Mr. Paulson was mar- 
ried, in Cum!)erland, to Carolina Songu, 
also of Norway. They have nine living 
daughters: Matilda. Anna. Ida. Inga. Nel- 
lie. Clara, Emma. Martha and Minnie, all 
of whom are bright intelligent girls, now at- 
tending school. 

In 1884 Mr. and Mrs. I'aulson came to 
Cumberland, and traded a portion of their 
farm for the "Windsor Hotel," which he 



432 



CO:\LMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



conducted for six years, when he sold out, 
and located on another farm for two years. 
Once more he came to Cumberland, and now 
conducts a hotel. In politics Mr. Paulson 
is a Republican, but has never been an office 
seeker. Both he and Mrs. Paulson are very 
jiopular, and are well and favorably known 
throughout the county. Coming to this 
country a poor young man he has gradually 
won his way by hard work and great thrift, 
and deserves the fullest commendation. 

O. E. WERNER, M. D., who is one of 
the leading physicians of Rib Lake, is also 
one of the best qualified physicians and sur- 
geons of Taylor county. Dr. Werner be- 
came a practitioner of medicine and surgery 
from the love of the science, his early s.tudies 
always being turned in this direction, and his 
acquirements in physiology during his school 
days making him a marked member of his 
class. 

Dr. Werner was born in 1873 at Center- 
ville, W'isconsin, a son of Peter and Chris- 
tine Fredrika (Kennetz) Werner, both na- 
tives of Germany. In the '50s the father en- 
gaged in a mercantile business at Center- 
ville and also opened a tannery there, where 
he spent his active life, succeeding in his 
business enterprises and taking a very prom- 
inent part in politics. On one occasion he 
was his party's candidate for the State Sen- 
ate. He now lives retired at Brillion, Wis. 
Dr. Werner has one brother. Dr. R. G., now 
in active practice at Oshkosh, who is a grad- 
uate of the Kentucky School of Medicine. 

Dr. Werner obtained his early education 
in the public and in private schools in Mil- 
waukee and Chicago, later taking lessons in 
Latin, French and German, but from his 
twelfth year the school books most interest- 
ing to him were those treating of medicine 
and kindred subjects. When about four- 
teen years old, he began serious study imder 
Dr. Myer, who was his preceptor in chem- 
istry, anatomy and physiology for more than 
a year, and then he was engaged with Dr. 
H. D. Sykes, a druggist in Milwaukee. He 
next spent two years in the pharmaceutical 
department of the Northwestern University 



at Chicago. After he was registered he was 
given charge of the Apothecaries' Society 
of Chicago, where he served six months, antl 
then he took the senior course in pharmacy 
and received his degree. Thus Dr. Werner 
laid a secure foundation for his later study. 
In 1892 he entered the medical school 
at the same university, but after one course 
there, entered the Kentucky School of Medi- 
cine, at Louisville, where he remained six 
months, and then spent six months in the 
medical department of Central University, 
also located at Louisville. Dr. W'erner then 
returned to Wisconsin and entered the Wis- 
consin College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
at Milwaukee, being one of the two senior 
students who were graduated at that school 
in ]March. 1894. All this had been accom- 
plished by the ambitious young student be- 
fore he had reached his majority, in fact 
he was but twenty years old when he re- 
ceived his diploma. He settled for practice 
at Tigerton, Wis., where he remained a 
year and a half, and then went back to Louis- 
ville, where he spent six more months in 
post graduate work, paying especial atten- 
tion to diseases of women and to eye. 
ear and throat surgery. Here he enjoyed 
the best medical advantages, having access 
to the hospitals of Louisville anil taking his 
share of clinic work. 

L^pon his second return to Wisconsin, 
Dr. Werner entered into a partnership with 
Dr. Lockart, of Norway, Mich., in the con- 
duct of the Columbia Hospital at the Loretta 
and Aragon mines. Six months later these 
mines were closed on account of labor troub- 
les and Dr. Werner withdrew from the part- 
nership. He took a brief vacation in 1897, 
and then settled at Rib Lake, opening his 
office there in November of that year. Con- 
tinually a student, Dr. Werner in 1899 took 
a complete course in the Chicago Eye, Ear, 
Nose and Throat College, and in 1902 sup- 
plemented this with a post graduate course 
at the Chicago Polyclinic College, and still 
later at the Illinois School of Electro-The- 
rapeutics. 

Rib Lake is certainly to be congratulated 
on having in her midst so competent a physi- 



COxMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RFXORD 



433 



ciau and surgeon. Dr. Werner lias enjoyed 
many advantages whicli have not been possi- 
ble to all practitioners. One of these was his 
association through 1889 and 1890 with the 
celebrated Ur. Nicholas Senn, then of Mil- 
waukee, now of Chicago, whose eminent ser- 
vices ha\e been besought by the government 
of Japan. During one year Dr. Werner was 
Dr. Seim's (July student, and his opiwrtuni- 
ties for watching tiie marvelous operations 
of this great wizard of surgery were numer- 
ous and of inestimable value. 

Dr. Werner married Miss Elsie Kinney 
of Brookton, Maine, Dec. 20, 1899, and one 
daughter has been born to them, Victoria 
L. Fraternally the Doctor is connected with 
the Knights of the Alaccabees, Modern 
Woodmen of America and the Royal Neigh- 
bors of Wisconsin. He is prominent in the 
American Medical Association, the Wiscon- 
sin State Medical Society, and is a registered 
practitioner in Ohio, California, Illinois and 
Wisconsin. 

PETER WASEEN. Among the many 
valuable citizens whom Sweden has given to 
America, and who have helped so much in 
the development of the Northwest, is Peter 
\\'aseen, torn in Westland, Sweden, Nov. 
9, i860; his toyhood was passed in his na- 
tive land, where he attended the public 
school and was reared to a farmer's life. His 
parents were ^Vndrew and Mary Peterson. 

At the age of twenty Mr. Waseen came 
to the New World, shipping from Gotten- 
berg, Sweden, to New S'ork. From New 
York he proceeded almost immediately to 
Michigan, and was employed for a year in a 
mine in the Upper Peninsula. The next 
year he spent in Minnesota on railroad work 
and in 1882 he came to Wisconsin and set- 
tled on a farm in Burnett county. He took 
up a claim of 160 acres and after proving 
up on it continued to reside there till 1890. 
In that year the excitement at West Superior 
was at its height, and Mr. Waseen on his 
arrival decided to purchase real estate to 
some extent. For a short time he was en- 
gaged in various ways, at whatever came to 
liim, but before the close of the year he se- 
as 



curetl employment with the Philadelphia 
and Reading L'oal and Iron Company, with 
whom he has remained ever since. 

On Aug. 20, 1882, Mr. Waseen was 
married to Mrs. Hannah Jacobson, and to 
this union have come twelve children, ten of 
whom are now living, Ellen, L. H. David, 
Hattie, Annie, Charles, Rosy, Williajn, 
Ernest, Lawrence and Wallace. The family 
are all devoted followers and members of 
the Lutheran Church. 

Mr. Waseen's interests in a fraternal 
way are varied. He is a member of the K. 
M., West Superior Lodge, which he jomea 
in 1893, and in which he has been finance 
keeper six years. He is also a member of 
the Swedish Society Concordia. Jn politics 
he is an important factor locally and ever 
since his naturalization has lieen an unwaver- 
ing Republican. His public spirit has been 
recognized by his fellow townsmen in his 
election as supervisor of the 9th ward. To 
this position he was first chosen in 1900, and 
lias since been four times re-elected, in every 
election receiving a most flattering majority. 

Mr. \\'aseen has one brother in Superior, 
who is also employed by the Philadelphia 
and Reading Coal and Iron Company. 

LEWIS L.\RSON, one of the progres- 
sive men of Cumberland, Barron Co., Wis., 
was torn May 17, i860, at Frosten, Norway, 
but nine years later was brought to Eau 
Claire, Wis., where he completed his educa- 
tion in the graded and high schools of that 
locality, paying his way through school by 
v.orking in the shingle mills during the vaca- 
tion time. After he had qualified himself, 
the ambitious young fellow began teaching 
school in Dunn county. Wis., and still later 
became Iiookkeeper for the Eau Claire 
Hour Mills. So popular and prominent did 
he become, that a few years later he was 
made county clerk of Eau Claire county, 
and filled that responsible office for two 
terms. Retiring from public life, he em- 
barked in a retail furniture business and con- 
tinued it successfully until 1889, when he 
sold his stock and removed to Superior, 
where he continuetl in the same line and also 



434 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



took a very active part in politics. During 
the time when that city was on a "boom," 
he served as city comptroller, and was also 
president of the board of public works, was 
instrumental in effecting the sale of a num- 
ber of tracts of valuable land, amounting 
in all to several million dollars, and had 
passed the bill bonding the city for several 
millions. In 1894 Mr. Larson moved to 
Shell Lake, Wis., to accept a position as 
cashier in the bank of that place, remaining 
there for seven years. Oct. 15, 1901, he re- 
turned to Cumberland and took charge of 
the Island City Bank, in which he had pur- 
chased an interest. He is now its efficient 
and conservative cashier, and under his able 
management the bank has become one of 
the leading financial institutions of Bar- 
ron county. Recently the bank was re-or- 
ganized and incorporated as a State bank, 
with Mr. Larson as vice-president and cash- 
ier. 

Already Mr. Larson has made himself 
felt in politics, and is one of the leaders of the 
Republican party, in the ranks of which he 
has so long been such an earnest and effec- 
tive worker. Although he has been obliged 
to work against many odds, Mr. Larson has 
attained financial success, and he has not 
reached the limit by any manner of means, 
for there are many predictions of future 
greatness afloat. 

On June 11, 1888, Mr. Larson married 
Margaret yualc, of Minneapolis, Minn., 
and they have three children, two daughters 
and a son. Mr. Larson is a member of the 
K. of P., and is grand treasurer of the I. 
S. \V. A., of Wisconsin, South Dakota and 
Minnesota. 

JOSEPH S. KONKEL. a prominent 
and influential citizen of West Superior, 
Douglas county, is the proprietor and editor 
(31 the Lcadcr-Clarion, an organ devoted 
.specially to the interests of organized labor 
and supporting the principles of the Demo- 
cratic party. 

Mr. Konkel, while of German descent, as 
the name indicates, is an American by birth, 
the son of Rev. William and Anna (Berry) 



Konkel, themselves natives of Pennsylvania. 
The ancestors of both families came to this 
country before the Revolution and were 
participants in that struggle. William Kon- 
kel was a Methodist minister, ordained at 
Mt. Vernon, Ohio, who located about 1855 
in Page county, Iowa. Thence he went about 
1870 to Crawford county, Kan., where his 
death occurred six years later, at the age of 
fifty-five. His wife, who is still living, 
though now nearing her four score years, 
resides in Colorado. 

Joseph S. Konkel was born in Page 
county, Iowa, March 10, 1862, and when 
eight years old went to Kansas, whither the 
family moved at that time. After he reached 
the age of nine, his help was needed on the 
home farm and he was able to secure only 
eight months more of schooling. 

Of a studious disposition, however, he 
managed to do much for himself, and when 
he was nineteen left home to begin teaching. 
For five years he taught in Kansas and then 
became a commercial traveler, spending an- 
other five years in various parts of the 
South. 

In 1887 Mr. Konkel joined his brother, 
S. M. Konkel, who was then publishing the 
JVcstcrn IVorld in Boston, Colo., and was 
thus occupied for two and a half 
years. Next he published the Demo- 
crat at Lyons, Kan., for a year and 
then went to La Crosse, Wis., where 
he was a reporter on the Daily Nczi'S. 
Since January, 1891, he has been in Superior 
where he began by operating a job office. 
In July, 1897, he started the Clarion, the first 
issue of which was a single sheet nine by 
twelve inches, which, however, gradually 
enlarged to a six-column folio. In June, 
1900, he bought the Forum and consolidated 
it with the Clarion, while a year later he 
also purchased the Superior Citiccn, chang- 
ing the name to the Clarion-Citizen, a semi- 
weekly which, in addition to its local and for- 
eign news and its editorials on current topics, 
is devoted to the interests of organized labor. 
In August, 1902, Mr. Konkel purchased the 
Inland Ocean, and in June, 1903, he took 
charge, of the Daily Leader. Concluding 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



435 



:tliat a niorning daily would not pay under 
prevailing conditions, the Da'ly Leader was 
suspended on Aug. 23 of the same year, and 
the Chiriou-Citizcn, the Inland Ocwni and 
the Daily Leader were all merged uniler the 
name of the Leader-Clarion, which paper is 
now issued as a tri-weekly. Mr. Konkel is 
a fearless critic and his comments on public 
(juestions have attracted an ever-increasing 
circle of readers. While the silver issue was 
a vital one, he began writing in support of 
the silver party under the nom-de-piume of 
"Silver Joe," a name by which he has since 
been generally known. One of his publica- 
tions was a pamphlet entitled "Money 
Meter." 

On April 3, 1888, Mr. Konkel was mar- 
ried to Lydia Wilson, daughter of A. G. 
and Jennie Wilson, of Boston, Colo. ; Mrs. 
Konkel was a native, however, of the State 
of Minnesota. She has borne her husband 
six children. Grace, I'^red, Joseph, Jr., l'"rank, 
Price and Otis. The family are attendants 
of the Methodist Church and socially Mr. 
Konkel is connected with the I. O. O. F. 
and the M. W. A. 

RICHARD FREDERICK PECK, a 
highly esteemed citizen of Washburn county, 
was born in London, England, June 19, 
1853. His parents were William Henry and 
Mary Ann (Stewart) Peck, the former also 
a native of London. 

William Peck, his grandfather, sprang 
of a family of Norfolk farmers, and became 
an architect. William Henry Peck, son of 
William, a civil engineer by profession, 
brought his family to the United States in 
1857, and settled at Taylor's Falls. Minn. 
Eight years later he moved to St. Croix 
l-'alls. Wis., where for many years he carried 
on a store. In 1892 he came to Veazie, 
Washburn county, dying there the same year 
at the age of eighty-three. He also livecl for 
a time in Burnett county, where he filled the 
office of county treasurer and kept a general 
store at Grantsburg. He was a Republican 
in politics, and a member of the* Episcopal 
Church. Mrs. Mary Ann (Stewart) Peck 
^lied in Gra-itsburg, Wis., in 1882, when 



seventy-four years of age. She was a native 
of Scotland and came of the royal Stuart 
family. Her father, Thomas Stewart, a 
breeder and dealer in fine horses, met his 
death in Germany, from a kick of a horse 
wiiich he was about to deliver to a German 
nobleman who had purchased the animal. 

Richard I'Vederick Peck attended school 
in Taylor's Falls, and learned the trade of 
house decorator. This occupation he fol- 
lowed fourteen years in St. Paul, Minn. In 
1886 he came to Washburn county, taking 
u]) a homestead claim in the town of Veazie, 
where be lived until 1894, when he bought 
his present farm of eighty acres, in section 
21, Town 39, Range 12. He now has fifty 
acres under cultivation, and comfortable 
farm buildings, is giving considerable atten- 
tion to horticulture, and has an apiary, with 
over twenty swarms of bees. 

Mr. Peck was married, in 1878, to Anna 
A. Castner, daughter of William W. and 
Elizabeth (Hyght) Castner, of Geneva, 111. 
Mi. Peck belongs to the M. W. A., being a 
charter member of the Camp at Spooner. 
A life-long Republican, he has served four 
yeais as chairman of the town board of 
Spooner, as assessor and as '.ncumbent of 
other public offices. Since 1892 he has been 
a government surveyor, much of his time 
being devoted to that work. His surveys 
have taken him over northwestern Wiscon- 
sin and eastern Minnesota, and he has 
earned an enviable reputation as an efficient 
engineer. 

MYRON W. ROUNSAVELL, agent 
of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & 
Omaha Railway Co. at Hayward, Wis., and 
a popular citizen of that place, was torn near 
Kankakee, 111., Nov. 6, 1848. His parents 
were James Harvey and Ann (Thompson) 
Rounsavell, the former a native of Pennsyl- 
vania. His ancestors came from Holland 
in Colonial days. 

James Harvey Rounsavell moved to 
Illinois about 1830. and settled, a few years 
later, on government land in Kankakee 
county, his nearest market for some year> 
being Chicago. He died on this farm when 



436 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



about fifty-five years of age, Iiis wife pass- 
ing away a few years before. Several of 
Mrs. Rounsavell's brothers went to Califor- 
nia during the gold excitement, and there 
died. Mr. and Mrs. Rounsavell had a fam- 
ily of twelve children, of whom four sons 
and four daughters are still living, as fol- 
lows : Milton H., of Colorado Springs, 
Colo. ; Myron VV. ; Perry, of Kansas ; Frank, 
of Bibon, Wis. ; Sarah, widow of Andrew 
Wiley, of Kankakee; Emma R., widow of 
A. S. Turner, of Bibon; Nancy, widow of 
Morris Lamb, of Sacramento, Cal. ; and Ida, 
Mrs. John Nelson, of Colorado Springs, 
Colorado. 

The boyhood of Myron W. Rounsavell 
was passed in Kankakee county, where he 
attended the public schools, and, later. 
Laird's Seminary in Kankakee. Until he 
was twenty-three he lived on the home 
farm. Then he learned telegraphy in the 
Cincinnati, LaFayette & Chicago railroad 
office at Kankakee, where he was in charge, 
as operator and ticket agent, for ten years. 
He then became an employe of the Lake Erie 
& Western Railway Co., filling the position 
of agent at Bluffton, Ohio, for another ten 
years. In 1891 he came to Ashland, Wis., 
as telegraph operator on the Chicago, St. 
Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha railroad, going 
from there to Mason, Bayfield Co., Wis., ■ 
and in the fall of 1893 becoming operator 
at Hayward. A year or two later he was 
appointed agent for the company at Hay- 
ward, and has ever since held that position, 
the business at the station having increaseil 
steadily during his incumbency. 

Mr. Rounsavell married Jennie P. Ell- 
ingwood, a native of Indiana, daughter of 
Elijah and Mary A. (Rice) Ellingwood, of 
Kankakee, 111. Mr. Ellingwood was born 
at Manchester, Ind., was a carpenter, 
and in 1856 settled at Kankakee, where 
he and his wife died. The children 
of Mr. and Mrs. Rounsavell are as 
follows: Earl R., assistant cashier of the 
Manufacturers' Bank at New Richmond, 
Wis. ; Grace Reals, Mrs. Oscar B. Crandall. 
of Cable, Wis.; and Helen Yvonne, Mrs. 
Earl Nichols of Shinglehouse, Pa. All 



have had the best advantages. Mrs. Roun- 
savell is a member of the Methodist Church. 
The pleasant home of the family was built 
by Mr. Rounsavell. He is a member of 
Hayward Lodge, I. O. O. F., having joined 
the order in Kankakee in 1871, and has 
passed all the chairs ; he is also a member of 
Progress Camp, No. 4153, M. W. A. Mr. 
Rounsavell has been a life long Republican,, 
but is not an active politician. 

JAMES HENRY WILSON CURR, 
who filled a responsible position in the ship* 
yards at West Superior, is a native of Scot- 
land, having been born at Dundee, Aug. 4,. 
1868. His parents, natives respectively of 
Hull, England, and Dundee, Scotland, were 
Thomas Pitt and Janet (Christison) Curr, 
(the name was originally spelled Currie). 

The ancestors of the Curr family are 
supposed to have come originally from 
Wales, but for many generations the family 
has been settled in Scotland. Grandfather 
James Currie, when a young man was a ma- 
jor in the British army, and took part in the 
battle of Waterloo. He was a lawyer by 
profession, and after leaving the army ac- 
cumulated a large fortune, owning property 
bordering Teith Walk, Edinburgh, for about 
two miles, and inheriting a large estate at 
Kirriemuir, from his father, Peter Currie. 
The latter, who was a corporal in the British 
army, was killed in battle. Major Currie 
married Sophia Pitt, a native of Hull, Eng- 
land. Mrs. Currie was a grandniece of Sir 
William Pitt, the great British premier, and 
was disinherited by her father upon her mar- 
riage with the major. Having lost much of 
his property, owing to the failure of the 
Glasgow Bank in 1870, Major Currie went 
to Dundee, and engaged in manufacturing 
cotton, linens and jute goods for the East 
India trade. This business was continued 
by his son, Thomas Pitt Curr, until his 
death in 1889, at the age of sixty-one. Mrs. 
Janet (Christison) Curr is still living in 
Dundee. Her father, John Christison, was- 
a native of. Montrose, where the family at 
one time owned a large estate. Owing to- 
the loss of a will made by Mrs. Curr's grand- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



437 



iatlier, John Christison, this property is still 
tied up in the English court of chancery. 
John Christison (2) was general manager of 
a carpet department in a factory, in which 
the Curr family also had interests. 

When he was tiiirteen years old John 
Henry Wilson Curr left home for Glasgow, 
where lie learned the business of hull fitting 
in the ship yards. In 1894 he went t-o To- 
ronto, Canada, where he spent a year in the 
ship yards, after which he was for a year in 
Buffalo and Cleveland, in the latter place 
opening a shop for cold rolling and punch- 
ing. In 1897, he came to West Superior 
and began work as foreman of construction 
in the ship yards. Later he took the contract 
for building several steel yachts, at I'iacine, 
Wis., one of which was exhibited at the 
Paris Exposition. He then took the position 
■of assistant superintendent of the National 
Boiler Works at Chicago, but becoming dis- 
satisfied resigned his place for that of fore- 
man of dry dock in the Cleveland ship yards. 
At tlie solicitation of the management, he 
returned in May, 1900. to the ship yards at 
Superior, where he had charge of the outside 
fitting of all steamers and barges constructed 
there, having charge of the cold rolling sheds, 
the punch shops, and the furnace and slab 
shed for hot punching, with about 150 men 
under his supervision. 

On July 17, 1891, Mr. Curr married 
Grace Cooper, who was born in Scotland, 
<laughter of John and Elizabeth (Buchanan) 
•Cooper, of Glasgow, Scotland. Mrs. Curr's 
father, a native of Ardossen. Ayrshire, is a 
ship builder of Glasgow, having been for the 
past twenty-five years general foreman of 
one yard. Mr. and Mrs. Curr are the pa- 
rents of five children : Elizabeth Buchanan 
Cooper. Thomas Pitt, Jessie Christison. 
Katie Cooper and Grace Mclntyre Cooper. 
The family is connected with the Presbyter- 
ian Church. Mr. Curr was a member of 
P>ritisb-.\mericnn Club at West Superior; in 
■jiolitical symi)athies he is a Republican. 

The Cooper family has distinguished 
connections. Mrs. Curr's granrl father. Capt. 
John Cooper, who married Grace Mclntyre, 
-commanded a vessel plying between ports 



in the British Isles. His eldest son, Andrew, 
was the first discoverer of the Ballarat gold 
mine, in Australia, but owing to his sudden 
death, his fortune, which he had concealed, 
was never found. One of Mrs. Curr's 
uncles was John Buchanan, Lord Provost 
of Aberdeen. His f;ither. a weaver by trade, 
came of a well-to-do Lanarksliire family. 

ISAAC GEORGE BABCOCK. M. I). 
Among the eminent representatives of the 
medical profession of Barron county, Wis., 
none has more friends or stands higher with 
all classes of people than Dr. Isaac G. Bab- 
cock, of Cumberland, who inherits his medi- 
cal skill from his father, also a 'skillful 
physician. 

Dr. Bfllicock was Ijorn at Afton. Minn., 
son of Benjamin F. and Amelia (Van 
Vleck) Babcock, natives, respectively, of 
Camden and Peterboro. N. Y. Both pa- 
rents were reared in the East, and were mar- 
ried in Stillwater. Minn. Dr. Benjamin F. 
15abcock was educated in Ithaca, N. Y. 
Later he studied medicine at Camden and 
Rome, N. Y. In 1853 he moved West, 
locating at Superior, Wis. About three years 
later he went to Stillwater, Minn. After 
three or four years there he went to Afton, 
Minn., and there died in 1870. His widow 
survives, now making her home at Cumber- 
land. Wis., and is a member of the Congre- 
gational Church, which her husband also at- 
tended. In addition to Isaac G. there was 
one other child, Henry, now a successful 
dentist at No. 401 Baltimore street. St. 
Paul. Minnesota. 

Isaac George Babcock secured his edu- 
cation at the St. Croix Valley Academy, 
after which for a year he went to the St. 
Paul University, and thence he went lo 
Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New 
"N'ork, from which he was graduated in 
1888. His first location was at Stockholm. 
Wis., but after a year he went to Red Wing, 
Minn., and was with Dr. P. E. Jones for a 
year. when, in 1890. he located at Cumber- 
land, and commenced what has developed 
into a very flourishing practice. 

In 1882 Dr. Babcock mairied Miss Me- 



43S 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



lina Squires, of Afton, Minn., and five child- 
ren have been born to them : Minnie, Frank, 
Florence, Grace and George. For the past 
twelve years. Dr. Babcock has been a mem- 
ber and secretary of the school board; he is 
greatly interested in school work, and has 
been largely instrumental in securing the ex- 
cellent school system which now prevails. 
He is a member of the American Medical 
Association ; the Wisconsin State Medical 
Association ; the Inter-County Medical As- 
sociation ; Barron, Rusk and Polk County 
Medical Association, and has been the secre- 
tary of the last named since its organization. 
Fraternally, he is a member of the K. of P , 
Lodge No. 52 of Cumberland, and he is also 
a Mason, belonging to Blue Lodge, No. 223 
of Cumberland. He and his wife attend the 
Cumberland Congregational Church, to 
which he is a liberal contributor. His prac- 
tice is a very large one, extending over 
Cumberland and the vicinity, and is only re- 
stricted by lack of time. Dr. Babcock is 
a man of experience, as well as education, 
and has been exceedingly successful in his 
practice. Not only is he a skillful physician, 
but he possesses the many other qualities so 
necessary in a doctor, and cures as much by 
his cheery, helpful manner and words, as 
with his medicines and knowledge. 

CARL E. STREET, who for a number 
of years was prominent in Ashland business 
circles, was born in Hammond, St. Croix 
Co., Wis., Oct. II, 1861, son of George M. 
and Cyrene J. (Wright) Street, natives of 
Massachusetts and New York, respectively. 
On his paternal side he descends from a 
Puritan family, whose American ancestor 
came over on the "Mayflower." Elisha 
Wright, father of Mrs. Cyrene Street, was a 
gentleman of considerable prominence, hav- 
ing represented Orleans county, N. Y., in 
the State Legislature. He was a farmer by 
occupation and a man of strong character 
and upright life. 

George M. Street was born in Pittsfield, 
Mass.. and when four years of age was taken 
by his parents to Orleans county, N. Y., 
where his father, Horace Street, followed 



farming. In 1855 George M. Street came tO' 
Wisconsin, settling in St. Croix countv. 
where he spent the remainder of his life, 
dying in 1887, aged fifty -five years. He 
became an influential citizen, creditably fill- 
ing many local offices, and upon one occa- 
son was the Republican candidate for mem- 
ber of the Assembly, but failed of election 
owing to the large Democratic majority in 
the district. He was a man of deep religious 
convictions, an official member of the Metho- 
dist Episcopal Church of Hammond, which 
he aided in organizing. He was a man of 
good education, a teacher of some note in 
the public schools of St. Croix county, and 
an all around useful citizen. Mrs. Cyrene 
Street was born in Orleans county, N. Y., 
and now resides in Ashland. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Street were born three children : Carl 
E. ; Carrie N. (Mrs. Asa A. Wells) and 
Alice B. (Mrs. H. D. Ewer), both ladies 
residents of Ashland. 

Carl E. Street was educated in the public 
schools of Hammond and in the Eau Claire 
Seminary. In early life he entered the em- 
ploy of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis 
& Omaha Railroad Company, with which he 
spent five years, three of which he passed as 
agent and operator at Bayfield. In 1887 he 
came to Ashland to become bookkeeper of 
the Ashland National Bank, and creditably 
filled that position for eighteen months, when 
he resigned to become cashier of the First 
National Bank of Ashland, remaining in tlint 
capacity ten years, until the two banks were 
consolidated under the name of the Ashland 
National Bank, with which he continued 
eighteen months longer as assistant cashier. 
Subsequently he turned his attention to the 
life insurance business, becoming district 
agent for Northern Wisconsin and Gogebic 
county, Mich., of the Aetna Life Insurance 
Co., having supervision over all its agents 
in this territory. 

Mr. Street has been officially identified 
with this city serving as alderman of the 
old Third ward, and also as city comptroller. 
In politics he is a Republican, and a stanch 
advocate of temperance reform. He is also 
a gentleman of religious inclination, and. 



COiMMEAIORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



439 



with his family. htild? membership in the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he 
has been a trustee and also superintendent 
of the Sunday school. 

Air. Street was married in Albion, N. Y., 
in 1886, to Miss Mary E. Mattison, daugh- 
ter of James H. Mattison. They have two 
children, Allen Clyde and Fay Arlington. 

F. A. BUOL. In these days of keen 
competition, when life everywhere seems at 
its highest pressure, it is the man of indomi- 
table energy, who is by nature exhilarated 
and stimulated by the ceaseless demands 
upon his every faculty, who achieves success. 
Such a one is the subject of this brief bio- 
graphy, F. A. Buol, who, although little over 
thirty, is already established among the suc- 
cessful business men of Bayheld county, and 
is intluential in county affairs. 

Mr. Buol was born in Chicago, 111., Oct. 
29, 1871, son of Frank Buol, of Switzer- 
land. The father was a chef by profession, 
and came to the New World to try his for- 
tune in Chicago in 1869. Nineteen years 
later he took up a homestead in Mason, now' 
Pratt township, where he lived for a num- 
ber of years, and is at present a resident of 
Los Angeles, Cal. The son was educated 
in the public schools of Chicago. Although 
only seventeen years old when he w-ent to 
Wisconsin, he began very soon to show his 
powers in both a public and business capacity 
and was only twenty-one when he was 
elected to office. Mr. Buol's first posi- 
tion in the service of the i)ublic 
was that of assessor of the township 
of Mason, to which he was elected in 
1892, and re-elected six times. In 190.^ 
he was made chairman of the town board, 
an office which he is filling most satisfac- 
torily. Mr. Buol takes an intelligent interest 
in politics, but is mainly concerned to serve 
the interests of his immediate section to the 
utmost of his ability, regardless of the usual 
party lines. 

In a Imsiness way Mr. Buol is connected 
with the lumber world, and holds the respon- 
sible position of assistant man.ager of the 
Bibon sawmill. For ten vears he worked 



as timjjcr inspector, and in the discharge of 
the duties devolving upon him he traveled 
over the greater part of northern Wiscon- 
sin. With keen, business acumen, and a 
well founded confidence in the future of that 
region, he has invested largely in lands 
thmughout that part of the State. 

Mr. Buol is active in fraternal circles 
belonging both to the Elks, Ashland Lodge, 
No. 558, and to the Masons. In the latter 
fraternity he is a member of the Blue Lodge 
and Chapter. His genial and companionable 
nature, as well as his endless capacity for 
"doing things," makes him most popular, 
and whether in fraternal or social circles he 
is always warmly welcomed. 

JOHN G. RAKOWSKV was one of the 
pioneers of Duluth, where he now lives re- 
tired. His parents, John and Dorothy E. 
(Tuman) Rakowsky, were both natives of 
Germany, where he was born, March 24, 
1824. The father, who was a Lutheran 
minister, died in 1828, the mother surviving 
until 1842. Of four children John G. is tlie 
only one now living. 

John G. Rakow'Sky was educated in Ger- 
many, and there learned the trade of car- 
penter. He came to the United States in 
1855 and settled in Superior, working at 
his trade, and being employed in other ways. 
In 1857 he homesteaded an eighty-acre 
claim near Rice Point, which is now Duluth. 
To obtain a clear title to this land, w hich was 
in dispute, he went to Washington, and 
while there enlisted in the 8th N. Y. V. I., 
for three months' service. After the first 
battle of Bull Run he received his discharge, 
but re-enlisted at Cleveland, in the 58th 
Ohio V. I., and remained in the service until 
the close of the war. He took part in the 
battles of Shiloh and Ball's Bluff, and was 
taken prisoner, being sent to Vicksburg. to 
Jackson. Miss., and finally to .New Orleans 
to be exchanged. He rejoined his reginient 
at Vicksburg, where he remained until the 
close of the war. He was .sergeant of his 
company, and passed through the entire war 
without a wound. 

After the war Mr. Rakowskv went into 



440 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



tlie brewery business in Vicksburg, but only 
remained tbere a few montlis. During the 
gold excitement at Vermillion Lake he came 
back to Superior, and organized a stock com- 
pany of loo old soldiers. They started for 
the supposed gold tields. cutting a road from 
Duluth, a distance of eighty-tive miles, and, 
as Mr. Rakowsky says, finding everything 
but the gold. After this he carried on a gen- 
eral store in Superior, and later at Vermill- 
ion Lake, and was then for a time an Indian 
trader. After three years he sold out his 
store at Superior and moved to Duluth, 
where he went into the retail liquor business. 
After five years in this line he spent two 
years in the feed and provision business, and 
then for ten years was in the grocery busi- 
ness, when he retired. He is the owner of 
considerable real estate. 

In 1863 Mr. Rakowsky married Maria 
Krause, who was born in Germany, daugh- 
ter of Charles and Christine ( \'aut) Krause, 
also natives of Germany. Charles Krause 
was a farmer all his life. He came to Port 
Washington, Wis., in 1853, and died in 
1890, at Duluth. His wife passed away in 
1880. All of their seven children are liv- 
ing, Mrs. Rakowsky being one of the elders. 
Mr. and Mrs. Rakowsky are the parents of 
the following children : Charles L., who 
was deputy county auditor for some years, 
now in the real estate business; Gustav A., 
a marine engineer; Mamie P., wife of H. 
J^ittle. of Duluth; Victor H., a student in 
the Mining Academy at Houghton, Mich. ; 
and Gertrude L., a high school graduate. 
Mr. Rakowsky is a Republican, but cast 
his first vote for James Buchanan. The 
family attend Pilgrim Congregational 
Church. Mr. Rakowsky is a member of the 
Old Settlers' Club, of which he has been 
president, and of the G. A. R., Gorman 
I'ost, of Duluth. 

H. R. T. ROSS, M. D.. physician and 
surgeon, recently of Ladysmith, Rusk Co., 
Wis., who stands high in his profession, is 
a close student, and well abreast of the best 
medical thought of the day. His office is 
well equipped with modern apjiliances and 



instruments, and he enjoys an excellent 
practice, which is constantly increasing. 

Dr. Ross is a native of Barrie, Out., 
Canada, born in 1877, and was there reared, 
attending Barrie Collegiate Institute, from 
which he entered Trinity Medical College, 
Toronto, where he completed his literary 
education. He then entered the Medical 
Department of the University, and after tak- 
ing the four years regular course, was grad- 
uated in 1900, with his degree of M. D. C. 
M. Subsequently he took a year's course as 
house surgeon in the General Hospital at 
Huntsville. Ontario. In March, 1901, Dr. 
Ross located at Ladysmith, where he re- 
sided until the summer of 1904, devoting 
himself to the demands of his large practice. 
In that year he entered into partnership with 
Dr. W. A. Day, but during the course of the 
summer Dr. Ross disposed of his practice 
in Ladysmith, and moved to New Richmond, 
Wis., where he is already settled in a good 
practice. 

Dr. Ross married Miss Ruth A. Miller, 
of Canada. Fraternally he belongs to Mys- 
tic Tie Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; to the Odd 
Fellows; K. of P.; and the I. O. F. ; and is 
popular in all of them. 

The Doctor took an active interest in 
the development of Ladysmith. He was 
elected president of the village in 1903, 
and served very acceptably for one term. In 
January, 1904, he was appointed examining 
surgeon for the "Soo" Railroad, and held 
the same position for all of the old line insur- 
ance companies located there. From 1901 
to 1903 he served as health officer, and in 
every respect displayed his ability and zeal 
for the public good. 

JAY L. TINKER, with the Webster 
Manufacturing Company, of South Super- 
ior, was born in Jeffers(in county. Wis., 
Feb. 25, 1847, a year before the territory 
was admitted as a State. 

Hial Tinker, the grandfather of Jay L., 
was one of the pioneers of Jefferson county. 
His son, John K., died in South Superior 
I\[arch 8, 1904: his wife. Lucinda (Norton) 
Tinker, the mother of fav L.. died when the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



441 



latter was only six weeks old and the child 
was reared in the family of his grandparents, 
Hial and Gertrude (Rudolph) Tinker. 

During the progress of the Civil war, 
Jay L. Tinker became more and more eager 
to enlist in his country's cause, but as he 
was too young it was not until within a few 
months of the close of the struggle that he 
fulfilled his desire. But Feb. 7, 1865, 
shortly before he reached his eighteenth 
birthday, he was enrolled in Company C, 
I ith 111. Vol.Cav., and served from that time 
until the close of the war. He was mustered 
out, Sept. 30. 1865. Although not wounded 
during his time of service, he still suffers 
from the serious effects upon his health of 
his army life. 

In 1870 Mr. Tinker was married to Miss 
Mary Phillips, and they have one simi. Jay 
\V'., born in April, 1872. at Dunnville. Dunn 
Co., Wis. Jay W. Tinker married Miss 
Maud Rawlings, a native of Tennessee, and 
they have three children. Mabel. Jessie and 
Glen. Like his father, he is in the employ of 
the Webster Manufacturing Company. 

In 1893 Mr. Jay L. Tinker removed his 
family from Rice Lake, Wis., to Knoxville, 
Tenn., going there in the interests of a 
coopering establishment of Minneapolis. 
I'rom east Tennessee he went to the middle 
])art of the State and later to Alabama. On 
the return trip the family traveled from 
W'aterloo, Ala., to Wabasha, Minn., by 
steamer. At St. Louis where they trans- 
ferred, they arriverl just in time to be 
victims of the fearful cyclone that wrought 
such horror there. May 27, 1896. They 
escaped with their lives, but were all more 
■or less injured, Mrs. Tinker seriously so. 

Mr. Jay L. Tinker is a memljer of .\lon- 
zo Palmer Post, G. A. R., and is highly re- 
garded, not only in that organization but in 
the various circles with which he is bmught 
in touch. 

EDWARD BI-:KKEX. now living in re- 
tirement at Ashland, has been a citizen of 
that place for more than twenty years, and 
lias contributed bis full share toward tlte 
city's development. He was Ijorn near Beg 



Ilamar, Norway, Oct. 13, 1854, son of Ole 
E. and jNIartha (Olson) Bekken, who lived 
and died in Norway. 

Ole E. Bekken was a farmer by vocation, 
but he owned some timber on his place, and 
was also engaged in lumbering. He lived to 
be se\enty-seven, which was hardly con- 
sidered old in his family, as his mother had 
lived to the age of ninety-nine. Mrs. Martha 
(Olson) Bekken lived to the same age as 
her husband. They reared seven sons and 
two daughters, but only three of them are 
now living: Lena, Mrs. Plans Bjorke. of 
Boyd, Wis. ; Magnus, of Barron county, 
Wis. ; and Edward. 

Edward Bekken left home at the age of 
fifteen, and coming to America, settled first 
at Chippewa Falls, Wis., where he was em- 
jjloyed as a farm laborer. The first two 
winters he went to an English school and 
acquired a good command of the language. 
Thus ecjuipped for life in the new country 
he secured employment in the "Tremont 
House."' in Chippewa Falls, and after that 
was burned, in another hotel in the same 
place, thus gaining much practical experi- 
ence in hotel management and requirements. 
In 1882 Mr. Bekken and his brother, Mag- 
nus, who had preceded him to America in 
1867, started in the hotel business for them- 
selves at Crookston, Minn., but after a few 
months there they sold out, and the follow- 
ing year went to Ashland. There they built 
the "Tremont House." which they conducted 
for eight years. At the end of that time 
Edward Bekken Ixiu.ght out his brother, and 
managed the hotel alone until August. 1901, 
when he sold out because of failing health, 
and has lived ever since in practical retire- 
ment. During his active career he specu- 
lated somewhat in lumber for several sea- 
sons, and likewise built several houses as an 
investment in Ashland. He still owns these 
residences. Pie is vice-president of the Ash- 
hnd Brewing Co. and a stockholder in the 
Marengo Brick Co.. which is carrying on the 
manufacture of brick at Mareii.go, Ashland 
county. 

Mr. Bekken was married in 1883 to Miss 
Mary Olson, daughter of Ole and Elizabeth 



44-3 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Olson, of Chetek, W'is. Mrs. Bekken is a 
native of Norway, born in 1862, and came 
with her parents to America about 1867, 
when they settled near Oshkosh, W'is. Mr. 
and Mrs. Bekken have had six children, 
Oliver M., Edwin ]\I., Alden A., Elroy M., 
Myrtle E., and Hazel Geneva, all of whom 
have been well educated and are cultured and 
attractive. They attend the Presbyterian 
Church, while the parents cling to the Luth- 
eran Church, in which they were reared. Mr. 
Bekken is a Republican, but is not active in 
politics. 

JOHN L. Gx\SH is vice-president of the 
American Heating Company and a pros- 
perous business man of Duluth and Super- 
ior, residing in the latter place. He was 
born March 16, i860, in Winterset, Iowa, 
son of Frank I. and Elizabeth E. (McJNIul- 
len) Cash. 

Frank I. Cash was born in 1S32 in In- 
diana, of Irish descent ; he learned the trade 
of tailor and about i860 moved to Winter- 
set, where for twenty years he was a mer- 
chant tailor. He died at Webster City, 
Iowa, June 13. 1904, aged seventy-two 
years. He was a quiet, unobtrusive citizen. 
Mrs. Elizabeth E. (McMullen) Cash was 
born in Columbus, Ohio. Her father, James 
B. McMullen, was a Scotch shoemaker, who 
spent his later years in Iowa, dying in 1899, 
at Winterset, aged eighty-five, having lieen 
actively employed all his life. 

John L. Cash obtained his education in 
the public schools at \Vinterset, and when 
about twenty went to Kewanee, 111., where 
he learned the trade of steam fitter, l-'or 
fourteen years he traveled extensively in the 
employ of the Haxton Steam Heater Co., 
and was then located for four years in Min- 
neapolis in the same interest. In 1888 he 
went to Duluth as superintendent of con- 
struction for a branch establishment of the 
same company, and fitted many buildings at 
the Head of the Lakes. Since 1892 Mr. 
Cash has been located at West Sui)erior, 
where he was first interested in the Superior 
Steam Heating Co., then the Ober-Cash 
Healing Co. and later the Ober-Cash & Ek- 



strand Heating Co. Since 1894 the last 
named has been known as the American 
Heating Co.. of which he now vice-president. 
This concern does all kinds of plumbing, 
steam heating, etc., and fits buildings for 
automatic fire extinguishers. It has offices- 
in Duluth and West Superior, and does the 
fitting for most of the large buildings in both 
cities, employing from thirty to sixty men. 
Mr. Cash married in 1888 Lizzie E. 
Burchett, daughter of John Burchett, of 
Howard Lake, Minn. Two children have 
come to this union, Tidie T. and Mamie 
Myrtle. I\Irs. Cash is a member of the 
Christian Church, and the family has ex- 
cellent social standing. Mr. Cash is con- 
nected with Superior Lodge, I. O. O. F., 
and with Royal Camp, M. W. A. 

ALOIS EBMER, a retired lumberni.nn 
and real estate dealer of Duluth, was born in 
Germany Jan. 6, 1839. His parents. Jacob 
and Margaretta Ebmer, were also natives of 
Germany. The father was a miller by trade, 
and died in his native land, leaving an only 
child, Alois. Mrs. Ebmer married again, 
her second husband being Joseph Rankel, 
with whom she came to America, and tliev 
settled in Manitowoc, Wis. Later Mr. and 
]\Irs. Rankel moved to Missouri, where tlicv 
died, leaving a family of several children. 

Alois Ebmer received all of his schooling 
in Germany, and in 1854 came with his 
mother to the United States. After a year 
in his new home he ran away, his whole 
fortune consisting of one penny. He never 
returned to his home, and never saw his 
mother again. He went first to Green Bay, 
Wis., where he found work at which he 
stayed several months. He then made his 
way to the lumber woods on the shore of 
Green Bay, working in the woods in winter 
and in the sawmills in summer, until 1858 
He then walked through the woods to Mar- 
quette, Mich., reaching that place April t, 
1858, and worked in the mills there several 
years, after which he leased a mill 
which he carried on for three years. 
He then erected a shingle mill and 
later a lumber mill. These enterprises- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



443 



were not so successful as lie had hopetl. and 
in 1870 he was obliged to go into bankruptcy. 
That year he came to Duluth, and witli very 
little capital embarked in the retail liquor 
business, which he conducted until 1882. 
He then entered the real estate business, of 
which he made a success, and now lives re- 
tired, his only business l>eing the care of his 
own property. He was a ciiarter member 
and one of the original directors of the Du- 
luth Street Railway Company, and one of 
the incorporators of the First National Bank 
of Duluth. 

On Feb. 6. i860. Mr. Ebmer married 
Margaretha I-'isher, jvho was born in Ger- 
many, daughter of George L. and Elizabeth 
D. (Shick) Fisher, also natives of Ger- 
many. When Mrs. Ebmer was four years 
old she came with her parents to this coun- 
try, the family settling in Cleveland, Ohio. 
Mr. Fisher had been a grain buyer in Ger- 
many, and after locating in Cleveland he 
took contracts for the unloading of vessels. 
He died in 185 1, his wife surviving him 
until 1880. Of their four children all but 
one are living, Mrs. Ebmer being next to the 
eldest. Mr. and Mrs. Ebmer have had a 
family of nine children : Elizabeth, de- 
ceased; Catherine, wife of William Guerin, 
of St. Paul, and the mother f)f one child ; 
George E., a surveyor of Duluth; Mary, the 
wife of Burt Marshall, dejuity oil ins])ector 
of Duluth ; Louis H., shipping weighman 
at an elevator in Duluth; Anna, wife of Ed- 
win Wenzel, a member of the Duluth Board 
of Trade; Arthur A., a fireman of Duluth; 
Freflerick, deceased; and Alice M., a teacher 
of Duluth. Mr. and Mrs. Ebmer are mem- 
bers of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Elmier 
is a Republican in politics. Fraternally he 
belongs to Lodge No. 10, A. O. U. W., of 
Duluth, of which he is a charter member. 

CHARLES L. KELLOfJG, formerly 
of the New Store Company at Apollonia, 
Wis., and one of the representative business 
men of Rusk countv. Wis., came here in 
1895. 

Mr. Kellogg was born in 1855, in Michi- 
gan City, Ind., son of John and Elizabeth 



(Wood) Kellogg. The father was born in 
Detroit, Mich., and the mother in Michigan 
City; the former was a son of David, who 
was a son of Palmer Kellogg, a pioneer of 
Michigan, The latter settled in the vicinity 
of Sault Ste. Marie, as a torderman, and 
was a trader with the Indians, establishing 
various posts. He was of New England 
parentage and probably of Scotch descent. 
Mrs. Elizabeth (Wood) Kellogg was of 
English extraction. Her father was born in 
England and came to America and settled 
near Detroit, where he married Mary Doyle, 
a woman of American birth. David Kel- 
logg, grandfather of Charles L., was a lum- 
I)erman who operated quite extensively in 
Michigan and Indiana. He married Mar- 
garet Dailey, born in Dublin, Ireland, who 
came to America with a relative when but 
six years of age. His son, John, joined him 
in his work and carried on lumbering in 
Indiana along the Wabash river, following 
that business all his life. He died in 1899 
aged sixty-six years and was buried in 
Crown Hill cemetery near Indianapolis. 
John and Elizal^eth (Wood) Kellogg had 
a family of ten children, of whom our sub- 
ject was the eldest. 

Charles L. Kellogg lived from his first 
to his fifteenth year at Thornton, Ind.. where 
he completed his education. At this age he 
became a train boy on the old "Bee Line," 
now the "Big Four," for two years, when 
he was made brakeman and filled that posi- 
tion for three years. The great railroad 
strike of 1877 terminated his railroad career 
and he then engaged with a lumber firm at 
Intlianapolis as a clerk. Later he became 
inircliasing agent, and remained with Long 
& Company for two years. Later he en- 
gaged with a Boston company, as purchas- 
ing agent, and traveled in Tennessee and 
Kentucky in 1883 and 1884. 

Mr. Kellogg then bought the mill near 
Glenmary, Tenn., which he had been operat- 
ing for the company, and began business <>ii 
his own account. He continued this busi- 
ness along the Cumberland and Kentucky 
rivers in both States, until 1805. when he 
sold out his interests there, after experienc- 



-444 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ing variable success. In 1S95, with his 
family, he came to Eau Claire, Wis., and in 
the same fall came to what is now Rusk 
■county, then Chippewa. Here he entered at 
once into a lumber business, buying a mill 
north of Bruce and began logging and saw- 
ing lumber. In 1898 he erected another 
mill, five miles north on the Chippewa River 
& Menomonie Railroatl, which he also op- 
erated, running both mills during two sea- 
son's cuts. Later he disposed of the first 
mill but continued to run the second mill 
until 1902 when he sold out and it was 
shipped away. In 1901 he had established 
a general store business at Apollonia in con- 
nection with his milling business. In the 
following year he consolidated with it the 
Apollonia Store Co., conducted by E. W. 
Hill, and the business under the firm name 
of the New Store Co., was conducted until 
the summer of 1904 when it was discontin- 
ued. In 1903 this firm operated in two 
camps, one near Ladysmith and the other at 
Hawkins, getting out a cut of i ,600.000 feet 
of timber. 

In 1900 Mr. Kellogg was appointed post- 
master of Apollonia. He has been a very 
earnest member of the Republican party, 
takes an intelligent citizen's interest in pub- 
lic affairs and promotes everything that 
promises good government. He was a mem- 
l>er of both House and Senate committee to 
Madison, during the litigation over having 
(lates, now Rusk, county set off from Chip- 
pewa, making addresses before both com- 
mittees. He was sent as a delegate to the 
State convention at Madison in 1900 that 
nominated Robert La Follette for governor 
and he was also a delegate to the convention 
that nominated Hon. John J. Jenkins for 
Congress in 1898 and again in 1900. In 
1904 he was sent as a delegate to the guber- 
natorial convention. Before the division of 
the two counties he frequently was a dele- 
gate to county conventions and he was secre- 
tary of the Rusk County Republican com- 
mittee for two years and still retains this 
important party position. 

In 1882 Mr. Kellogg was married, at 
Indianapolis, to Miss Eva J. Long, daughter 



of Isaac M. Long, a lumberman. They 
have had a family of nine children bom to 
them, all living, viz: C. M., (who is with 
the Dudley & Daniels Co., of Grand Rapids, 
Mich., lumber men, with whom he fills an 
important position), Christine, Louise, Eva, 
Palmer, Robert, Rhoda, Walter and David. 
Mr. Kellogg is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity having membership in the Mystic 
Tie Lodge of Ladysmith ; Elks, No. 402, of 
Eau Claire and Tyman Camp of Woodmen 
of Apollonia. He is an energetic and suc- 
cessful business man, one who has not only 
the strength of self-reliance, but believes in 
others and has the greatest faith in the fu- 
ture greatness of this great northern coun- 
try. In all his dealings he is fair and open 
handed, in his friendships he has been proven 
sincere and has lived a life which entitles 
him to the respect of his fellow citizens and 
his business associates. He has had his 
share of the ups and downs which mark a 
business man's life, especially in a new 
country, but these have but developed his 
character and have helped to make him the 
just, kind, genial and self contained man 
lie is. He is a close student of current af- 
fairs and despite his busy business and po- 
litical life, has familiarized himself with 
standard literature and has not neglected 
those social functions which go far to 
sweeten and broaden the value of existence. 

MATTHEW LEAROYD TAYLOR, a 
machinist holding a responsible position in 
the Daisy Flouring Mill at Superior. Doug- 
las county, was born near Toronto, Ont., 
?^pril 17. 1865. He is a son of William and 
Marietta Jane (Plummer) Taylor, the form- 
er a native of Lincoln. England, who came 
to America about 18S5. 

William Taylor lived on a farm near 
Toronto until 1875. when he moved to 
Manitoba, and died at Portage La Prairie, 
Sept. 14. 1898. in the sixty-fourth year of 
his age. He was for many years a local 
preacher of the M. E. Church, and held oc- 
casional services. He and his family had 
many adventures and suffered many hard- 
ships in their pioneer life. On the way to 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



445 



Manitoba their goods were all lost in the 
wreck of a boat on which they made part of 
the journey, and during the tirst winter they 
suffered greatly from cold, with the mer- 
cury sometimes at sixty degrees below zero. 
When the family first settled in Manitoba 
there were but four houses within a radius 
of ten miles of their home. John Taylor, 
a brother of William, who also settled in 
Manitoba in 1875, l^''*' '^'^ home destroyed 
by tire one night during a severe blizzard, 
and his wife and three daughters died from 
the exposure, while he himself only sur\-ived 
the shock for a year or so. Mrs. Marietta 
Jane (Plummer) Taylor is still living at 
Portage La Prairie, aged sixty years. She 
was born April 22, 1837, in the County of 
Peel, Ont., where her father, Raljjh Plum- 
mer, an Irish farmer, had settled when there 
was not a wagon road through the wilder- 
ness. 

Mattliew Learoyd Taylor accompanied 
his parents to Manitoba, and there being no 
schools near his home for several years, his 
education was mainly acquired by study at 
home, eked out by two winters in school. 
When he was about twenty-one he went to 
Winnipeg to learn the machinist's trade. In 
1894 he was in Minneapolis and a few 
months later went to Duluth, where he se- 
cured employment in the Clyde Iron Works; 
later he was with the Duluth Imperial Mill 
Co., which has since been absorl^ed by the 
Duluth-Superior Milling Co. Since 1900 
Mr. Taylor has been a machinist at the 
Daisy Mill in Superior, and does more or 
less work for the other mills owned by the 
syndicate. He is a stockholder in the On- 
tario ]\Iutual Gold Development Company. 

On Dec. 18, 1889, Mr. Taylor married 
Mary E. Fawcett. daughter of Charles Faw- 
cett. of Portage La Prairie, near which 
place this daughter was born. Five children 
have been liorn to this union, William Har- 
rison, Clarissa Marietta, Leroy Chester. .\1- 
l>ert I'awcett and Walter Willmore. Mr. 
and Mrs. Taylor are members of the Metho- 
dist Church, of which Mr. Taylor is a stew- 
ard. He belongs to the I. O. O. F.. the M. 
M. A. and also to the Masonic order. 



FR.WK ALGEO, a prominent mill 
man of Cumberland, Barron Co., Wis., and 
a man widely and favorably known, was 
born at Providence, R. I., Oct. 2, 1853, a 
son of Frank and" Margaret (O'Rourke) 
,\lgeo, both natives of Ireland, who came 
to iVmerica when young people. They set- 
tled at Providence, R. I., where Frank Al- 
geo, Sr., worked in the cotton mills many 
years, and in 1857 came to Juneau county, 
Wis., where he bought 320 acres of wild 
land, at a time when wild game abounded, 
and there was considerable danger from the 
Indians. Like the other pioneers of his day. 
he put up a log house and began to clear off 
the land. He lived there until his demise 
in 1900, his wife having passed away in 
1867. He never aspired to office and voted 
for the one he considered the best man for 
the place in question. In religious matters 
he was a devout member of the Catholic 
Church. Nine children were born to the 
parents of our subject : John, retired, living 
at Mansion, Wis. ; Mary, deceased ; Frank ; 
Hannah, living on the old homestead: 
James, deceased : Charles, living on the old 
homestead ; Margaret, deceased ; Theressa, 
at Baraboo, Wis. : Thomas, of Cumberland, 
Wisconsin. 

The education of Frank Algeo was se- 
cured in the log school house of the period, 
;uid when only fourteen years of age he left 
home and went to work out as a farm hand 
for two years, and was then in the woods 
until 1882, when he located at Cumberland 
as foreman for the Beaver Dam Lumber 
Co., and thus continued until the fall of 1890 
at which time he was in full charge of the 
business. In 1890 Mr. .Mgeo took charge of 
the Cumberland flour mills at Cumberland, 
owned by Messrs. Hines & Ritman. The 
capacity daily is sixty-five barrels and the 
flour is shipped to domestic and foreign 
markets, the volume of Inisiness increasing 
with each year, especially since Mr. Algeo 
became the efficient manager. 

On Feb. 15, 1885, Mr. Algeo was mar- 
ried to Ella Burns, of Lyndon. Juneau Co.. 
Wis., and nine children have been born to 
them, Mary, Margaret, Hattie, Frank,, 



446 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Thomas, Charlie, John, Irene and an infant 
son. 

In pohtics Mr. Algeo was a standi 
Democrat until the silver question became 
an issue. He served two terms as a member 
of the council, and one term each as assessor 
.and supervisor, proving himself well fitted 
for the honors conferred upon him, and 
the confidence placed in his integrity and ca- 
pacity. In recent years he has supported the 
Republican ticket. He is a devout Catholic, 
and is also a member of the church society 
of Catholic Knights. The success which has 
attended his efforts is certainly well merited 
and he is justly considered one of the lead- 
ing men of Barron county. 

ATHOL WYNNE is one of the suc- 
cessful young business men of Shell Lake, 
Washburn county. He was born in Winne- 
bago county, Wis., Aug. i, 1875, son of 
James and Mary (Wynn) Wynne. 

Edward Wynne, his grandfather, was 
a native of Wales, and a school teacher by 
profession. His son, James Wynne, was 
born in Kilkenny, Ireland, and soon after 
his birth the family moved to Ontario, where 
the parents died. About 1870 James Wynne 
came to Wisconsin, living in Winnebago 
.county until 1881, when he settled at Shell 
Lake. He was appointed by Gov. Rusk 
first sheriff of Washburn county, in 1882, 
and served two years. In 1887 he took up 
a homestead claim in the town of Bashaw, 
Section 8, Town 38, Range 13, of which he 
has sixty acres under cultivation. He has 
filled various local offices, being chairman of 
the town of Bashaw at one time, and serving 
at present as assessor. Mrs. Mary (Wynn) 
Wynne was born near Schenectady, N. Y., 
and came with her parents to Wisconsin, 
settling in Grant county, where they died. 
Her father, a carpenter, was killed by a fall 
from a building on which he was at work. 

Athol Wynne attended public school in 
Washburn county, and at sixteen began 
teaching, following this occupation for 
seven years in Washburn and Polk counties. 
In 1898 he was elected clerk of the circuit 
court and re-elected in iQOO. He has in- 



vested largely in land, now owning about 
400 acres, some of which is under cultiva- 
tion ; he also does a brokerage business in 
real estate. 

Mr. Wynne was married April 16, 1902, 
to Pearl Hampton, daughter of Matthew 
Hampton, of Spring Valley, Wis. She died 
at Shell Lake, Jan. 19, 1904, aged twenty- 
three years. Mrs. Wynne was a member of 
the M. E. Church, with which Mr. Wynne 
is also identified. He has one child, Dwight 
Hampton, born Jan. 5, 1904. Fraternally 
Mr. Wynne is connected with the Masons 
and the huiependent Order of Foresters, 
being secretary of the local lodge of the 
latter organization. 

PETER HARPER McGUIRE, one 
of the skilled employes of the Great North- 
ern Railroad at West Superior, Douglas 
county, is now filling the position of road 
foreman of engines. He is a native of Wis- 
consin and was born in Hudson, Sept. 25, 
1862, son of William and Margaret (Mc- 
Guire) McGuire, both born in Ireland. 

William McGuire came to this country 
while a young man and was employed in 
factories in Connecticut for a time. Greater 
opportunities seemed to be oft'ered in the 
\Vest, and with his family he removed to 
Wisconsin, being a pioneer in St. Croix 
county, where he improved a fine farm. 
His death in 1870 was an untimely one, as 
he was only fifty-two years old when it oc- 
curred ; his widow is still living at Hudson, 
and though over eighty-six years of age 
now, is still active and in good health. Their 
five children were as follows : Patrick, who 
died at Emerald, St. Croix county; James, 
a locomotive engineer who lives at Hudson ; 
William, deceased, formerly an engineer 
on the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & 
Omaha Railroad ; Peter H. ; and Annie, Mrs. 
Rooney, of Hudson. 

Peter H. McGuire spent his boyhood at 
Hudson, and when only seventeen began 
to work. He was at first employed for three 
years at Hudson in the shops of the Western 
\\'isconsin Railroad; later, in 1S86, he be- 
came a fireman, and in 1894. an engineer. 



COMMEiMORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



447 



\n tlie next year lie left that road aii'l u oiked 
for the Eastern Railway of Minnesota, now 
a part of the Great Northern system. Since 
1902 he has been road foreman of engines 
•on the eastern division, which includes the 
lines from Superior to Cass Lake, Superior 
to St. Paul and Superior to Hibbing. 

Mr. McGuirc was married in November, 
1890, to Annie, daughter of John and Norah 
Madigan, of Hudson, Wis., and to them 
have conic three children, Margaret, Doro- 
thy and an infant son. The family have 
always been identified with the Catholic 
Church. Mr. McGuire is an honorary mem- 
ber of the B. of L. E. 

CHARLES G. O'PIARE. The free and 
active life, close to the very heart of nature, 
which the woods of northern Wisconsin 
offer, is one of great attractiveness to many 
men, even aside from the tempting promises 
of material gain, and the \ariety of labor 
demandefl in the lumber business enables 
each to follow his own sjiecial bent. Among 
those who have passed much of their time 
in the forests is Charles G. O'Hare, now a 
resident of Phillips, and one of the most 
capable cruisers and timljer estimators in the 
State. Mr. O'Hare was born in Kilbourn, 
Wis., June 29, 1862, son of Patrick F. and 
Mary (Sanderson) O'Hare. 

Patrick F. O'Hare was a native of Ire- 
land, but came to this country with his pa- 
rents when he was eight years old. The 
family settled on a farm near Milwaukee, 
and the father and mother died there. 
Patrick went when a young man to Sauk 
county, settled at Newport, and when that 
])lace was moved a few years later to Kil- 
bourn,- he went there and engaged in mer- 
cantile business. He was killed in his sixty- 
eighth year by a runaway team. He was a 
Republican in jKjlitics, taking an active part 
in local affairs. Fraternally he belonged to 
the Masons and the I. O. O. V. His wife, 
Mary Saivler.son, was Ixjrn in Pennsylvania, 
but her father, J. G. Sanderson, was an 
early settled at Newport and Killwurn. She 
•<lied some few years liefore her husband. 

Charles G. O'Hare attended the public 



schools at Killxjurn and received a good edu- 
cation. On coming of age he left home, 
went to Phillips, and began work in a log- 
ging camp, but by the next season started 
out as a timber cruiser, and has been so 
engaged most of the time since. For a few 
winters he Ixjught timber and logged it. He 
has l>een more or less interested in buying 
lands, and has put up several buildings in 
the city, but still the cruising has taken 
most of his attention, and he is best known 
in connection with it. He spent seven 
months in Indian Territory as a cruiser for 
the United States Government, and also 
passed a winter in New Mexico in similar 
employment. His ability is so well known, 
that his services are in constant demand. 

Mr. O'Hare is an adherent of the Re- 
publican party, and has filled some local 
])Ositions, but is not in any way actively en- 
gaged in politics. He is at present alderman 
for the Second ward, and has also served as 
city assessor. 

On Sept. 28, 1889, Charles O'Hare was 
wedded to Miss Helga Nelson, born in Bos- 
ton, daughter of N. J. Nelson, now of 
Ogema, Wis. She has borne her husband 
five children, named: Marie, Ralph, Ed- 
ward, Marshall and Helen. The family at- 
tend the Methodist Church, and all are held 
in the highest esteem. Mr. O'Hare is a 
member of the M. W. A. 

EVAN E. LLOYD, who has l^een a 
resident of Duluth for the past twenty-one 
years, and has been largely engaged in the 
real estate business there, is a native of 
Wales, lx)rn near Holyhead, Feb. 13, 1833. 

Mr. Lloyd was reared in Wales, and was 
given a good education in the common 
schools. He learned the slater's trade with 
his father, and shortly before his eighteenth 
birthday started for the United States to 
make his own way in the world. He landed 
in Philadelphia from the steamer "City of 
Glasgow," which only a year later went 
down with all on l)oard. Mr. Lloyd worked 
at his trade in Pennsylvania, employed both 
in the quarries and in laying slate, and from 
there went to New England, where he 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



was similarly occupied for. some years, in 

1 86 1 he was paid sixty dollars to go to the 
war as a substitute, joining Company F, 
1 2th Vt. V. I., for ninety days. The regi- 
ment was promptly sent to Washington, and 
thence to the front, taking part in the battle 
of Bull Run in July, 1861. When his time 
was up Mr. Lloyd returned home, but in 

1862 reenlisted, in the same regiment, for 
nine months' service. This time he was 
with the Army of the Potomac, and was in 
a number of small fights besides participat- 
ing in the Battle of Gettysburg. His time 
expired just then, and he went (July 5, 
1S63) as a guard with the prisoners taken 
in that battle to Baltimore and Washington. 
He was discharged, and again returned 
home. In the fall of 1864 Mr. Lloyd en- 
listed a third time, with his old company, 
but the war was ended before he was sent 
to the front. His military life left him with 
his hearing injured, and the loss of one eye 
from the explosion of a gun cap. 

In 1868 Mr. Lloyd went to Marshall, 
Iowa, where he bought a farm on which he 
lived three years. Following that he worked 
as a teamster three years for the North- 
western Railroad Co. in Dakota, but met 
with very bad luck, losing three teams. 
Finally he bought a mule team for three 
hundred dollars, and when he took it to 
Duluth, whither he removed in 1879. he 
was offered in exchange for his mules the 
"Clarendon Hotel" property, which was 
later sold for $20,000. The offer, however, 
he refused. Mr. Lloyd bought property in 
Duluth, and settled down there as his perma- 
nent abode. One piece of land which he 
bought was near the Irwin school ; another, 
which he purchased later, on 20th avenue, 
he sold the next morning at an advance of 
$200 on the price he had paid the day be- 
fore. Other property, which he had bought 
for $300 sold for $4,000. He finally in- 
vested in a whole block on 72d avenue, west, 
where his home now is. Hampered as he 
has been by his injuries received in the war, 
Mr. Lloyd has made a gallant fight in the 
business world, and his many friends rejoice 
with liim in the success which he has so 
justly merited. 



Evan E. Lloyd was married soon after 
going to Vermont to Miss Janie L. Jones, 
whose great-grandfather had come to Amer- 
ica from Wales. To this union have come 
tive children : George E. ; Polly P. ; Annie 
May, who married a Mr. Lincoln, traveling 
agent for the Northern Pacific Railroad; 
Ernie E. ; and William E., who died at the 
age of twenty-one. 

Mr. Lloyd is a charter member of the 
Gorman Post, G. A. R., and is also a member 
of the F. & A. M., affiliating with Palestine 
Lodge, No. 79, and West Duluth Chapter, 
No. 59. Like so many of the old army men 
he is an ardent Republican. 

STONEWALL SPARLIN. county 
clerk of Barron county and a most public- 
spirited citizen, is a native of Missouri, born 
at Seneca, March 11, 1866, the son of An- 
drew and Mary T. (Meyers) Sparlin. 

Andrew Sparlin was born in Pennsyl- 
vania but went to Ohio when he was two 
years of age and grew up there on a farm. 
In 1834 he went to Missouri, to meet the 
usual experiences of pioneers in that region. 
He settled in Newton county, walking thither 
from St. Louis, and took up a farm in a 
locality so wild that he could often shoot 
deer and wild turkeys from his doorway. 
In time a village grew up there which was 
called Sparlinsville and later he engaged 
there in mercantile business, most of his cus- 
tomers being Indians. About the close of the 
Civil war his property was burned by Union 
soldiers, although he was strictly neutral 
and had even at the beginning of the con- 
flict voluntarily liberated his slaves. Mr. 
Sparlin died in 1881, aged seventy-seven, 
while his widow still survives, aged sixty- 
three. Mrs. Mary Sparlin, who was his 
second wife, bore him eleven children, while 
by his first wife, whose maiden name was 
Frances Spurgeon, he already had a family 
of eleven. Of the entire number fourteen 
are still living. 

Stonewall Sparlin spent his lioyhood on 
his father's farm in Missouri and when fif- 
teen years of age went to Wyoming, where 
he spent four years carrying the mails for 
his uncle, Charles F. Perkins, a star-route 





'c:::^^-^^^^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



449 



contractor. Tlie Ixn- (lrn\e a six-liorse stage 
from Rawlins, Wyo., to Meeker. Colo., a dis- 
tance of 150 miles, and in tiie discharge of 
his duty met with many interesting and 
thrilling experiences incident to the rough 
life of that day and place. In 1887 ''"^ ^^^^ 
the far West and located in W'iscon.sin as 
manager for A. H. Koehler, of Almena, 
Barron cour.ty. Later Mr. Sparlin Ixjught 
a stock of general merchandise from his em- 
ployer and conducted business for himself 
a while, and then accepted a position as 
lx)okkeeper in the town. 

Through all his residence in Ban-on 
county, Mr. Sparlin has been keenly inter- 
ested in public affairs. While in .Mmena he 
served for three years as assessor for the 
town of Turtle Lake and for four years was 
chairman of the town, during which time he 
W'as instrumental in making great improve- 
ments in the roads of the township. The 
resolution to build the new court house was 
introduced before the county board by him 
and his untiring efforts were the chief cause 
of its adoption. Dec. 19, 1901, he was ap- 
pointed county clerk, to fill a vacancy, and 
so satisfactorily did he discharge the duties 
of the position that in the fall of 1902 he 
was elected as an independent candidate to 
succeed himself anil although he was a 
Democrat in his political affiliations, he over- 
came the large Rci)ublican majority of the 
county. 

Mr. Sparlin w^as married Dec. 21. 1887, 
to ]\Iiss Ethel B. Richmond, daughter of 
Levi and Prudence Richmond, of Perley, 
Barron county. Of the five children born to 
this union, the eldest, Lee, was accidentally 
killed on the railroad, Aug. 29. 1903, aged 
sixteen. The other four are Leota, Jesse, 
Beatrice and Milton \'an Dorn. 

MRS. IDA MAY GOSS (deceased), 
formerly editor and proprietor of the 
Spooner Advocate, successfully demon- 
strated the efficiency of woman in the field 
of journalism. She was self-reliant and 
independent, and she had true business in- 
stinct. These qualities w'ere. in part, im- 
parted by her parents, Capt. J. W . and Carrie 



(Stafford) Hitchcock, natives of tiie Em- 
pire State. They were pioneers in Wiscon- 
sin, and when the Civil war broke out Capt. 
Hitchcock evinced his patriotism bv re- 
sponding to the country's call for defenders 
to preserve the Union. From the ranks he 
rose through the regular gradations to the 
command of a company of Indians recruited 
by himself for service in the field. His 
death occurred recently, in Barron, Wi<., 
and his widow is living in semi-retirement in 
Barron county. 

Mrs. Goss was the eldest of (we. chil- 
dren, and her birth occurred in Janesville. 
In her girlhood she enjoyed only the 
ordinary advantages afforded by the public 
school for obtaining an education, but being 
of a studious nature she made the best of 
whatever opportunity offered, and quite 
early in life, liecame grounded in the ele- 
mentary principles of the English branches. 
Sul)sc(|uently it was her good fortune to re- 
ceive her finishing education under the tute- 
lage of Miss Betsy Clapp, a lady widely 
known for her graces of mind, strength of 
character and competency as an instructress, 
who prepared her for teaching. Soon there- 
after she entered upon her chosen work. 
\\hich she followed for several years witii 
little interruption, and always with success, 
in the schools of St. Croix and Washburn 
counties. Her marriage with Webster 
(loss, of Peek.skill, N. Y.. was celebrated 
June 29, 1886. Mr. Goss was a lawyer by 
profession, a gentleman of fine attainments, 
both natural and acquired, and one of the 
ablest criminal law^yers in northern Wiscon- 
sin. He was a graduate of Wesleyan Uni- 
versity, and was admitted to the Bar at 1 hid- 
son. New York. He very creditably served 
one term as district attorney of Washburn 
county, was a Republican politicallv, and an 
ardent sup])orter of his party's principles, 
having a voice in its councils. The marriage 
of Mr. and Mrs. Goss resulted in the birth 
of one surviving child, a .son, William Giles, 
now a boy of seven years. Mr. Goss's death 
occurred in Spooner, April 25, 1898. 

Then it was that Ida May Goss evinced 
the mettle of which the new w-oman is made. 



450 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



She did not sit down and repine over the 
hardness of her fate, nor did she for a 
moment indulge the grievous spirit of de- 
])endence. Once out of the old environment 
and into one altogether new to her, she 
bravely set out about mastering the new con- 
ditions in order to provide for herself and 
•child. She possessed good qualifications, 
had a will of her own, and the field of her 
future endeavor must accord with her in- 
clinations and tastes. She first sought and 
obtained an appointment as comparing clerk 
in the State Assembly, the duties of which 
position, during the following session, she 
discharged in a manner creditable to her- 
self and to the entire satisfaction of the As- 
sembly. But the dry routine of clerical, work 
was not altogether to her liking. She craved 
a place in the activities of life, a place where 
she could exercise her tact and mental re- 
sources. It was then she conceived the idea 
of establishing the Spooner Advocate. Her 
only training in the journalistic line was a 
short reportorial career on a local news- 
]iaper. However, nothing daunted by a 
limited experience and inadequate capital, 
she resolutelv launched the Advocate; and 
xlespite these handicaps and the generally ac- 
cepted truth of a time-honored maxim 
among the profession, a maxim, however, 
that was only a man's idea of the eternal 
fitness of things in a newspaper office, that, 
in order to become a successful editor, one 
must begin at the Ijottom and successfully 
])ass the graduations from "devil"' to "boss " 
in the sanctum sanctorum, she carried it on 
successfully. When a resolute woman takes 
'hold of a proposition, she "wills" and the 
thing is as good as won. 

The cost of the original plant was less 
than four hundred dollars, and when the 
Advocate made its official bow to the public, 
in the summer of 1901, it presented a credit- 
able appearance, and immediately won for 
itself a place in the public esteem. There is 
ample evidence that the unique heading on 
the Advocate's official stationery. "A news- 
paper with a record for enterprise," is no 
misnomer. Before the ])aper was a year 
old it was declared the official organ of 



Washburn county, and ere a similar length 
of time had elapsed, the slow, cumbersome 
press had been superseded by a modern press 
with gasoline engine, having a printing 
capacity of twenty-five hundred copies per 
hour. The ofirce had likewise an up-to-date 
job press, and was adequately stocked with 
type of every description, making it capable 
of turning out with dispatch work more 
artistic in appearance than is produced in 
more pretentious offices. And as evidence 
of the Advocate's successful career, it may 
be noted that the plant as it now stands 
represents an outlay of more than two thou- 
sand dollars, and is a worthy monument to 
the business sagacity and enterprise of one 
of the world's new women. 

Mrs. Goss was frightfully burned by a 
gasoline explosion early in the winter of 
1902, which greatly impaired her health, re- 
sulting finally in a physical breakdown which 
terminated in her untimely death, Aug. 27, 
1904, at the age of forty- four years. 

GEORGE ASH, a retired lumberman of 
Duluth, where he has lived since 1882, was 
born in New Brunswick, Canada, Aug. 17, 
1847, son of Allen and Rebecca (Mosher) 
Ash, both of whom were natives of Maine. 
Allen Ash was all his life a lumberman, and 
died in 1880. His wife passed away in 1853, 
leaving a family of five children, of whom 
three are now living. 

George Ash was educated in the public 
schools of Port Huron, Mich., and on leav- 
ing school worked in the lumber woods for 
three years. He then obtained a position as 
logging foreman and was thus occupied for 
a few years at Port Huron and Melbourne. 
In 1882 he came to Duluth and worked in 
the woods as an explorer, often walking 
from one town to another. He was for 
eight years inspector of logs in this district, 
retiring in 1897, soon after which he had a 
])aralytic stroke which deprived him of 
speech. He was at one time a considerable 
land owner along Ash river, which was 
named in his honor, and he still has prop- 
erty on the Range. 

'Mr. Ash married Eeb. 25, 1867, Mary 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



451 



Doig". who was born in Scotland, lier pa- 
rents being John and Isabella (Robertson) 
Doig. also natives of Scotland, where they 
lived and died. The death of her parents 
occurring when Mrs. Ash was but a child, 
she came to New York, where she made her 
home with relatives. She was one of a fam- 
ily of five children, of whom four are liv- 
ing. Mr. and Mrs. Ash were the parents of 
the following children : Frank E., deceased ; 
Louise I., wife of Frederick Ames, of Du- 
luth : Edna J., a teacher in Duluth ; and 
Fred D., a student in the Duluth high school. 
The family are members of the Baptist 
Church. Mr. Ash during his active career 
took a keen interest in public affairs, and 
was an alderman of Duluth for four years. 
He is a thirty-second degree Mason of the 
Scottish Rite. 

CHARLES ERIK AXDERSOX. the 
superintendent of the Douglas county poor 
farm, is a native of Sweden and was torn in 
Kopparberg, in the province of Westman- 
land. April 6. 1861, a son of Carl and 
Johanna C. (Hedman) Anderson, natives 
of the same place. The Anderson family 
had Ijeen engaged in farming and mining at 
Kopparberg for many generations, while 
Oscar Hedman, an uncle of Mrs. Anderson, 
noted as being physically the strongest man 
in Sweden, owned extensive mines of copper 
there. 

Carl Anderson came with his family to 
the United States in July, 1865, making the 
voyage from Liverpool to New York in three 
weeks, which was then considered an un- 
usually quick trip. For three years he lived 
at Peshtigo, Wis., and went thence to Bur- 
nett county, in the same State, where he 
took up a homestead claim at Trade Lake. 
It is now a finely improved farm and he is 
still residing upon it. Though he never 
attended any scliool, Mr. Anderson has al- 
ways been a man of literary tastes and is a 
frequent contributor to the newspapers. His 
memory is most remarkable. He is a man 
<if much influence over his fellow citizens 
and is locally known as "King Carl." A 
Republican in politics, he was postmaster at 



Trade Lake for six years. His wife is still 
living, and six of their children have grown 
to maturity, viz. : Charles E. ; Selma 
Bernardina, the wife of L. Myers, of 
Spokane, Wash. ; Wilhelmina Josephine, 
now Mrs. Hogenson, of Spokane ; Edward 
C, an engineer of the docks of Adams and 
Jones, Superior; Alvina Christina, the wife 
of A. T. Stewart, of West Superior; and 
Karl August, of Burnett county, a graduate 
of the Superior Normal School, class of 
1903. John, the fourth child, died in Su- 
perior, April 18, 1887, aged nineteen years 
and four months. 

Charles E. Anderson attended the pub- 
lic schools of Burnett county, and then at 
the age of twenty left home and began work 
in Superior on the docks as a carpenter. 
After becoming familiar with the trade, he 
did considerable sub-contracting. For three 
years he was hoisting engineer on the Ohio 
Coal Company's dock, now owned by the 
Eastern Railway of Minnesota, and for 
three years more was general foreman for 
the same company, with forty to seventv- 
five men under his supervision. His next 
position was that of hoisting engineer on 
the Youghiogheny and Lehigh coal docks, 
where he was employed for two years. June 
I, igo2, Mr. Anderson was appointed super- 
intendent of the county poor farm and at 
the expiration of his first term of service 
was reappointed. The farm includes 187 
acres of land, 100 of them tillable, and is 
equipped with first-class buildings and con- 
veniences. The inmates vary in number 
from eight to twenty-four. 

Mr. Anderson was married May 8. 18S6. 
to Ulrika Oleson, and they were the first 
couple married in West Superior. Mrs. 
Anderson was a daughter of Olaf Oleson, 
of Edana. Vermland. Sweden, and came to 
the I'nited States in 1882. Only three of 
her children are living. Agnes Alida, Johan 
Oscar and Karl Richard Leonard. 

Mr. Anderson has always Iieen a Re- 
publican and is lx)th active and influential 
in the local work of the party. Soon after 
coming to Superior, Mr. Anderson built a 
home on John avenue and also erected a 



45^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



liotel. "The Garfield House." both of which 
he still owns. The family are connected with 
the Pilgrim Swedish Lutheran Church of 
West Superior which Mr. Anderson helped 
to organize in 1887, and of which he was a 
trustee and secretary until 1902. 

JOHN A. JACOBS. Seldom is one man 
identified with so many phases of a town's 
growth and development as has been John 
A. Jacobs with the upbuilding of Washburn, 
Bayfield Co., Wis., as almost the earliest 
settler, as one of the first supervisors of the 
town, as town clerk, justice of the peace, 
town treasurer, postmaster, engineer at the 
docks, dealer in merchandise, and as lumber 
dealer and manufacturer. His has been the 
guiding hand at the helm at one time or 
another, in nearly every department of the 
town's life. 

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, June 15, i860, 
Mr. Jacobs is of Irish parentage on Ixjth 
sides, as his father, Patrick Jacobs, was a 
native of County Wexford, and his mother, 
Bridget (Jackson) Jacobs, of County 
Limerick. Patrick Jacobs, however, in his 
childliood went with his parents to England, 
whither a number of their relatives had pre- 
ceded them, and located either in England 
proper or else in Wales, and acquired that 
experience which enabled him on coming 
to the United States in 1855 to secure em- 
]iloyment in the rolling mills at Troy, N. Y., 
and Johnstown, Pa. .\l)out 1858 he went 
to Cleveland, and for twenty-five years was 
employed by the Cleveland Rolling Mill 
Company. Thence he went to Chicago, and 
later to Ashland, where his death occurred 
Nov. 24, 1 90 1, at the age of sixty-three 
years. All his life he had been an active 
member of the Catholic Church, and helped 
organize the local church at Washburn. 

The Jackson family to which Mrs. 
Jacobs belonged, had lived in County Lim- 
erick for generations, and there her parents 
died. She, herself, came to America when 
eighteen years old, and married here not 
long afterward. She died in 1890 at Cleve- 
land in her fifty-third year. 

John A. Jacobs attended the parish 



school, and after finishing there spent six: 
months at a business college in Cleveland. 
He had begun to work in the rolling mill a 
part of the time wdien not more than ten 
years old, and later worked in the machine 
shops of the King Bridge Works. At the 
age of twenty he went to Chicago and se- 
cured a position there in a rolling mill which 
he held for a year, and then took a place in 
the engineer's department of the steamer 
"Peerless," running between Chicago and 
Duluth. During the second year he got aa 
engineer's license, and entered the employ 
of S. S. Vaughn, operating the ferry boat 
"Eva Wadsworth," between Ashland and 
Bayfield. 

In 1883, Mr. Jacobs went to Washburn, 
then only the nucleus of a settlement, with a 
few rude shanties. For the first two weeks- 
after his arrival he was obliged to sleep on 
the floor of his boarding place, and to 
furnish his own blankets. Mr. Jacobs is now 
the oldest inhabitant of the town, and in 
the passing of the years has been chosen tO' 
fill almost every important position in the 
gift of the people. In 1884 he was elected 
one of the first supervisors of the town of 
Washburn, receiving the entire forty-eight 
votes cast at the election. The next year 
he was chosen both town clerk and justice- 
of the peace, and filled both oftices simul- 
taneously for three years. For one year he 
was treasurer of the town. These official 
duties did not require much of his time, and 
Mr. Jacobs was employed meanwhile as en- 
gineer on a tug engaged in the construction 
of the first dock at Washburn. Three seasons 
were spent in this manner, and he hoisted the 
first cargo of coal ever unloaded there. Dur- 
ing the second term of Mr. Cleveland Mr, 
Jacobs was appointed postmaster, and 
served several years. In that same period 
he opened a fruit and confectionery store, 
with stationery, etc., added, and was thus 
engaged nearly eight years. 

In 1893 Mr. Jacobs began investing in 
pine lands, and in partnership with Thomas 
Carmichael, a prominent lumberman of Eatr 
Claire. Wis., he acquired many thousand 
acres of timber land. After four years the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



453 



firm hiiill a sawmill at Washburn with a 
•ca]3acity of forty to fifty thousainl feet of 
lumber daily, or from fifty to sixty thousand 
shingles in the same time. This mill was 
•operated under the personal supervision of 
Mr. Jacobs until October, 1901, when it 
■suspended business. Since that time he has 
given the most of his attention to disposing 
of its product, and the cut-over lands be- 
longing to the firm, which are being sold to 
investors, or to settlers. 

Tlie year following the shutting down of 
the mill, Mr. Jacobs organized the Powier- 
Jacobs Company, which manufactures and 
■ileals in ceclar, piling posts and shingles. 
<nid utilizes the grounds and mills of the 
former company. This concern employs 
about a hundred men, and obtains its ma- 
terial chiefiy from the Apostle Islands, rd- 
though some is brought from Michigan and 
elsewhere. 

On April 10, 1883. Mr. Jacobs was mar- 
ried to Margaret Toner, who was born at 
Two Rivers, Wis., daughter of James and 
Mary Toner of DePere, Wis. To this union 
have been born nine children, Mollie, Anna, 
John, Edward, Margaret, I'atrick, Thomas, 
(irace and Kathryn, all at school except the 
two younger ones. Mr. Jacobs and his fam- 
ily are identified with the Catholic Churcii. 
For many years he was a Democrat but of 
recent years he has been supporting tlie Re- 
publican party. Mr. Jacobs is a man whose 
word carries great weight in the comnnmity, 
for during iiis many years among them his 
fellow citizens have learned to respect him 
very liighly and to have every regard for his 
judgment and confidence in it. 

CHARLES J. EXGSTROM, a pros- 
perous farmer and chairman of the town of 
Stanford, Barron county, was born in Gales- 
burg, III., in 1866, and was tliere reared until 
he was eight years of age. at which time 
his parents moved to Chicago, and the lad 
had the opDortunities offered by tlie public 
schools of that great city for two years. The 
next removal was made to the neighborhood 
of St. Paul. Init after a year, during which 
lime Charles J. attended school, tl* family 



went to Grantsburg, Burnett Co., Wis., and 
in 1880. he completed his education, al- 
though he worked upon his father's farm, 
which the latter had homesteaded from the 
government, until 1891. In that year our 
subject purchased 160 acres of wild land 
in Stanford townhsip, Barron Co., Wis. 
This was a very desolate location at that 
time, and but a few settlers had gone before, 
but it is now a delightful dwelling place, 
and a fine agricultural district. 

John and Carrie Engstrom are natives of 
Sweden, wdio came to America in 1863, and 
to Illinois in 1864. They now make their 
home with Charles J. They are consistent 
members of the Lutheran Church. 

Charles J. Engstrom has always been 
])rominent in politics, and has been a dele- 
gate to various conventions, town, county 
and national, both on the Republican and 
Prohibition tickets. He has been town as- 
sessor of Stanford for two years ; town clerk 
three years, and in the spring of 1903, was 
elected chairman of the township, which 
honorable position he still holds. He be- 
longs to the Lutheran Church. Although 
yet a young man, he has already attained 
considerable prominence, and the future is 
very bright before him. He is a man who 
makes and retains freinds, and his popular- 
ity throughout Barron county is something 
remarkable. In business matters he is up- 
right, keen and thrifty, and carries on his 
farm upon systematic lines, having a place 
which is both the envy and the admiration 
of his neighbors. 

.\LLEN JACKSON, one of the pros- 
l)erous pioneers of Price county, has lived 
there since 1867, when he left his native 
State of Maine to try life in the great North- 
west. He was born in Somerset county, 
Maine, April 8, 1842. and is the only one 
of his father's family to come to Wisconsin. 

William Jackson, father of .Allen, passed 
his whole life on the fann in Somerset 
county, and attained tlie age of eighty-three 
years. He was a member of the Methodist 
Church, as was also his wife, and a man 
of the utmost integrity and industry. He 



454 



CO-MM I:M0RA Tl\ E BlOGKAPlllCAL RECORD 



was of Scotch-lrisli (.iescent. while his wife, 
whose maiden name was Lois \\ eutwoith, 
came of a family long prominent in New 
England. Her fatlier, Andrew Wentworth, 
was born in jMassacluisetts. bnt spent most 
of his life on a farm in Somerset county, 
Maine. ^Irs. Jackson died at tlie home place, 
aged seventy-seven years. She was the 
mother of nine children, eight of whom are 
li\ing. 

Allen Jackson passed the usual boyhood 
antl \-outh of a \ew England farmer's son, 
and during the Civil war enlisted in his 
country's service. He was enrolled Sept. 
10, 1862, in Company A, 28th Maine \'. I., 
and served one year under Gen. Banks, lie 
took part in the siege of Port Hudson, and 
other engagements, and then caught the 
measles, being so ill that he nearly ilied, and 
never fully recovered from the effects. 

In 1867 Mr. Jackson left home and went 
to Wisconsin, spending the next five winters 
logging in Clark county. The summer of 
1 868 he was engaged on the construction of 
the L'nion Pacilic railroad in Wj^oming and 
Utah, but returned to Wisconsin, took up 
logging and rafting again, and for sevend 
winters was at work on the P'lambeau river. 
Later he began buying timber and logging 
for himself, which business he continued 
until 1903. 

Since 1876 ^Iv. Jackson has been at 
Phillips. In company with Charles 11. 
Roser he built the first hotel there, the "Lake 
View House," and a year afterward put up 
his own home. The latter, together with the 
barn and another house owned by Mr. Jack- 
son, was burned in 1894, but he rebuilt at 
once, and his present house is a thoroughly 
modern building. Mr. Jackson has also 
engaged in farming to some extent, keeps 
live stock, etc. In 1902 he took up 160 
acres of timber land in Oregon, and is other- 
wise buying and selling real estate as op- 
portunity offers. 

Mr. Jackson is a Democrat, and is some- 
what prominent in city and county politics. 
He has filled the offices of chairman of the 
town board, town treasurer, assessor, etc., 
and in 1900 was nominated for sheriff. He 



was a menil)or of the building committee 
of the county board at the time the present 
court house w-as erected, a tine brick 
structure, that wouUl reflect credit upon any 
county. 

Mrs. Allen Jackson was a I\liss Josie Lee 
Zaberwsky, a nati\e of tiermany, who came 
to the Uniteil States in chiklhood. She 
was married to Mr. Jackson in 1878, and 
the\- have had six children, namely : Clara 
M.. now Mrs. Daniel Hashie, of Phillips; 
William A.; Jerome; Russell J.; \'erona 
M. ; and Bartlett Sylvester. They attend 
the Catholic Church. 

Mr. Jackson is closely identified with 
fraternal life, as he is a charter member of 
Phillips Lodge, V. & A. M., has belonged 
to the 1. O. O. F. for twenty-live years past, 
and is enrolled with Phillips Post, G. A. R. 

Mr. Jackson has watched the opening 
up and developing of Price county, from the 
very beginning, and is familiar with all the 
phases of pioneer life. In the spring of 
1874, the first farm in the county, the "Mc- 
Kinley farm" at the mouth of the Elk river, 
was opened, and Mr. Jackson was one who- 
helped to clear it, while two years previously 
he had assisted in a similar opening in Saw- 
yer county, that of the "Hackett farm" on 
the Flambeau river. His long life in this 
section has made him perfectly at home in 
the whole wooded region throughout several 
counties in Northern Wisconsin. 

ADOLPH REEDFORS, in his life 
time city comptroller of Superior, was one 
of the leading Scandinavian-American citi- 
zens of that city. His parents, Jonas and 
Catherine (Larson) Reedfors, were natives 
of Sweden, where .Vdolph was born |an. 2^. 
1867. 

Jonas Reedfors was a farmer, and died 
in 1S98, when seventy-five years old. His 
widow, who is over sixty-five, still lives in 
Sweden. Her brother. Anders Larson, is a 
member of the Swcilish Riksdag. Jonas 
Reedfors and his wife were the parents of 
eight children, all of whom are living, and 
three are now in the L^nited States : Adolph ; 
.\lfred, a farmer of Marshall county, S. 



COiMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



455 



Dak. ; and Carrie, who lives in Superior. 
Aaron is professor of Philosophy at the 
Swedish L'liiversity, and the author of sev- 
eral historical works ; Lars Peter is an officer 
in the Swedish army ; Carl is in the railway 
service of the Swedish government ; and 
Emma and Gust are on the homestead farm. 

.Adolph Reedfors received a common 
school education, and at the age of twenty 
came to the United States. He located in 
the coal regions of CIcarfiehl county, Pa., 
and then went for a year to Dakota. In 
1888 he spent a year at Hope Academy, 
Moorhead, Minn., and in i88g went to Du- 
luth where he was ixiokkceper in a grocery 
store for a year. From Duluth he came to 
Superior, where he opened a book and con- 
fectionery business, which he carried on until 
1899. In 1895-96 Mr. Reedfors was the 
representative of the Fourth ward on the 
county board of supervisors. In 1S98 he 
was elected city comptroller. Defeated at 
the next election, he was reelected to this 
ofifice in 1900 for two years. He was a dele- 
gate to several State Republican conven- 
tions, as well as to many local gatherings, 
and always took an active part in politics. 
His death removed one of the best party 
workers in this region. 

Mr. Reedfors was brought up in tlic faitii 
of the Swedish Lutheran Church. Fra- 
ternally lie was a meml^er of Superior Lodge, 
^^O- 3.3^' ^- O. O. I'., and Tammany Tribe, 
No. 19, Improved Order of Red Men. 

JOHN H. MOLLER, the leading real 
estate dealer of Bruce, Rusk Co., Wis., who 
has taken an active part in the settlement of 
this county, is a native of the Island of 
P'yn, Denmark. He was raised in Schles- 
wig, then a province of Denmark, now of 
Germany, where he was educated in the pub- 
lic schoi'is. being taught both the German 
and Danish languages. At the same time 
he was living on a farm, and learning how 
to carry it on. When sixteen years of age 
he entered upon a sea-faring life, shipping 
aboard a merchantman, and traveling to dif- 
ferent countries for about six ye.nrs; tlien he 
became a marine in the German navv, serv- 



ing for a year, when he retired to his former 
home on the farm, remaining there until 
1880. In that year he emigrated to Amer- 
ica with his family, settling for a year at 
Princeton, Bureau Co., 111. He then went 
to Gage county. Neb., and there embarked 
extensively in farming, being thus engaged 
for some sixteen years. During this time, 
he became interested in handling real estate 
on a large scale. Wishing for a wider field 
of operation, he decided to help found the* 
town of Cortland, same county, remaining 
there four years, and assisting in placing the 
town on a good basis. In 1901 he began 
operating in Gates (now Rusk) county. 
Wis., lands, moving his family there in 1902. 
His operations have been \ery extensive, 
and he has located a great many settlers in 
the county. In 1903, he, continuing his 
work, placed 280 people on farms tri1;utnry 
to Bruce, and this nuraljer is about his aver- 
age for a year's work. He is local agent t'ir 
the "Soo" railroad, and is a very prominent 
man. 

Fraternally Mr. Moller is a memljer of 
the K. of P., of Bruce; the Modern Wood- 
men: Modern Brotherhood of Ainerica ; and 
the United Workmen. 

In 1879, ■^^''- Moller was married in 
Schleswig, to Miss Maria Anderson. Seven 
daughters and a son have been born of tliis 
marriage, as follows: Marie, a former 
teacher in the public schools, who is now an 
instructor of music; Lorretta : Bertha, a 
teacher in Bruce public schools; Anne, a 
stenographer; Minnie; Peter; Christine; .-ind 
Agnes. Mr. Moller is well-equip])ed for his 
line of business, having spent a number of 
years in studying soils and their adaptability 
to different grains and fruits, and by con- 
stant application and study, has acquired 
a wide range of information upon various 
subjects. Mr. Moller is a man of first-class- 
ability, keen, shrewd and observant. 

AUGUSTUS EDMUND COSTELLO, 
M. D., C. M., a gifted young physician of 
Spooner, \V'ashburn county, was born in 
Albany, X. 'N'.. son of P. P. and Melvinie 

(Porcherim) ('dsicllo, the former .-it I'lie 



45 6 



COMMEMORATR-E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



time a prominent business man of Alliany. 

W'lien he was a child Dr. Costello's pa- 
rents moved to Montreal, Canada, where 
he received his early education in the public 
schools, after which he completed the class- 
,ical course at St. Mary"s College. He then 
matriculated at McGill Medical College, from 
which he graduated in 1900, receiving his 
degrees. After a few months' much needed 
rest, he came to Spooner in March, 1901, 
where he was associated with Dr. J. P. Cox 
for two years and he has already won an en- 
viable reputation throughout Washburn and 
adjacent counties. He is a close student of 
medical literature, keeping in touch with the 
best professional thought of the day. He is 
a member of the M. W. A. and of the K. 
O. T. M., of which he is the local examining 
surgeon. He is also medical examiner for 
the Mutual Life Insurance Company, of 
New York, the National Fraternal League, 
Prudential Insurance Company, L. O. T. M., 
and R. N. A. He is also a member of the 
pension examining board at Shell Lake. 

On June 2, 1902, Dr. Costello was mar- 
ried to Miss Maud E. Parke, of Spooner, 
Wisconsin. 

PHILIP M. GRAFF, whose name is 
linked with the permanent prosperity of the 
city of Duluth, Minn., was one of the most 
successful among the early citizens and dar- 
ing investors. He was bom in Worthing- 
ton, Armstrong Co., Pa., in August, 1849. 
son of Peter and Susan (Lovenger) Graff. 
' and grandson of John and Anna Barbara 
( Baum ) Graff. 

John Graff came of a no1:)le family. He 
was born in Neiwetl, Hesse-Darmstadt, 
Germany, and on emigrating to America 
settled in Westmoreland county. Pa., where 
he died at the age of fifty-five years. He 
married Anna Barbara Baum, a native of 
Westmoreland county. Durinc^' her child- 
hood the Indian wars were .still in progress 
in that part of Pennsylvania. At one tmie, 
as a young girl she gave food to an Indian 
chief, and, when in one of the raids, a little 
later, she was captured by his tribe, he saw 
her and released her, sending her home in 
safety. 



Peter Graff, son of John, was Ixirn in 
Pennsylvania. His first venture was in the 
mercantile and transportation business, in 
which he was most successful, and through 
which he became known all over the State. 
He afterward became interested in furnaces 
and iron manufacturing. For some time he 
was engag'ed in woolen manufacturing, and 
during the Civil war he built a woolen mill 
near Worthington, Pa., chiefly for the pur- 
pose of furnishing employment for the wives 
and children of Union soldiers. He was al- 
ways interested in philanthropic work, espec- 
ially in the practical philanthropy that opens 
the way for the unfortunate to help them- 
selves. Through the failure of one of his 
customers he took a tract of land in Venan- 
go county. Pa., upon which Oil City was sub- 
sequently built. This was known as the 
(iraft'-Hasson Flats. In political sentiment 
Peter Graff was a Democrat, but later he 
liecame identified with the Prohibition party. 
All his life he was a total abstainer. He 
reached the age of eighty-two years, and his 
wife, Susan Lovenger, survived until she 
was eighty-six years of age. Mrs. Susan 
( Lovenger) Graff was born in Westmore- 
land county, a daughter of Christopher Lov- 
enger, an extensive farmer of that region, 
whose ancestors were among the early set- 
tlers of the Pennsylvania Colony. 

I'hilip M. Graff was graduated in 1871 
in the classical course of Penn College, at 
Gettysburg, and for some time thereafter 
he was in the employ of his father. In 1874 
he went to Grand Rapids, where for five 
years he was engaged in banking and or- 
ganized the lumber firm of Graff, Little & 
Co., which in 1879 removed to Duluth, 
building a saw and planing mill in what is 
now the West End. The firm later became 
(iraff. Murray & Co.. the Scott-Holston 
Lumber Co.. and then changed to its pres- 
ent name. Scott, Graff Lumber Co. The 
advent of Graff, Little <& Co.. was the be- 
ginning of a new era in Duluth, the town 
at that time suffering from a severe business 
depression, from which she seemed unable 
to recover. The establishment of the new 
enterprise seemed to inject new life into the 
business element, and then began the activity 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



457 



that has contimied to the present day. Mr. 
Graff has built a number of tlie best Ijuild- 
ings in the city, including the Graf? Block 
— a four-story brick building on Superior 
street ; the Buffalo IHats ; and a number of 
dwellings and smaller buildings. He was 
one of the chief stockholders, and one of 
the promoters of the Masonic Temple, and 
was one of the early stockholders of the 
Duluth Electric Light & Power Co. While 
now in practical retirement, he still retains 
the ownership of considerable real estate. 
He was one of the original proprietors of the 
Bank of Tower, which was succeeded by the 
J-'irst National Bank of Tower; and he ori- 
ginated the Howe Lumber Co., at Tower, 
succeeded by the Tower Lumber Co., which 
is still carrying on a large business there. 

Mr. Graff is a Democrat in politics, and 
for many years was active in the councils 
of his party, and was a member of the State 
central committee. He cared little for the 
honors of public office, but was a member of 
the city council of Duluth, where he proved 
himself a faithful and honorable public ser- 
vant. He is a member of the First Presby- 
terian Church, and for several years served 
as one of its trustees. At the age of twenty- 
<^>ne he united with the Masonic fraternity, 
and was a charter member of Duluth Com- 
mandery. No. i8. K. T. 

In 1872 Philip M. Graff was united in 
marriage with Sarah Agnes Earhart, daugh- 
ter of Joseph and Margaret Earhart, of 
Worthington, Pa. She was born in Butler 
county. Pa., and her death occurred Nov. 
20, 1889, at the age of thirty-six year^. 
She was a devout member of the First Pres- 
byterian Church. Five children were born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Graff: Anna Barbara, a 
professional nurse at Detroit; Margaret G., 
Avife of William R. Spencer, oi Duluth ; 
Carroll F.. of Duluth: .\. Virginia, a student 
at a young ladies' college at Washington, 
Pa. ; and IIerl«rt H., of Duluth. 

HENRY O. WALSETH is a prominent 
citizen of West Superior, Douglas county, 
where he was one of the early settlers. His 
?)ij-th occurred Dec. 2. 1861, in Trondhjem, 



Norway, his parents being Ole and Anna 
Walseth. In 1873 Ole Walseth came to the 
United States and settled at Ishpeming, 
Mich., where he died at the age of fifty-eight. 
His ancestors had been farmers for genera- 
tions and he pursued that calling in his na- 
tive country and also in that of his adop- 
tion. 

Henry O. Walseth attended the public 
schools of Norway, and afterward learned 
the trade of painter. In the spring of 1881 
he came to the United States and followed 
his trade for a time in Michigan. Going 
to Duluth in 1884. he kept a paint shop there 
for several yeans, during which tune he 
tilled numerous contracts for painting build- 
ings and employed a number of men. Im- 
mediately on coming to Duluth, he invested 
in real estate, and in 1884 purchased some of 
the first lots to be sold in West Superior 
after the town site was subdivided. From 
time to time he increased his investments 
and erected several buildings. In 1888 he 
moved to West Superior, where he has since 
resided, giving his chief attention to real 
estate, doing a brokerage business in addi- 
tion to handling his own investments. For 
some years Mr. Walseth also did business 
in real estate loans. In recent years he has 
given very little attention to politics, but at 
one time he was very active in the Republi- 
can party and served two terms as city treas- 
urer, in 1892 and 1S94. lie has been identi- 
fied with various fraternal organizations, but 
is not a member of any at present. He has 
always been a public spirited citizen, ready 
to co-operate in any movement for the city's 
welfare, and has been interested in many 
l)ublic enterprises. 

After' coming to the United States Mr. 
Walseth took a course of study in the State 
Niirmal School in Mankato, Minn., and an- 
other in the Curtis Business College in Min- 
neajjolis, familiarizing himself with the 
I'jiglish language and with American busi- 
ness methods. He has always traveled con- 
siderably, having visited many parts of the 
United States and Canada and made one or 
two trips to Europe, where he spent much 
time in the principal cities. 



45S 



COMME-MORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



EDWARD L. TIFFANY, one of the 
well-known citizens of Ladysniitli, Wis., 
proprietor of the Titi'any gallery, was born 
Oct. lo. 1851, in Jefferson county. Wis., son 
of Comfort and Hannah (Lilly) Tiffany, 
natives of New York. They settletl in 
Jeff'erson county. Wis., after marriage, and 
engaged in farming until 1S54. when tliey 
moved to Waushara county, Wisconsin. 

Edward L. Tift'any grew up in the latter 
county, and was educated in the public 
schools. In 1 89 1 he left home and settled 
near Cadott, Chippewa Co., Wis., on virgin 
land, where he cleared up and improved a 
farm and operated it until 1903, when he 
came to Ladysmith. and in No\ember fol- 
lowing bought a half interest in the- photo- 
graphic gallery owned by L. L. Soule. In 
the following spring Mr. Tift'any bought out 
his partner's interest, and it is one of the 
successful enterprises of the place. Mr. Tif- 
fany has fitted up his gallery with everything 
necessary to produce the best results in the 
photographic art. An interesting feature is 
a lavish display of neatly e.xecuted local 
views in Ladysmith and its environs, which 
produce a very favorable impression on the 
stranger. 

Mr. Tift'any was married in \\'isconsin 
to Miss Hattie A. Potter, and thev have 
two children, Mabel A. and Blanche. The 
second daughter, Grace, a charming young 
lady of sixteen vears, was killed by lightning 
in Ladysmith. July 2. 1903. Mr. Tift'any is 
fortunate in having the assistance of his 
daughter ]\Iabel A. in his business. She 
has true artistic talent and is a devotee of 
art. Her artistic work has attracted atten- 
tion in high quarters. Her grouping and 
arranging of subjects adds much to the suc- 
cess of the beautiful photogra])lis which 
come from this gallery. 

Mr. Tiffany belongs to several of the 
leading fraternal societies, is an Odd Fel- 
low, a Maccabee and a Modern \\'oodnian. 

W. L. HUNTER. Cumberland. Barron 
Co.. ^\^is., with its many industries, its ac- 
tive commercial life. numl)ers among its 
live business men none more respected than 



W. L. Hunter, who was born in Jeft'erson-. 
county, N. Y.. Aug. 26. 1840. a son of 
Harry and Margaret (Boyer) Hunter, na- 
tives of the same county. 

Harry Hunter was a millwright by traile. 
who moved to (ialena. HI. in 1856, where 
he worked at his trade for two years and 
then went to Jackson county, Iowa. Later 
he went to Canton, where he spent five years, 
when he took up his location at Cedar Falls. 
Wis., and spent five years more. His next 
change was made when he went to Wilson. 
St. Croix county. Wis., and finally in 1880. 
he settled at Cumberland, Wis., and re- 
mained until his death, which occurred in 
1882. His widow survives at the age of 
eighty-seven, and is now making her home 
at L;idysmith. W^is. Four children were 
born to these parents: A\'illiam L. ; John, 
city engineer at Cumberland ; Morris, a 
farmer of Cumberlaml ; Louisa, who married 
Robert Corbett and lives at Ladysmith. 

William L. Hunter had but a limited 
education but has added to his fund of in- 
formation and gathered much from his var- 
ious experiences. He remained at home 
until 1861. when he responded to the call 
of his country by enlisting in Comi)any I. 
5th Minn. V. I., at Frankfort, Mower Co., 
Minn. Among the many battles in which he 
participated, may l>e mentioned those of 
Gettysburg. Corinth and INIissionary Ridge. 
During the memorable March to the Sea. 
he was in the 2nd di\ision, and served three- 
years without being wounded or taken 
prisoner. 

At the close of his service Mr. Hunter 
located at Durand, Wis., and worked in a 
furniture factory as a machinist for five- 
years, after which he can-ie to Cumberland 
and erected one of the first mills in the loc il- 
ity. This he operated for ten years, for nine 
years carried on a mill at Almira. and for 
five years had one at Rusk. These he sokl to 
take charge of the Beaver Dam Lumber 
Co.'s planing mill in 1898, which responsi- 
ble position he still retains, the mill under 
his able management standing foremost 
amoiig its kind in Barron county. 

In iS6s Mr. Hunter married Elizabeth 



l"OMMEMOR.\Tl\'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



459 



Stockman, of IJourbon, Iiul., and four cliild- 
ren were born to this marriage : John, on a 
steamboat owned by a mill at Cumberland, 
married Emma \\'anfh-ey, and lias three 
children, Margaret, Isabella and Harry; 
Nellie married Frank Dille, of Cumberland, 
and has tliree children, Emma, Alta and 
Frank ; Cora married F. W. Miller of Cum- 
berland, a banker and merchant ; Ralph is 
an engineer in the planing mill at Cumber- 
land. 

Mr. Hunter is one of the most prominent 
Democrats in Barron county and has always 
been very active in the ranks of his party. 
For two years he served as a member of the 
city council and then was honored by elec- 
tion to the high position of mayor of Cum- 
berland. During his term of service he gave 
the people of Cumberland a clean, upright, 
business administration, and many much 
needed improvements were effected. After 
so efficiently discharging the duties pertain- 
in.g to the office of mayor, his constituents 
returned him tf) the council, where he is still 
working in the interests of his ward and 
good government. In addition to these of- 
fices, he has held many of the lesser positions 
of trust, and has always proven himself an 
honorable and efficient public official. 

Fraternally, Mr. Hunter is a Mason, be- 
longing to Blue Lodge, No. 223, Cumber- 
land. He also belongs to K. of P., of Cum- 
berland ; the I. O. O. F., and Modern Wood- 
men, and is deservedly popular in all these 
organizations. For many years Mr. Hunter 
has been a prominent memljer of the Baj)- 
tist Church, and is among its most liberal 
supporters. 

In addition to his other interests, Mr. 
Hunter has a fine stock farm of 240 acres. 
one and a half miles north of Cumberland, 
known as "Sunny Side" stock farm. Mr. 
Hunter is one of the best known men in 
Barron county, and throughout the State has 
friends who appreciate and feel proud of his 
abilities. There is no doubt Init that the 
future before this enterprising and proijres- 
sive young business man and political leafier 
is very brilliant, and that his name will soon 
be numbered among the legislators of the 
State .xnd countrv. 



ASA DAILEY came to Duluth in 1870, 
and for the last dozen years has been deputy 
auditor of St. Louis county. His parents,. 
William and Mercy (Barnhard) Dailey. 
were natives, respectively, of Ireland and 
New York State. 

William Dailey was a carpenter by trade, 
but in his later years was in the furniture 
business in Hudson, Wis. He died in 1868, 
his wife surviving him until 1872. They 
had a family of nine children, of whom five 
are living. Asa was one of the yminger 
children. 

Asa Dailey was born in Canada, Sept. 
18, 1842. Flis parents moved to Hudson, 
Wis., when he was a mere child, and he re- 
ceived most of his education in the public 
schools of that place. On Aug. 9, 1862, at 
the age of nineteen, he enlisted in the 30th 
Wis. V. I. He took part in several 
Indian fights during the Sioux out- 
break of that year, his regiment being 
.stationed at first in the North but they 
were transferred to the South in time to 
participate in the battle of Nashville, where 
he was injured by an accident, from the 
effects of which he still suffers. He was also 
in many skirmishes, but was fortunate 
enough to escape other injury, and received 
his discharge Oct. 5, 1865. He then learned 
the trade of miller, and w-as employed in a 
gristmill at Hudson for five years. After 
that he came to Duluth, engaging in the 
lumber Inisiness as an employe of different 
firms until 1880. when he went into partner- 
ship with John La Ciiapelle. At the end of 
two years he bought out Mr. La Chapelle, 
and he formed a partnership with John Ala- 
guire and W. P. Hinelxich. After another 
two years he liought out the interests of the 
partners, and conducted the Ijusiness alone 
until 1890, when his health failed, as a result 
of the injuries he received in the United 
States service, and selling out his lumber 
interests he retired from active business. In 
September, 1891, he came into the county 
auditor's office, as deputy, and there he has 
ever since remained. 

On Sept. 7, 1867, Mr. Dailey married 
Barbara C. Johnson, of Hudson. Wis., a 
dnufrliter of Thomas and .Ann fStewart> 



-46o 



COM.MEMORATU^E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Johnson, both natives of Dickinson's Land- 
ing, Canada. Mr. Johnson was a harness 
maker and dealer by occupation. He Hved 
until 1894, his wife passing away in 1890. 
jNlrs. Dailey was the next to the eldest of 
their nine children, of whom all but one are 
living. Mr. and Mrs. Dailey are the parents 
■of the following children: Nellie M. ; 
Charles A., foreman in a meat market at 
Buhl, Minn.; Francis P.; Josephine B., and 
Roy A. The family attend the Episcopal 
Church. Mr. Dailey is a member of the G. 
A. R., Willis A. Gorman Post, No. 13, of 
Duluth, in which he has filled every office, 
having been for the past six years quarter- 
master of the post. In January, 1904, he 
was appointed an aide-de-camp on the staff 
of Gen. John C. Black, commander-in-chief, 
National G. A. R. He also belongs to the 
I. O. O. F., Lodge No. 28, of Dukith, and 
the A. O. U. W.. Lodge No. 10, of Duluth. 
He has been a life-long Republican, his first 
vote, in 1864, having been cast for Abraham 
Lincoln. He was at one time president of 
the village of Park Point, where he was also 
clerk, and in 1889 was an alderman of Du- 
luth. He takes a prominent part in all 
movements for the betterment of the city. 

GEORGE K. FINNEY, a carpenter in 
South Superior, has resided there since 1891. 
He was born in Munson township, Geauga 
Co., Ohio, May 7, 1847. 

Edwin Finney, father of George K., was 
a native of Vermont, who married Sally 
Ann Stansell, of New York State, and the 
young couple settled in Geauga county, Ohio, 
in the early days. To them were born four 
children, namely: Cordelia, now Mrs. 
Amos Sharp, of Michigan ; James A., who 
served in the 2d Ohio Heavy Artillery and is 
now a resident of Grand Rapids, Mich. ; 
George K. ; and William G., who enlisted 
in the 124th Ohio V. I., and died in the ser- 
vice. 

George K. Finney left his father's home 
■when only nine years of age and lived on a 
farm until the war broke out. Though not 
yet fifteen years old. he was large and strong 
and when he offered himself as a soldier 



he was readily accepted. He enlisted at 
Chardon, Ohio, Oct. 20, 1861, in Co. A, 
42d O. V. I., and was in the regiment of 
Col. James A. Garfield, destined later to be- 
come the martyred President of our coun- 
try. The last time ]\Ir. Finney saw Presi- 
dent Garfield was during the presidential 
campaign of 1880, and though they had not 
met since the war, Garfield at once recog- 
nized him. 

Mr. Finney served in the 42d for three 
years and a month and was with his regi- 
ment all the time except a short period when 
he was sick with the measles. He took part 
in the battles of Arkansas Post and Cham- 
pion Hills, and was all through the siege of 
Vicksburg, where he assisted in digging- 
the famous canal at that place and took part 
in the great charge. May 22, 1863. After 
the surrender of Vicksburg, he marched to 
Jackson, Miss., where a hard fight occurred 
and then returned to the former place. After 
remaining in Vicksburg about a month, the 
regiment was ordered to New Orleans and 
then by rail to Brashear City. It operated 
in that vicinity until November and then 
went into winter quarters at Plaquemine, 
La. In April, 1864, they proceeded to Baton 
Rouge and thence up the Mississippi and 
Red rivers to assist Gen. Banks, w-ho was 
then retreating from his unfortunate Red 
River expedition. The regiment was then 
engaged in what might be called river scout- 
ing, till the end of his term of service. Mr. 
Finney was discharged at Columbus, Ohio, 
Nov. 15, 1864. After a visit home he en- 
listed again, Feb. 10, 1865, in the 96th 
Ohio regiment and served in the Shenandoah 
valley. After the surrender of Gen. Lee, he 
went with his regiment to Baltimore and 
there did garrison duty till he was mustered 
out in September, 1865. 

Mr. Finney returned to Ohio after the 
close of the war and learned the carpenter's 
trade, which has practically been his business 
ever since, though his health was so serious- 
ly injured by his army life, the effects of 
A\hich become more apparent as the years go 
by, that he has often been unable to work. 

On Oct. 21, 1865, George K. Finney was 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



46 1 



married to his estimable wife, H. Amanda 
I'owler, the daughter of James and Phoebe 
(Parmelee) Eowler. James Fowler was a 
native of Massachusetts, while his wife came 
of a Connecticut family. Mrs. Finney was 
born in Sutitield, Conn., in 1846, but when 
she was about eight years old the family 
removed to Ohio. Her father died there a 
couple of years later, but her mother lived 
till 1882, in which year she died in Colorado 
at the home of a daughter. There were 
three children in the family, but Mrs. Finney 
is the only one living. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Finney have been born 
eight children, but four of them died in 
childhood. The four who survive are : Will- 
iam R. ; Albert B. ; Caroline, now Mrs. Gi- 
rard ; and George W. Mr. Finney is an 
honored member of Alonzo Palmer Post, 
G. A. R., and is universally respected and 
esteemed by those who know him. 

JOSEPH BORECKY is one of the 
leading grocers of Ashland, where he has 
resided since 1891. He is a Bohemian by 
birth, having been born in that country,. 
Sept. I, 1854. His parents, both natives of 
Bohemia, were Joseph and Kate (Futher) 
Borecky ; the latter died in Bohemia in 1866, 
and a year later the father brought his fam- 
ily to America. He was a stone mason by 
trade but after settling in Mishicott, Mani- 
towoc Co., Wis., he occupied himself with 
farming until his death in 1888. Of his 
three children, two are living, Joseph being 
next to the eldest. 

Joseph Borecky received his early edu- 
cation in the common schools of Bohemia, 
and after coming to this country was for a 
time a pupil in Northwestern College, at 
Watertown, Wis. He early began to work 
at farming and at seventeen went into the 
lumber woods, where he was employed for 
nine years, during two years of wliich he 
attended Northwestern College during the 
winter. After this he went to Stevens Point, 
where he made a livelihood for a year by 
selling notions and playing tlie cornet. He 
then movefl to .Auburndale, W^is., where lie 
was a lumber jobber for two years, and then 



a salesman in the general store of R. Con- 
nor &; Co. This position he retained for 
twelve years and in March, 1891, came to 
Ashland, where he immediately went into, 
the grocery business. He began in a small, 
way, but has prospered so that now he has 
one of the linest stores in Ashland, where 
he carries a full line of choice groceries, and 
is the owner of the building in which it is 
situated. 

Mr. Borecky married, .\pril 21. iSj.S. 
Anna I'olk, of Chicago, and they are the ])a- 
rents of the following children : Rose, at 
home; Emma, Mrs. John 1"\ Fitzgerald, of 
.Ashland; Joseph, in business with his father; 
Frank ; Carl ; and .\ddie, deceased. In poli- 
tics Mr. Borecky is independent. Fratern- 
ally he belongs to the F. & A. M., Blue 
Lodge, No. 210, of Ashland; M. W. A., No. 
1 109, of Ashland; and the National Fra- 
ternal League, Council No. 7, of Ashland. 

NELS C. GILSTAD. Wisconsin has. 
been a favorite point of location for a large- 
number of the Norwegians who have sought 
homes in this foreign land and a most val- 
uable class of citizens have they proved. 
One of these who has displayed all the manly 
traits of his race, is Nels C. Gilstad, register 
of deeds for Barron county. ' He was born 
near Christiania. Norway, I'^eb. 25, 1862. 

Martin Gilstad, father of Nels C, came 
with his family to America in i86g and after 
living three years in Racine county. Wis.,, 
moved to Barron county, where in the spring 
of 1872 he bought 120 acres of wild land 
in the town of Dallas. He improved his 
farm and lived on it till his death, in March, 
1894, at the age of sixty-five years. One 
of the earliest settlers in Dallas, he was one 
of the four organizers of the Lutheran 
Church at Maple Grove, of which he was a 
trustee and treasurer for many years, and 
later helped to organize the church at Dallas, 
of which also he was a trustee. Politically 
he was always a Republican. His wife was 
Mary Christenson, who belonged to a prom- 
inent family in Norway, where her brother 
Nels was a memlicr of the Storthing or Con- 
gress. This brother and Martin Gilstad 



40-' 



CO-MME.MORATl\-E BIOGRAFHICAL RECORD 



were joint owners of three vessels at one 
time engTiged in foreigii trade. 

Xels C. Gilstad was eilucated in the 
common schools and remained at home on 
the fami until iSSi. when he went West and 
silent several years in ^lontana and else- 
where. Returning to Wisconsin in 1SS7, he 
opened a gaieral store at Dallas, which he 
conducted for six years and then sold. At 
present he is occupied in the management 
of a fine farm of 100 acres which he owns, 
situated near the village of Dallas. Mr. 
Gilstad has held public office, elected on the 
Republican ticket, and has served most ef- 
ficiently as town treasurer for Dallas for two 
years, while in 1902 he was chosen register 
of deeds for the county. 

Mr. Gilstad was married early in life, 
when only twenty-two years of age. His 
wife was Miss Anna Thompson, to whom 
he was united Sept. 20, 1884. Mrs. Gilstad 
was born in Norway, May 30. 1S62. and was 
the daughter of Ole Thompson, who brought 
his family to America and settled in Mar- 
shall county. Minn. To the union of Xels and 
Anna Gilstad have been born eight children, 
as follows: Olga, and Clara, employed in 
the register's office: Alma: Alfred: Mabel: 
Agnes; Helmer: and Clarence. The family 
are connected with the Lutheran Church 
and are also well known in social circles. 

JOSEPH JOHN DEFER is a merchant 
and lumberman of Saxon, Iron Co.. Wis., 
where he has made his home since 1886. 
He was born in Detroit. Mich.. Oct. 21, 
1866. son of Henry and Emily (Whitmore) 
DeFer, the latter also a native of Detroit. 

Henry DeFer was born in Switzerlaml 
and came to the United States when a young- 
man. He settled in Detroit, where he mar- 
ried Emily Whitmore, by whom he had a 
family of six children. Of these, four are 
still living, the next to the eldest being 
Joseph J. Mr. Deb'er was always active in 
politics and always held some oftice. During 
tlie war he was connected for three years 
with a Michigan cavalry regiment and re- 
turning to Detroit after the war, was elected 
to the sheriff's office of Wavne countv. He 



died in Detroit in 1S75. 1^'* w!''e. who 
snrvi\es him, makes her home with llieii son, 
Joseph John, 

Joseph J. DeFer had almost no oppor- 
tunities for schooling, going to work when 
he was only twelve years of age. For two 
years he worked on a fann and then went 
to Newberry, Mich., where he was employed 
in the lumber woods. In 1886 he came to 
Saxon and worked in a lumber camp for 
two years, after which he began logging on 
bis own account, an occupation which he 
still follows. In 1887 he built the sawmill 
at Saxon and a year later opened a general 
store, continuing to the present time the 
management of Ix^th of these inilustries. He 
owns considerable timber land in his part of 
the State. 

In- May. igoo. Mr. DeFer married Anna 
Darling, of \\"aupaca county. Wis., and they 
have one child, Joseph R. Mr. DeFer has 
been chairman of the town for the last ten 
years anil is at present serving his second 
term as president of the school board. 

MISSES J.\NE .XNM-. MATILDA 
BLOl'NT. two well-known and highly es- 
teemeil ladies of West Superior, have lived 
there since 1S88 and have seen the place 
grow from a struggling little village into its 
present prosperity. They are natives of 
l''icton. Prince Edward count\-, C>nt;u-io. 
likewise the birthplace of their father, 
Stephen Blount. 

The ancestors of the Blount family were 
among- the Quaker immigrants who helped 
to colonize Pennsylvania, and several gen- 
erations of the family lived and died there. 
During- the American Revolution a Cornelius 
liknmt was one of the I'nited Empire Loyal- 
ists who removed to Canada, becoming one 
i>f the pioneers of County Prince F.dward. 
Previously to leaving the colonies he had 
married Lydia Bowerman, of Pennsylvania. 

Stephen Blount, who always retained 
the Quaker faith and manners of bis fore- 
fathers, was born in 1801, and died in Wis- 
consin in 1868. He spent nearly half a cen- 
tury upon the family boniestead near Pictnn, 
w hich was a lino farm hu'gelv devoted to the 



LUAlMEMORATiVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



463 



raising of fruit, lie was noted for his lios- 
pitality and made a special point of entertain- 
ing liis Quaker bretliren, whose meetings 
and gatlierings of other kinds were frequent 
in that locaHty. Tlie poor and needy also 
found a stanch friend in Stephen Blount. 
About 1850 he crossed the border into the 
United States and settled in Wisconsin, one 
i)f the earliest settlers of Stockbrjdge, Calu- 
met county. At that time there was not a 
mile of railroad in the State and the family 
endured all the hardships of pioneer life. 
.Mr. Blount was a strong Alx)litionist and 
lived to see his principles triumph. 

Stephen Blount was twice married; 
his first wife was Content Ann Bull, of 
Dutchess county, N. Y.. who died in Bloom- 
field, near Picton, in 1843, aged forty-two. 
Of this union there were ten children : Ly- 
dia, Mrs. Sargent, of Jackson, Mich.; Mary. 
.Mrs. Thorn, of Picton. Ont. ; Jane, of West 
Superior; Patience, wife of James A. Per- 
kins, of Gaines, Mich., whose death occurred 
March 24, 1882; Abigail, Mrs. Darwood, of 
Port Arthur, Ont. ; Piioebe, Mrs. Thomas 
Blount, who died in Dubuque, Iowa, Jan. 
I, 1899; Cornelius, who enlisted in a Wis- 
consin regiment, jjarticipated in several bat- 
tles, and finally died of exposure in Nash- 
ville, Tenn.. leaving a wife and two daugh- 
ters; Josiah, now in California; Matilda, of 
West Superior; and Content Ann, who died 
at the age of eighteen months. The second 
wife of Ste])hen Blount was Parmelia Brew- 
er, who died in Iowa, Jan. 8, 1899. She left 
five children : Priscilla, who lives near Ap- 
])leton. Wis.; Caroline Euphemia; Welling- 
ton Webster; Stephen Henry; and CJuy, who 
died in infancy. 

Miss Jane Blount taught near Stock- 
bridge for a time, after the family located 
there. Looking l)ack to her early life there, 
she recalls many thrilling incidents of pio- 
neer life, such as a stage ride from Fond du 
Lac to Milwaukee, when the .stage upset. 
Miss Blount and her sister have lived suc- 
cessively in Rochester. N. Y. ; Toronto. Col- 
lingwood. Port Arthur and elsewhere in 
f^ntario; and since 1888 at W'est Superior, 
in the future development and progress of 
•which thcv lia\e the utmost confidence. 



CHESTER F. PERRIN, a successful 
hardware merchant of Ashland, is a native of 
Wisconsin, born in Depere, July 13, 1861. 
His parents, Michael and Sarah (Logan J 
Perrin, were natives of Ohio and Ireland, 
respectively. Michael Perrin was descended 
from the branch of the family which came 
to America from France during the Hugue- 
not persecutions. He was a sailor in his 
younger days, and after leaving the sea far- 
ing life, resided for a time in Chicago and 
then went to Depere, where he settled down 
to farming. He died in Oshkosh Home at 
Merellen in his fifty-third year, his wife pass- 
ing away when only twenty-five years of 
age. Mrs. Perrin's brother, Hugo Logan, 
who now li\es retired in San Francisco, w'as 
one of the first inventors of the ice machine, 
and was at one time manager for a Chicago 
packing house. 

When he was six years old, Chester F. 
Perrin was adopted by Chester Cronk, a 
farmer in the neighborhood of Depere, and 
he worked on the farm until he w^as thirteen. 
He then started on his travels, working in 
dift'erent parts of the country at various 
odd jobs, and picking up considerable knowl- 
edge of steam fitting and plumbing, and of 
electrical appliances. In 1883 he came to 
.Ashland, where he w-orked in a sawmill for 
about a year, next went to Ironwood, where 
he worked for a year and a half in various 
ways, and then returned to Ashland and 
went into the meat business with Field & 
Co. After three years he sold out his inter- 
est in this business and turned his attention 
to lumber, becoming a jobber in logs and 
ties. Two years later he bought out the 
business of a small repair shop, which he 
managed and developed so successfully that 
he now owns one of the finest hardware 
stores in Ashland. He also takes contracts 
for steam fitting, plumbing, and electrical 
work in stores and dwellings, and does a 
large business in paints, oils and Ixiat sup- 
plies. In the various lines of industry under 
his management he employs from eight to 
twenty men. 

Mr. Perrin married in May. 189;. Kate 
Meyers, of Rockland. Mich., daughter of 
Nicholas and Katherine Mevers, both of 



464 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



German birth. Mr. and Mrs. Meyers had a 
family of six children, of whom five are Hv- 
ing, Mrs. Perrin being one of the younger 
children. Air. Meyers was for many years 
connected with the mining industry of Rock- 
land, where he and his wife now live on a 
farm which he cultivates. Mr. and Mrs. Per- 
rin have one child, Hubert, now four years 
old. They are members of the Congrega- 
tional Church. Mr. Perrin is not attached to 
any political party, voting independently. 
Fraternally he is a member of the F. & A. 
M., Blue Lodge, Chapter and Knights Temp- 
lars, Ashland ; and the I. O. O. F., No. 63, 
of Ashland. 

LEANDER E. THOMAS, one -of the 
oldest settlers in Shell Lake, Washburn 
county, was born near Kokomo, Ind., Jan. 
2, 1847, son of Henley and Susan (Woody) 
Thomas. 

The Thomas family came originally 
from Wales, and the great-grandfather, 
Elijah Thomas, although a Quaker, took 
part in the Revolutionary war. His son, 
Elijah, was born in North Carolina, and in 
early life taught school for some time in 
that State. Early in the nineteenth century 
the family moved to Indiana, where Elijah 
(2) also taught school, and in 1856 they 
located at Constantine, St. Joseph Co., Mich., 
where he died at the age of ninety-six. He. 
like his father, was a Quaker in religious 
faith, and he brought up a family of twelve 
sons and two daughters. Henley Thomas, 
son of Elijah (2), was a farmer, and about 
1868, moved from Jvlichigan to Marshall 
county, Iowa, where he died in 1892, at the 
age of seventy-seven. Mrs. Susan 
(Woody)' Thomas died in Grant county, 
Ind., in 1849. Little is known of the his- 
tory of her parents, who came from Rich- 
mond, Ind. One of her brothers, Lewis 
Woody, was a school teacher, and went to 
the State of Washington ; another brother, 
Solomon, went overland to California in 
1849, but returned and settled in Richmond. 
Ind. To Henley and Susan (Woody) 
Thomas were born four sons and four 
daughters as follows: Sarah, Mrs. J. 



Coates, who dietl at Bangor, Iowa; Ada. 
Mrs. Jones, who lives in Pease, Milleslac 
Co., Minn.; William, who served in the 19th 
Mich. V. 1. during the Civil war, and died 
from the effects of injuries received in bat- 
tle; Mary Jane, who is Mrs. Jones, of Milaca, 
Milleslac county; Becky, who is the widow 
of a ]Mr. Coates, of Long Beach, Cal. ; Ro- 
bert W., of Eagle Grove, Iowa, who served 
in the 1 ith Mich. V. I., during the Civil 
war; Leander E., who is mentioned below; 
and Ledru, who died in Marshalltown, Iowa. 
By a second marriage Henley Thomas had 
one son, Henley, of Marshalltown, Iowa. 
In 1862 Leander E. Thomas left home 
and went to Taylor's Falls, Minn., where 
he engaged in lumbering on the St. Croix 
river for several years. On Sept. 18, 1864, 
he enlisted in Battery A, ist Minnesota 
Heavy Artillery, being discharged in July. 
1S65. at Nashville, Tenn. Most of his ser-" 
vice was at Chattanooga, under Gen. 
Thomas, who is supposed to have been de- 
scended from the same branch of the family. 
During Hood's campaign Mr. Thomas's 
regiment were tm" about six weeks on 
half rations; much of this time he 
was employed in guarding trains and 
steamboats. After the war he resumed 
his work of logging on the St. Croix 
river, and in 1868 made his first visit 
to Washburn county, (then a part of Bur- 
nett county), making the four days' journey 
from St. Croix Falls on foot. He then en- 
tered the employ of Smith & Clendenning. 
whose camp was located about five miles 
above the present village of Spooner on the 
Yellow river. In the spring of 1872 he took 
up a homestead claim on Bashaw creek, in 
the eastern part of Burnett county and the 
next season bought timber and logged in the 
woods, continuing this work several years. 
Early in 1880 he bought eighty acres near 
the present village of Shell Lake, where he 
lived for some years, there being no houses 
in the village at that time. Somewhat later 
he bought 120 acres of land on the shore of 
Shell Lake, wiiere he improved a farm, a 
part of which he has since sold, and in the 
autumn of 1902 he moved into Shell Lake 



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LEANDER E. THOMAS 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



465- 



village. Eor a miniljer of years he has heen 
chielly occupied in making estimates of tim- 
ber lands. In 1882 Washburn county was 
separated from Burnett county, and Mr. 
Thomas was appointed the first county treas- 
urer, and elected to that oflice for a second 
term. He also served two years as chair- 
man of the town of Shell Lake, the water 
works being built during this period. 

Mr. Thomas married in 1868 Nawada- 
kamagoqua. of the Chippewa tribe, a native 
of Washburn county. To this union have been 
born seven daughters, as follows : Josephine, 
Mrs. H. M. Larson, of Barronnett, Wis. ; 
Susie, Mrs. Jones, of Tenney, Minn. ; Ellen, 
Mrs. John Prophet, of Shell Lake; Belle, 
Rebecca, Myrtle and Esther. Mr. Thomas 
has always supported the Republican party 
in politics. Fraternally he is a charter mem- 
ber of Shell Lake Lodge, A. F. & A. M.. and 
al o of Nathaniel Greene Post, G. A. R. 

Mrs. John Prophet, third daughter 
of Mr. Thomas, attended the public schools 
at Shell Lake, and later was a student at the 
Carlisle Training School, at Carlisle, Pa., 
graduating in 189S. ]""or a year and a half 
she was employed in teaching at the Kicka- 
poo Indian School at Xetawaka, Kans. She 
attended the National Education Association 
held rt Los Angeles, Cal., in 1S99. and the 
Indiai Institute conducted in connection 
with tne association ; for two years she was 
emplo\ed as teacher of sewing in the Red 
Lake Boarding School, at Red Lake, i\Iinn. 
Mr. Prophet, who was born in Indian Terri- 
tory, of the Shawnee tribe, was educated at 
the Indi; n school at Santa Ve. New Mexico. 
He also taught in the Industrial Depart- 
ment )f the Kickapoo Indian School. Mr. 
and Mr' Prophet have two children, name- 
ly : Edn: , born in Shell Lake, and Theo- 
dore, born in Indian Territory. 

WILLIS PECK SPERRV. M. D. 
Among the successful physicians of Price 
county, the name of Willis Peck Sperry 
should take a leading place. The oldest 
practitioner in the county, and skilled equally 
in medicine and surgery, Dr. Sperry has lieen 
in a medical environment all his life, for his 
father was a physician before him. 



The ancestors of the Sperry family came 
from England in 1639, and settled in Con- 
necticut, and Di. Willis P. Sperry is in the 
seventh generation from the original emi- 
grant. . The first grant of land given to the 
family was made to extend "as far west as 
the sun shines and rain falls," and while 
these magnificent boundaries have been cur- 
tailed ere now, the original farm home is 
still owned by Sperrys. On this farm was 
located the famous "Regicides Cave," in 
which were concealed the judges who had 
condemned Charles I. During the Revo- 
lution most of the family were Tories. 

Dr. Sperry's maternal ancestors, on the 
other hand, were patriots and fought in the 
Colonial army. The Carlton family located 
in Connecticut about the same time the 
Sperrys came there. Peter, Carlton, Dr. 
Sperry's grandfather, mo\ed to the Western 
Reserve, Ohio, in 1809, and so poor were 
transportation facilities that he was obliged 
to go from Portage county, Ohio, to Cleve- 
land by way of Pittsburg. 

Dr. Willis Sjjcrry, father of our subject. 
studied medicine in the Western Reserve 
College at Cleveland. In 1852, while the 
tide of immigration was at its height to Cali- 
fornia, he went thither by way of the Nica- 
ragua route and practiced there nine years. 
Returning to Ohio he located at Tallmadge. 
and followed his profession there until his 
death in 1902, at the age of seventy-nine. 
He marriecl Hulda E. Carlton, who lived to 
be sixty-three years old, and died six vears 
before her husband. 

Willis Peck Sperry was born in 1856, 
during his parents' residence in California. 
He was sent to his father's Alma Mater, 
and was graduated from the medical depart- 
ment of the university in 1881. His first 
years as a physician were spent in .southern 
Wisconsin, and then in 1884 he went to 
Price county. The first year he passed at 
iMfield. and from there went to Phillips, 
where he has since been located and has 
Iniilt up a large practice, both general and • 
surgical. On first going to the city. Dr. 
Sperry bought a <lrug store and he still re- 
tains his interest therein. 

Dr. Sperry was married to Susan E. 



466 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Srnitli, who became liis wife in 1886. Mrs. 
Sperry is a daughter of A. D. Smith, of 
VVaupaca, Wis. To this union has come one 
son, Carlton, born in 1890. Dr. Sperry is 
a member of the Masonic fraternity, Ash- 
land Comniandery, K. T., and Milwaukee 
Consistory. He belongs to the County, the 
Wisconsin State and the Northwestern 
Medical Societies and the American Medical 
Association. 

E. G. MILLS. The Hon. Edgar G. 
Mills, for some years a prominent attorney 
and public official of Superior, was born in 
Aurora, Waushara Co., Wis., Sept. 15, i860. 
His parents were John and Margaret W. 
(Hutchinson) Mills. 

The father was a native of Wales, but 
when only eight years old accompanied a 
sister to this country, settling at Utica, N. 
Y. He remained there for a number of 
years and supported himself as a cabinet 
maker. When about thirty-five years old, 
he went to Minnesota to prospect for land 
but in less than a year was unfortunately 
killed there during the Indian uprising of 
1862. His wife, who was born in New Jer- 
sey, was the daughter of John Hutchinson, 
a Scotch machinist, while on her mother's 
.she was descended from the Freylinghuysen 
faiuily, prominent among the early settlers 
of New York State. y\fter the death of Mr. 
Mills, his widow married John J. Wood, a 
prominent citizen of Berlin, Wis. She died 
at the age of fifty-nine years. 

Edgar G. Mills was educated in the pub- 
lic schools and then began working in a gro- 
cery store in Berlin, Wis. After a year or 
two of this, he became a commercial traveler 
for a time, finally settling down to the study 
of the law for his life work. He was admit- 
ted to the Bar in 1886, at St. Cloud, Minn., 
and practiced there for several years. In 
i8go he removed to West Superior, where 
he continued his professional work and also 
soon became active in political affairs. 
From an early age he manifested a marked 
public spirit and even before reaching his 
majority joined with a few other young men 
in putting up a ticket for the city of Berlin. 



Several of their candidates were elected the 
ne.xt year and some are still filling official 
positions there. In 1S93 he was elected a 
member of the Assembly from Douglas 
county and the next year narrowly missed 
nomination for Congress. In 1898 he was 
elected to the Wisconsin Senate. He intro- 
duced the Mills Vessel Taxation Bill, a 
measure greatly benefiting the city of Su- 
])erior. During his service later, as chair- 
man of the joint committee on Appropria- 
tions, his systematic business methods great- 
ly reduced the expenses of public institu- 
tions and saved the State about a million 
dollars. In 1902 he was appointed assistant 
United States attorney by Attorney General 
Knox, his work being in Washington and 
Cuba, before the Spanish Treaty Claims 
Commission. 

In 1889 Mr. Mills married Miss Sarah 
Chadbourne, the daughter of the Hon. C. H. 
Chadbourne, of Princeton, Minn., an ex- 
member of the legislature of that State. 
Miss Chadbourne was a graduate of the St. 
Cloud Normal School and taught several 
years in Minneapolis and Duluth. There 
are two sons, Egdar C. and Reed C. The 
family are connected with the Congrega- 
tional Church. Mr. Mills is prominent in 
fraternal circles, being a member of the I. 
O. O. F., K. P. (Past Chancellor local 
lodge), and a member of Whaleback Camp, 
M.^V. A. 

LORENZO N. CLAUSEN, one of the 
most influential citizens of Washburn, Bay- 
field county, has in various ways contributed 
largely to the growth and development of 
that city, and has played a prominent part 
in lx)th the political and business life of the 
place. 

According to the family tradition, the 
Clausen family originated in Germany, but 
migrated to Norway several centuries ago. 
Claus and Christina (Nelson) Clausen came 
with their children to the United States in 
1870, and settled in Otter Tail county, Minn. 
Mr. Clausen took up a homestead claim and 
on that farm spent the remainder of his life, 
lie died in 1893. at the age of eighty-three 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



467 



Tears, and his wife in 1889, at the age of 
seventy -six. 

Lorenzo N. Chuiscn was born before his 
parents left Norway, Oct. 5, 1855, at Hen- 
nes, Helgeland, where lie attended the public 
scliool until he was iifteen. After coming 
to America he was a student at the Minneso- 
ta State Normal School at St. Cloud, and 
.afterward, with intervals at farming, 
taught ten years. Later he was postmaster 
at Dalton. Minn., and then clerk in a store 
at Fergus Falls. He was the first railway 
postal clerk on the line between \\'adejia 
and Fergus Falls, and was thus employed 
in 1884. when ill-health compelled him to re- 
sign. Removing to Washburn, then only 
a struggling frontier village, he was within 
a year of his arrival appointed town clerk, 
and re-elected regularly through a four years' 
service. In 1886 he received the appoint- 
ment of deputy collector of customs for the 
port of \\'ashburn, which position he held 
for eight years. In 1893 he was chosen to 
fill another important office, that of chairman 
of the town board of supervisors, which he 
filled one year. Always an ardent Republi- 
can, this record shows how active a part he 
has taken in local affairs and politics, though 
it is by no means cf)m])lete; in addition, he 
acted as county treasurer in 1897 and 1898: 
during ten years he has been chairman of the 
•county committee; has been delegate to sev- 
eral State conventions, and in that of 1900 
he was sup])orte(l by the "Stalwart" factioti 
in an inisuccessful candidacy for the office 
of State treasurer. 

In the business world Mr. Clausen is as 
prominent as in the political field; from 1889 
to 1894 he was cashier of the Bayfield Coun- 
ty Bank, and since giving up that line of 
work has been interested in the real estate 
business, while as an insurance agent he 
has represented a numl)er of the leading 
companies of the United States and Europe. 
Mr. Clausen was also one of the incorpora- 
tors and is now secretary of the Washburn 
Building and Loan As.sociation, which is 
one of the most .successful associations of 
the State, and which has been largely in- 
strumental in building up the city. In 



church work, too, Mr. Clausen is an active 
participant, being connected with the Con- 
gregational Church, and he has been for 
some tiine the secretary of the society. Fra- 
ternally, he belongs to the Masons, the I. O. 
O. F., and the K. P., and has filled various 
official positions in each. With activities so 
varied, Mr. Clausen's acquaintance is indeed 
wide and by all he is most highly esteemed. 
In 1889 Mr. Clausen was married to 
Miss Minnie A. Falconer, born in Paisley, 
Ont., the daughter of Thomas Falconer. 
She is the mother of one daughter, Florence. 

JOHN T. HANLEY, a prosperous 
stockman and wholesale meat dealer of Ash- 
land, is a native son of Wisconsin, having 
been born in Hudson, Feb. 16, 1864. 

.\ndrew Hanley, father, of John T., was 
of Irish birth and parentage, and came to 
the United States when a young man, set- 
tling in Ohio. For many years he was em- 
ployed on construction work on the differ- 
ent lines of railroads but has been for some 
time settled as a farmer in Rol^erts. Wis. 
I lis wife, Margaretta Reid, also a native of 
Ireland, died in 1896. Their family con- 
sisted of nine children, as follows: Ellen, 
deceased ; Mary, deceased ; Kate. Mrs. F. J. 
Clause, of Roberts, deceased ; Lucy, a 
teacher in Fountain City, Wis. ; John T. ; 
.\manda. Mrs. M. A. Cosgriff, of Emerado, 
X. I").; James A., a farmer of N. D.. and 
horse buyer for his brother, John T. : Joseph 
\\'.. a stock buyer and shipper of Roberts ; 
and Otis, a farmer of Roberts. 

John T. Hanlev received a common 
school education, which was supplemented 
by a commercial course at the St. Paul Busi- 
ness College. At the age of twenty-three 
he went into the general merchandise busi- 
ness at Lesueur, Minn., selling out his stock 
after three years, and coming to Ashland, 
Jan. 3, 1889. There he went into the hay 
.and feed business, two years later abandon- 
ing that to establish himself as a wholesale 
meat and live stock dealer. He has ever 
since devoted his iittention to this line of 
business, making a s])ecialty of buying and 
selling horses. In his sale stable, which is 75 



468 



CO:\IME-MORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



by 200 feet in dimensions, and in connection 
with which he has a cold storage plant, he 
employs six men. He also carries on a 
slaughter house in Bayfield county, in which 
he has from two to seven employes. 

Mr, Hanley married, Nov. 26, 1902, 
Florence E. Brinker, of Milwaukee, daugh- 
ter of Louis Brinker, a stockman who met 
his death in a railway accident at Rio, \\'is., 
in 1886. Mrs. Brinker still lives in her home 
in i\Iihvaukee. They had a family of four 
children, all of whom are living, Mrs. Han- 
ley being next to the youngest. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hanley are earnest members of the 
Catholic Church. Mr. Hanley is a warm 
supporter of the Democratic party. 

CHAl^LES PHILLIPS W H 1 T E. 
whose name is known throughout the coal 
handling territory of the Northwest, and 
through whose able management a great part 
of the coal shipped from the Head of the 
Lakes is distributed, was an Ohio boy, born 
at Toledo, April 16, 1864, son of Albert L. 
and Adelia S. (Angier) White, the former 
a native of Cortland, New York. 

The White family was founded in Eng- 
land, by Hugo Blanc, who accompanied 
^\'illiam the Conqueror from Normandy. As 
a reward for faithful service William 
granted him estates in Rodel, Yorkshire, 
England, where the family continued to 
dwell until the settlement of Penn's colony 
in ^America, when five brothers cast their 
fortunes with the hardy builders of the New 
World, and settled in Bucks county, Penn- 
sylvania. 

The Angier family has resided in Massa- 
chusetts for generations. Roswell P. An- 
gier, father of Mrs. Adelia S. White, moved, 
however, from New England to Toledo, 
Ohio, and in the latter city was "mine host" 
of the popular "Island House" for many 
years, where he died at an advanced age, 
highly respected l)y all who knew him. Mrs. 
Adelia S. (Angier) White died in Toledo 
in 1901, at the age of seventy, surviving her, 
husband many years, he having passed away 
when but forty years of age. Mr. and Mrs. 
White were parents of three children, name- 



ly : Charles P. ; George A., who is a prom- 
inent grain dealer in Chicago ; and Nellie 
now the wife of Roy Conklin, of Toledo, 
Ohio, inventor of the fountain pen, which 
bears his name. 

Charles P. White, the oldest of the child- 
ren, received a good education in the public 
schools of Toledo. At the age of nineteen 
he became a clerk in a grain commission 
house in Toledo, and when the company 
moved to St. Louis, he accompanied them to- 
the new location. Later he became con- 
nected with the coal department of the 
\\'heeling & Lake Erie Railroad, and was a 
clerk in the auditor's office until 1886, in 
which year he first came to Superior. He 
came here to accept a position in the office of 
the Lehigh Coal & Iron Company, and by 
close application so won the confidence of 
those in authority, that when the main docks 
were completed at West Superior, he was 
placed in the office there, remaining with the 
company eight years, in the meantime being 
appointed superintendent, and being placed 
in charge of all the company's property at 
West Superior. In 1894 he became assistant 
manager of the Youghiogheny & Lehigh 
Coal Company, and in 1899 when that con- 
cern consolidated with others, he was ap- 
pointed general superintendent of all the 
company's properties at Superior and Du- 
luth, including five docks and the North- 
western Coal Railway Company's line, in 
Douglas county, Wis. About one-third of 
the coal distributed at the Head of the Lakes 
is handled over the docks in his charge. His 
executive ability and capacity for work are 
above the average and as his calm, even tem- 
perament keeps him from becoming excited 
even under great pressure, he is apparently 
at his best when many men would be over- 
whelmed. In June, 1904, upon the forma- 
tion of the Pittburgh Coal Dock Company, 
Mr. W'hite w^as elected to the office of vice- 
president, as well as treasurer of the com- 
pany, having charge the largest group of 
docks at the Head of the Lakes. 

In 1897 Mr. White was married to Miss 
Helen S. Young, daughter of James and' 
Marv Young, of Toledo. In politics Mr. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



469 



White is a Republican, but he lias never 
been active in that line. He and his wife are 
members of the Pilgrim Congregational 
•Church. Mr. White has the coniidence and 
esteem of the coal trade of the Northwest 
and stands high in the community of which 
he is, and has been for a number of years, 
a prominent member. 

WILLIAM BLCKLEY, locomotive en- 
gineer on the Ashland division of the Wis- 
consin Central Railroad, has been a resident 
•of Ashland since 1887. His father before 
him was a railroad employe, and he has been 
•engaged in railroad work in one capacity or 
another ever since he left school. 

Timothy Bucklev, father of William, 
came from Cork, Ireland, and settled in 
Canada, where for many years he was em- 
plo3'ed as section man by the Grand Trunk 
Railway Company. He died in Canada in 
1 89 1, his wife surviving him and making her 
home with a daughter in Milwaukee. She 
was formerly Bridget Nagle, and like her 
liusband was torn in Ireland, in Tipperary 
County. They had a family of seven child- 
ren, of whom four are living, William being 
the eldest. 

William Buckley was born at Adolphus- 
town, Canada, Sept. 19, 1856. and attended 
■school there until he was sixteen. For the 
next two years he worked at farming in the 
summer and attended school in the winter. 
He then went to work for the Grand Trunk 
Railway Company as a section hand, after 
six months becoming switch tender, and at 
•the same time studying telegraphy. After 
this he was employed for ten montlis as a 
wiper in the round house, and was then pro- 
moted to the position of fireman. For 
nearly seven years he worked as a fireman, 
then came to the States and from January, 
1881, to Jime, 1887. was one of the en- 
gineers of the Grand Trunk, ruinn'ng out of 
Battle Creek, Mich. He handled freight 
trains during all of the lime ho was employed 
by the Grand 'I'runk Railway Company, and 
for a year and a half after he liad entered the 
service of the WiscnisiTi Central. He then 
received his appointment as passenger en- 



gineer, and was given the run between Ash- 
land and Abbotsford, Wis,, which he still 
holds. 

On Feb. 9, 1887, Mr. Buckley was mar- 
ried to Anna P. Riley, of Milwaukee, who 
died March 4, 1900. To this union were 
born the following children : Eugene F., 
Herbert L., Lester E. and Joseph L., all of 
whom are at home and attending school. 
Mr. Buckley owns his home in Ashland and 
has other real estate in the city. He is a 
Democrat and served his party as alderman 
during 1896 and 1897. He is a member of 
the B. L. E., Division No. 379, of Ashland; 
B. L. F., No. 259, of Ashland; the Elks, 
No. 558, of Ashland; and the Catholic 
Order of Foresters, No. 425, of Ashland. 

PATRICK HENRY IMEADE. a suc- 
cessful lumberman, has been a resident of 
Hurley, Iron Co., Wis., since 1890. His 
father, John Meade, was born in Ireland and 
when six years of age came with his parents 
to the United States. They settled at Lead- 
mine, Wis., and when he was sixteen John 
left home, going to Missouri and other 
States, where he was principally engaged in 
mining. He then located at Ontonagon, 
Mich., living there for forty years. He is 
now living in Montreal, Wis., where he 
carries on a grocery store. He married 
Susan Hurley, also a native of Ireland, and 
they had a family of nine chiUlren. of whom 
Patrick Henry is the eldest. 

Patrick Ffenry Meade was born in On- 
tonagon, Mich., Aug. 21, 1861. and attended 
the public schools in his native town until 
he was fourteen years old. After leaving 
school he. worked with his father for ten 
years and then for another five years was 
employed in various ways, mostly in the 
lumber woods, until coming to Hurley. He 
arrived there in 1890 and immediately went 
into the lumber business, wln'ch occupation 
he has ever since followed with flattering 
success. 

Mr. Meade married, July 14, 1889, Mag- 
gie Kerwick, of Ontonagon, Mich., daugh- 
ter of John Kerwick, a native of Ireland. 
Mr. Kerwick has all his life fnllowed the 



470 



CO-M.MEMORATIXE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



occupation of a miner and is at present liv- 
ing in Ontonagon. His wife died in 1S67. 
To ^Ir. and Mrs. JNIeade have been born two 
children, ^^largaretta M., aged nine: and 
Anna, deceased. The family are members of 
the Catholic Church. Mr. J^leade is a Demo- 
crat in politics and in 1894 was the can- 
didate of that party for sheriff of Iron coun- 
ty. Although defeated it was only by eighty 
votes, and he ran 800 ahead of his ticket. 
He is a member of the Catholic Knights.of 
\\'isconsin. No. 274, Hurley, of the Ancient 
Order of Hibernians, and of the Knights of 
Columbus. 

CHARLES E. GREGORY, for some 
time a prosperous and public-spirited citizen 
of Shell Lake, was Ixirn in Lockport, X. Y.. 
March 15, 1865. His parents were Henry 
Edson and Mary Ellen (Seaver) Gregory, 
both natives of New York State. 

The paternal ancestors of Henry Edson 
Gregory came from Scotland before the 
Revolutionary war. The grandmother was 
a native of Ireland. Almon Gregory, father 
of Henry Edson, was a successful farmer, 
who passed his life in Lockport. Henry 
Edson Gregory moved to La Porte county, 
Ind., in 1873 and there passed the remainder 
of his life on a farm, dying in May, 1902, at 
the age of sixty-nine. Mrs. Alary Ellen 
(Seaver) Gregory, at the age of sixty-seven, 
is still living on the farm in La Porte county. 
Her parents passed away in New York State. 

Charles E, Gregory attended the public 
schools in La Porte county and when twenty- 
one years of age went to Green Bay, Wis. 
There he was employed in the machine shop 
of a sawmill, and studied engineering under 
D. W. Lanigan, now chief engineer of the 
Twenty-second street station of the Chicago 
water works. After two years at Green 
Bay with Mr. Lanigan, Mr. Gregory came 
with him to Shell Lake, where spent three 
more years under his instruction. \Vhen 
Mr. Lanigan retired in 1890. Mr. Gregory 
succeeded him as master mechanic of the 
Shell Lake Lumber Co. He has invested 
to some extent in Washburn county lands, 
includinsr an undivided half interest in a mile 



of lake shore property, destineil to become 
very valuable. After the Shell Lake Lumber 
Co. ceased to exist, in Eebruary, 1904, Air. 
Gregory accepted the position of master me- 
chanic of the Nebagamon Lumber Co. and 
has since resided at Lake Nebagamon. 

In 1889 Mr. Gregory was married to 
Emma E. Galbreth, daughter of John ami 
Rosetta Galbreth, of La Porte county, Ind. 
Mrs. Gregory and her father were both na- 
tives of La Porte county, the latter of Scotch 
tlescent. Ixnir chiklren have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Gregory, as follows: Robert 
Luscombe : Ethel May ; Kittie Evelyn : and 
Charles lulson, deceased. The family is 
connected with the Methodist Church, of 
which Mr. Gregory is a trustee, and also 
president of the Epworth League. Fraternally 
lie is a member of Shell Lake Lodge, No. 
221, A. F. & A. AI. : of Pokegama chapter. 
R. A. M. at Rice Lake, Wis."; and of Shell 
Lake Lodge, I. O. O. F. For many years 
Mr. Gregory was a Democrat in pohtics, 
but for some time past has supported the 
Republican party. He was one of the chief 
promoters for the project for the erection 
of the present county jail, one of the most 
substantial buildings in the city, which was 
built during his term as chairman of the 
county board of supervisors. In 1897 he 
became chairman of the town of Shell Lake 
and continued so until he left the town. 

ARAD FREEMOXT NICHOLS, a 
successful busine.s5 man and highly esteemed 
citizen of Hayward, Sawyer Co., \\'is., was 
born June 25, 1853, at Shinglehouse. Pot- 
ter Co., Pa. His parents, Benjamin Frank- 
lin and Samantha (Jones') Nichols, were 
natives, respectively, of New ^'ork State and 
\'ermont. 

Benjamin Nichols, father of Benjamin 
I'ranklin, settled in PennsyKanitt about 
1840: he was a farmer and lived to be over 
eighty years old. His son. Benjamin I-'rank- 
lin, who was born at Bninbridge, Ciienango 
Co.. N. Y., in 1819, went when a young man 
to Potter comity. Pa., building near Shingle- 
house two sawmills, both of which he oper- 
ated. Later he became interested in a saw- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRArHICAL RECORD 



471 



mill and lumber yards at Cincinnati, Ohio, 
and is now living in retirement at Shingle- 
house, in the enjoyment of vigorous health. 
Mr. Nichols has been a Republican from the 
birth of that party, has filled local positions 
of trust and is a respected and infiuential 
citizen. Mrs. Samantha (Jones) Xicliols 
passed away in 1900, at the age of seventy- 
nine. Her father, Anthony Jones, who was 
of Welsh descent, was a veteran of the Revo- 
lutionary war. His widow, Catherine (Stev- 
ens) Jones, survived him many years, dying 
at Siiinglehouse, when ninety-five years of 
age. Eive ciiildren were born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Nichols, as follows : Sobiska, deceased 
in childhood ; Roscoe N., of Little Falls, 
Minn. ; W'illard Alonzo, of Shinglehouse, 
Pa. ; Arad I'Veemont, mentioned below ; and 
Frank A., of Shinglehouse. 

Arad Freemont Nichols was educated 
in the public schools of his native town and 
took a course in Nelson's Business College 
at Cincinnati. When he was twenty years old 
he went to Port Arthur, Ontario, where he 
spent two years as bookkeeper for the owners 
of a silver mine. Returning to Pennsyl- 
vania, he was occupied for two or three years 
in stores at Ri.xford and Eldred. and in 1S83 
went to Rice Lake, Wis., where for two 
years he was employed as bookkeeper for 
Knapp, Stout & Co., a lumber firm. From 
there he came to Hayward, entering the 
employ of the Northern Wisconsin Lumber 
Co., as sln'i)])ing Clerk; after a year he went 
into the main office of the firm, with which 
he remained ten years. On the death of his 
brother-in-law, Charles F. Hall, in Septem- 
ber, 1895, Mr. Nichols became a partner in 
the firm of Hall, Linden & Co.. hardware 
dealers, and gave his chief attention to the 
indoor management of tiiis business. The 
firm, which had the only exclusive hardware 
establishment in Hayward, carried a large 
stock of hardware, tinware, etc., as well 
as agricultural im])lcmcnts. Nov. i, 1903, 
the firm of Hall, Linden & Co. was combined 
with that of A. W. & J. S. McCcortrc. un !er 
the name of the New Store Co. This con- 
cern has erected a large two-stf)ry double 
brick builfling. which is almost cntirelv oc- 



cupied by the immense stock of general mer- 
chandise, one of the largest stocks in north- 
ern Wisconsin. 

Mr. .Nichols is a stockholder in the Hay- 
ward Building Association and was one of 
the incorporators of the Otld Fellows' Build- 
ing Association, each of which built a fine 
business block ; he was one of the incorpora- 
tors of each of these associations, and is at 
present secretary and treasurer of the former. 
He is also secretary of the Republican county 
committee, and though never a candidate 
for office, takes a keen interest in all pub- 
lic affairs. 

In March, 1893, Mr. Nichols was mar- 
ried to Mary McGeorge, who was born at 
St. Steven, New Brunswick, daughter of 
Peter and Eleanor (Kelly) McGeorge. Mrs. 
Nichols is a member of the Congregational 
Church. Fraternally Mr. Nichols belongs 
to the L O. O. F. ; is a charter member of 
Keystone Lodge, F. & A. M. ; a member of 
Pokegama Chapter, R. A. M., at Rice Lake; 
and of the K. of P., and M. W. A. 

CHARLES PETERSON is the princi- 
pal merchant of Poplar, Douglas county, 
where he has resided since 1896. He is a 
native of Sweden, having been born in West- 
manland, Nov. 4. 1863. his father, Peter 
Erickson, and his mother being also nati\es 
of that country. 

In i886Charles Peterson and his brother- 
in-law, Eric Peterson, immigrated to Ameri- 
ca, sailing from Gottenburg, and landing at 
New York City. They cafne first to the iron 
region of Michigan, where Mr. Peterson was 
employed in the mines for five years. In 
1 89 1 he .came to Douglas county, his first 
place of residence being West Superior, 
where he soon established himself in a con- 
fectionery business which he carried on sev- 
eral years. He came to I\)plar in 1896, be- 
ing employed at first by a West Superior 
firm, .'\fter a time he purchased nine acres 
of land, on which he erected a residence 
and store, where he has since carried on a 
general mercantile business, the principal 
establishment of the kind in Poplar. 

Mr. Peter';! n i< nn .-M-dont Rc!>iilili(-i!> 



47- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



and takes an active interest in local politics, 
having filled a number of ofiices. He was 
elected supervisor of Brule township in 1898, 
and re-elected the following year; in 1902 
lie was elected secretary of the school board 
of the township for one year. Fraternally 
he belongs to the Al. W. A., Brule Lodge, 
No. I. He is an earnest member of the 
Mission Church, with which he has 1)een 
connected for nine years. 

CLEOPHAS JOHN MORISSET, 
while a native born American citizen, is 
yet from one of the many French Canadian 
families, who have immigrated to our coun- 
try. He was born in Ontonagon, Mich., 
during a brief residence there of the family, 
•but his parents. Louis and Philomena 
( Blais) Morisset. were both natives of 
Quebec. 

The first ancestor of the Morissets in 
America was the great-grandfather of Cleo- 
phas J., who came from France, bought and 
cleared a farm in the province of Quebec, 
and settled down there for the rest of his 
life. His son, John, married Catherine 
Metivier, and lived to a good old age on his 
farm in Quebec. Louis Morisset, son of 
John, and the father of Cleophas J., was 
born there on the home farm, June 15, 1821. 
He learned the carpenter's trade, and in 1855 
came to Superior, among the earliest settlers, 
and followed his trade there, getting out 
shingles and staves by hand. His first house, 
built of hewn logs, was put up near the 
mouth of the Nemadji river, at what is now 
Second street and Robertson avenue. There 
he lived for many years and in the early days 
kept boarders, being, like so many of the 
Frenchmen, an expert cook. As building 
was slack at times, he was glad to turn his 
hand to any employment. A Democrat in 
])olitics, Mr. Morisset served two years as 
supervisor. In his religious belief a Catholic, 
he helped to organize the first Catholic 
Church at Superior. His death occurred 
in that city Oct. 16. 1878. Of the t6o acres 
of land which he preempted in what was 
later the city limits, a portion is still owned 
bv liis heirs. 



]\Irs. Philomena Morisset, who is still 
living, was born near Quebec, Aug. 2, 1837. 
She was a daughter of Francois Blais and 
Marie Fortier, natives of the same locality. 
The former was a farmer and carpenter, 
who spent his whole life in Canada. Mrs. 
Morisset was married at Quebec, May 12, 
1857, and arrived in Superior with her hus- 
about three weeks later on the steamer 
"North Star," from Detroit. Of her child- 
ren, eight are still living, as follows : Louis, 
of Skaguay, Alaska ; Elsie, residing in Pine 
City, Minn. ; Cleophas J. ; Nicholas, a resi- 
dent of Pine City ; Joseph, \vho lives at New- 
berry, Mich. ; Rosa and Georgiana, twins. 
the latter the wife of Joseph Chauimard, 
of Superior; and George, of Hibbing. Min- 
nesota. 

Cleophas J. Morisset was born July 26, 
1862, and when two years old was taken by 
his parents to Superior, where he has lived 
ever since. He attended the public schools 
during his boyhood and then learned the 
carpenter's trade. For some years past he 
has been engaged in contracting and has put 
up many buildings, employing a number of 
men. He is also largely interested in copper 
lands in Douglas and Washburn counties. 

Mr. Morisset is a member of the Catholic 
Church in Superior, which his father helpetl 
to organize. Politically he is a Democrat 
and, though the ward in which he lives 
is strongly Republican, he is now serving 
his fifth term as alderman. This is due not 
only to his personal popularity, but to the 
fact that his views on public questions are 
always conservative and his fellow-citizens 
feel the greatest confidence in him. 

BENJAMIN F. BR AI NERD, post- 
master at Murry, Wis., is one of the few re- 
maining pioneer settlers of Chippewa and 
Rusk counties, having made his ad\ent into 
Chippewa Falls in April, 1857. 

Mr. Brainerd was born Dec. 16. 1835, 
in Franklin county, Elaine, son of William 
Brainerd. His education was obtained in 
the district schools, and he remained in 
Franklin county until 1855. when he went 
west to Minnesota, going by way of Chi- 



CO-MMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



473 



cago and Dubuque, at whicli lime llie latter 
place was the remotest western railroad 
point. The country was unsettled between 
Dubuque and St. Paul and Minneapolis, the 
latter magnificent city then being but a small 
village. He remained one year in St. Paul, 
and then went to lumbering in the woods 
I >n the west shores of Rum river, for a year. 
In 1857 he settled in Chippewa county. Wis., 
fourteen miles north of Chippewa h^dls, 
which place was then composed of a few 
cabins and a sawmill, the latter being under 
the operation of H. S. Allen, the pioneer 
settler. There was tnie small store in the 
place which was managed by Ered Bussey 
and James A. Taylor, but no ])ostoffice, the 
mail being sent on boats fnmi Reed's 
Landing. 

Mr. Brainerd pre-empted 220 acres of 
land, upon which he built a cabin out of 
poplar logs, paying five dollars a day for a 
team to do the hauling from Eau Claire. 
He was accompanied by his brother James, 
who also pre-empted land, and the settlers 
were William Taylor, Thomas Cunningham 
and Alexander Boyer, the latter having set- 
tled there in the previous year. The locality 
was a prairie of considerable extent, and 
was known as Bloomer prairie. A few set- 
tlers had located on I'Lagle Prairie, this be- 
ing the first settlement in Chippewa county. 

Mr. Brainerd made his place his perma- 
nent home, residing on it until the breaking 
out of the Civil War, when, in 1863, he en- 
listed in Company G, 21st Wis. V. L, and his 
service continued until the close of the war. 
His regiment was a part of the army of Gen- 
eral Sherman, and his company joined the 
same at Chattanooga, later participating in 
all of the battles of the subsequent campaign 
leading to Atlanta. Mr. Brainerd Ijelonged 
to that valiant band which survived fire for 
100 days, and he tonk part in all the en- 
'gagements around Atlanta. His regiment 
was a part of the victf)rious army that 
reached the Sea, and he was also at Jones- 
boro Station, in the battles of Bentonville 
and Averysboro, and he marched on to 
AV'ashington for tiie memorable Grand Re- 
view, and was honorably discharged at Mad- 
ison in 18^)5. During this long term of 



service, ^Ir. Brainerd had many narrow es- 
capes ; on one occasion, at Kenesaw Moun- 
tain, his tent was shot from over him and 
carried entirely away. He however, escaped 
serious injury, although many months went 
by before before he had entirely recovered 
from the strain of exposure and long march- 
ing. 

Returning to Chippewa county, he re- 
sumed farming on his own property until 
twenty-three years r.go, when he moved to 
wkat is now known as Oak Grove, where 
he opened a store, kept a hotel, was ap- 
pointed postmaster, and was the leading man 
of affairs in this locality; but thirteen years 
ago he came to Murry. While living in 
Chippewa county he served in a number of 
official positions, was postmaster of Emmet, 
town clerk, treasurer and county chairman. 
He served as postmaster for twenty-two con- 
secutive terms before coming to Murry, 
where he has also officiated. Since coming 
here. Mr. Brainerd has carried on extensive 
farming and large operations in stockraising 
and lumbering. He is conducting a hostelry 
also, on the Chippewa river, some twelve 
miles north of Bruce. 

Mr. Brainerd has always voted with the 
Republican party, and cast his first ])resi- 
dential vote for Gen. John C. Eremont in 
1856. He has always been prominent in 
party affairs, and has many times been a 
delegate to the conventions. While residing 
at Oak Grove he was chairman in the town 
of Big Bend, which included all the country 
in Rusk county west of the Chippewa river, 
and he serveil also as township clerk and 
treasurer. 

In September, 1865, Mr. Brainerd was 
married to Miss Josephine Lane, and they 
have had a family of ten children. Mrs. 
Brainerd is a lady of great executive ability 
and has been \ery prominent in the work of 
the Woman's Relief Corps. Fraternally Mr. 
Brainerd has membership in E. A. Coburn 
Post. No. 62. G. A. R. He has a wide 
acquaintance with the people of Chippewa 
and Rusk counties, for forty-seven years 
being prominently i(lentifiie<l with the social 
and business interests of the Chippewa Val- 
ley country. 



474 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



RONALD JOHN MacLEOD. The 
sturdy blood of Scotland flows in the veins 
of some of the most substantial and reliable 
citizens of this great country. Among those 
of Scottish birth now residing in Duluth is 
Ronald John MacLeod, the successful build- 
ing contractor and honored citizen, residing 
in the beautiful suburb of Glen Avon. He 
was born in Stornoway, Scotland, in Sep- 
tember, 1859, son of Roderick and Jane 
(McRae) MacLeod. The MacLeod clan has 
lived on the isle of Skye for 900 years and 
more. A number of the members of the 
family have been ministers in the Presby- 
terian Church, including three successive 
generations named Norman MacLeod. 

Roderick MacLeod was a son of Ronald 
and a grandson of Norman MacLeod, both 
farmers on the Isle of Skye. After living 
nine years in Canada he came to the United 
States in 1882, and has here followed his 
trade of builder, erecting a number of the 
buildings in Duluth, where he now resides, 
at the age of eighty-five years. He married 
Jane McRae, who was born in Kintail. 
Scotland, Qf a family that long had their 
home on the borderland between England 
and Scotland. To Roderick and Jane Mac- 
Leod eight children were born : Julia, who 
married \V. L. MacLeman ; Alexander, who 
died in British Columbia in 1888. aged 
thirty-seven years ; Mary, w'ho became the 
wife of N. Smith; Margaret; Jane; Ronald 
John; Joliii. of Minneapolis; Christina, wife 
of T. Gibson. All of tb.e surviving children 
except John live in Duluth. 

Ronald J. MacLeod left home in iSj.v 
and in company with his parents came to 
America, locating in Kincardine, Ontario, 
where he attended the public schools, and 
later under his father's capable instruction, 
became proficient in the building and con- 
tracting business. In 1880 he came to Du- 
luth and engaged as a contractor, erecting 
many of the residences and places of busi- 
ness in the growing city and in West Su- 
perior. He has also been successful in 
bridge building, on the Duluth, Missnbe & 
Northern, and the Duluth and Iron Range 
Railroads. For a number of years the firm 



engaged in business under the name of },lac- 
Leod & Wilson, later became MacLeod. 
Campbell & Smith, and since March, 1900, 
it has been MacLeod & Smith. The mem- 
bers of the firm are connected with the 
Builders' Exchange, of Duluth, and are 
recognized as reliable and trustworthy men 
who faithfully fulfill their promises. 

In 1887 Mr. ]\IacLeod was married td 
Miss Arcena Nelson, w'no was born in 
Thisted, Denmark, daughter of Andrew and 
Margaret Nelson. Four children have been 
born of this union, Jane, Alexander. 
Roderick and Flora. The family are all 
members of the Glen Avon Presbyterian 
Church, of which Mr. MacLeod has long- 
been a trustee. He is a charter member of 
Duluth Casting Club, and is an enthusiastic 
angler. His pleasant manner and genial wit 
make him a happy companion and he is very 
popular socially. Fraternally he belongs to 
the Knights of Pythias. 

J. W. TARTER. M. D. The life of a 
physician is always an interesting as well as 
a useful one, though to outward seeming 
common-place, and to a man whose whole 
nature is absorbed in his chosen profession, 
life must ever be full of the keenest in- 
terest. Among the younger practitioners, 
rapidly winning a leading place, is Dr. J. W. 
Tarter. He was born in Rural Retreat, \'a.. 
May 31, 1871, a son of Ephraim A. and 1''.. 
Jane (Hounshell) Tarter, both natives of 
that place. 

The families on both sides are of Penn- 
sylvania German descent, and have been resi- 
dents of Virginia for three generations. E. 
A. Tarter, with the loyalty of a true South- 
erner, enlisted when only sixteen, in a Con- 
federate regiment, formed in Virginia, and 
served two years. His occupation was that 
of a farmer and stock raiser. He was the 
father of eight children, six of whom are 
living. He himself died Aug. 24, 1885, at 
the early age of forty-one years and six 
months. 

J. W. Tarter was brought up on his 
father's farm, but contrary to the lot of so^ 
many farmers' sons, attended school steadily 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



475 



and received a fair education. Beginning at 
his home school lie entered an academy in his 
native town when he was eighteen, spent 
another year at Asbury Academy, and two 
years at Roanoke College, Salem, Va. This 
completed his strictly literary education, but 
that was merely the foundation for his medi- 
cal studies. The first year of his profes- 
sional reading was done with Dr. \Villiam 
R. Straw, deceased, and then in the fall of 
1892 he entered the College of Physicians 
and Surgeons in Baltimore, from which he 
was graduated in April, 1895. After pass- 
ing the examinations of the Virginia State 
Medical Board, which admitted him to prac- 
tice, he located at Crocketts, Va., where he 
spent his first year as a medical practitioner. 
Deciding that the West offered a better 
chance for an earnest and ambitious young 
physician, he went to Ashland, Wis., in July, 
1896. but after looking over the territory 
Iron River appeared to be the more promis- 
ing location, and he settled there perma- 
nently. The doctor has devoted himself 
assiduously to his practice, and his profes- 
sional skill and pleasing address have enabled 
him to build up a large practice extending 
over a considerable area of the country. 

Dr. Tarter was married Aug. 31, 1898, 
to Miss Ivis H. Peterson, a native of Winne- 
conne, Winnebago Co., Wis., before her 
marriage a teacher in the public schools of 
Iron River. They have two children ; a 
daughter, Virginia, and a son, George. 

A man of social nature. Dr. Tarter is a 
member of several organizations; he is a 
Mason, Mt. Airy Lodge, No. 226, Rural 
Retreat, Va., and is also a member of the 
M. W. of A. The doctor and his wife are 
both iflentified with the United Order of 
Foresters, are popular socially and have 
many warm friends. 

FREDERICK P. ROLFE, who fills a 
responsible position with the Nebagamon 
Lumber Company, has been connected with 
the lumber trade almost from the beginning 
of his business career, and has gained an ex- 
perience and knowledge of the subject that 
make him a valuable man for his present 
position. 



The Rolfe family is supposed to be de- 
scended from "Rolf the Gauger," the famous 
Danish leader who invaded Britain in the 
Middle Ages, and some of whose posterity 
settled there. 

Putnam Rolfe, the father of Frederick 
P., was born in Oakhill. New Brunswick, 
but removed when a young man to Princeton, 
INIaine, and kept the "Princeton House" for 
a number of years. Later he became quite 
extensively interested in lumber and built 
and operated a sawmill. He amassed con- 
siderable property, but during the panic of 
1873, owing to endorsements for friends, he 
met with severe losses, from which he never 
recovered. He was a prominent man in 
many ways, one of the promoters of the St. 
Croix and Penobscot Railroad, the first one 
built in eastern Maine, and he served in both 
houses of the Legislature. A Republican in 
his politics, he was postmaster at Princeton 
for many years, and was in every way an 
influential citizen. He died July 7, 1878, 
aged sixty-seven years. 

The wife of Putnam Rolfe was Rosanna 
Hilton, born in Bridgton, Cumberland Co.. 
Maine, the daughter of Charles and Mary 
Hilton, both natives of the State; the former 
was a farmer and lived to be eighty-seven 
while his wife reached the age of eighty- 
three years. Mrs. Putnam Rolfe died July 
20, 1872, aged fifty-three. She w-as the 
mother of two sons and three daughters, 
namely: Mary Emma, Mrs. William P. 
Plaisted, wlio died at Princeton, Dec. 
7, 1879, leaving one daughter: Charles 
Alonzo, a merchant at Princeton ; two 
(laughters, who died in childhood ; and 
Frederick P. 

Frederick P. Rolfe was born in Prince- 
ton, Wa.shington Co., Maine. June 28, i860. 
He was ed.ucated in the public schools of his 
native town and later took a course at the 
Eastman Business College at Poughkeep- 
sie. N. Y. Returning home, he was em- 
ployed in the general store which his father 
kept, until 1881, when he went to Chippewa 
Falls, Wis., and secured a position as log 
scaler with the Weyerhauser Syndicate. He 
remained w'ith that company till 1898, scal- 
ing in winter and occupied with office work 



4/6 



CO.M-MEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



in summer. In that year tlie Nebagamon 
Lumber Company began operations and Mr. 
Rolfe was employed as sliipping clerk and 
had charge of all shipments over the Haw- 
thorne, Nebagamon and Superior Railway. 
During the winter of 1901-02, Mr. Rolte 
was interested also on his own account in cut- 
ting cedar in Northern Wisconsin for west- 
ern markets. 

On April i, 18S9, Mr. Rolfe was united 
in marriage with Miss Marie Louise De 
Peloquin, of Chippewa Falls. Her father, 
Oliver De Peloquin, a Canadian by birth, 
was an early settler at Chippewa Falls, 
where his father, Clemt De Peloquin, spent 
his last years. The family was usually known 
there by the name of Felix. Mrs. Rolfe's 
mother was before marriage Julia Bellan- 
ger, daughter of Peter Bellanger. who built 
the first house on the south side of the river- 
at Chippewa Falls. To b'rederick P. and 
Marie Louise Rolfe have come three chil- 
dren: Mary Lorena, who died Dec. 31. 
1895, aged six years; Vera Cecelia: and 
Charles Hilton. Mrs. Rolfe is a coninnnii- 
cant of the Catholic Church. 

Mr. Rolfe belongs to the Masonic fra- 
ternity and the 'M. W. A., taking an active 
interest in the work of both orders. While 
always a Republican in principle, he takes 
no personal part in politics. In 1879 Mr. 
Rolfe built a new house on the shore of Lake 
Nebagamon, which commands a magnifi- 
cent view and is one of the finest houses near 
the lake. 

WILLIAM HENRY LUCIA is the 
leading grocer of Hurley. Iron county, 
where he has been a resident for the last 
dozen years. He is a native of Wiscon- 
sin, born in Brown county, Sept. 17, i860. 
His parents, Charles J. and Caroline (Cook) 
Lucia, were both natives of New York 
State. C. J. Lucia remained at home on his 
father's farm until he was twenty-one. when 
he moved to Brown county, Wis. There 
he went to farming and also engaged in the 
lumber business. He had a family of six 
children, as follows: Irvan J., a lumber- 
man at Hurley; W. II. ; Etta, wife of Law- 
rence Head, a mill man at .\shland; Anna. 



wife of Frank Dunham, of Dodge Center, 
Minn. : Charles and George, living on the 
home farm with their father. The mother 
died in November, 1899. 

William H. Lucia attended the public 
schools of Brown county as a boy, and then 
worked at farming and in the lumber woods 
until he was twenty-one. In 1886 he went 
to the lumber region of Northern Wiscon- 
sin, and of Michigan, where he was em- 
ployed for a time, after which he went into 
the grocery business at Black River, Mich. 
He remained there until the winter of 1888, 
which he spent on the home farm. The fol- 
lowing spring he came to Hurley, where he 
was associated in the grocery business with 
M. Forslund & Co. until 1890, when the 
firm was dissolved. The business was then 
carried on by H. W. Darrow and W. H. 
Lucia, until 1899, when Mr. Darrow left the 
firm and the business has since been con- 
ducted solely by Mr. Lucia. He carries a 
large and well selected line of groceries, 
crockery, etc., and employs five clerks and 
delivery men. 

Mr. Lucia married, June _>6, 1882, Sarah 
Allen, daughter of John and Kate Allen, 
who were nati\es of Ireland. They first 
settled in Canada on coming to this country, 
later moving to Pittsfield, Brown Co.. Wis., 
where they make their home at present. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Lucia have been born three 
children, as follows : Elsie, deceased in in- 
fancy ; William A. and John A. aged re- 
sj)ectively twelve and ten years, and both 
attending school. Mr. Lucia is a Repub- 
lican in politics, and has filled several elective 
offices. He was chairman of the town in 
1887 and 1888, and chairman of the county 
board in 1888 and 1903. He also served 
as county treasurer in 1899 ^"^ 1900. and 
as sheriff from 1901 to 1903. He is a Ma- 
son, a member of Blue Lodge No. 237, of 
Hurley; and of Ashland Chapter, No. 58. 
He is a charter member of the K. of P., No. 
88, of Hurley, and also belongs to the Uni- 
fomi Rank, No. 24. 

O. K. OUEARY, an enterprising real 
estate dealer of Medford. Taylor county, 
has made this countrv his home for some 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



477 



time, but passed the first thirty years of his 
hfe in his native land, Norway, where he was 
born in Christiania, Dec. ii, 1857, and 
wliere his parents still live. 

Mr. Queary was educated in Christiania, 
and carried his studies to an advanced point 
where he was given the degree of Examen 
Artium, corresponding to our degree of 
Bachelor of Arts. Entering the Norwegian 
army, he served sixteen years, and was pro- 
moted to the rank of lieutenant. 

In 1889 Mr. Queary came to America, 
spent a short time in Philadelphia and Chi- 
cago, and then went to Phillips, Wis., where 
he established himself as a dealer in real 
estate, and also compiled maps and town 
plats. Seven years later he located at Med- 
ford, and has continued his previous occu- 
pation there. He does a flourishing busi- 
ness, dealing largely in timber lands, al- 
though much other property passes through 
his hands also. Mr. Queary compiled maps 
of many counties and towns, of Phillips and 
Medford, and a large scale wall map of Tay- 
lor county, together with a pocket atlas of 
the last. AH his maps are drafted with a 
pen, and are done with remarkable skill, 
while he has also devised and patented some 
admirable drafting tools. 

Mr. Queary devotes his attention almost 
exclusively to professional and business af- 
fairs. He has no political affiliation what- 
ever, but since becoming a citizen of the 
United States, has voted always for issues 
rather than party. The only office he has 
filled was that of under sheriff of Price 
county, in which capacity he served for one 
term. 

THOMAS D. AKMITAGE, a faithful 
employe of the Northern Pacific Railway 
Co., at Superior, Douglas county, comes of 
English parentage, having been l)orn in 
Yorkshire, England, Dec. i, 1854, a son of 
George and Harriet (Braithwaite) Armit- 
age. 

George Armitage was a native of Hull. 
England, where his father. Fred .Armitage. 
was a ship carpenter; he brought his familv 
to America in 1867, locating at Hamilton. 



Ontario, where he followed the carpenter's 
trade. His death occurred in Detroit, Mich., 
in 18O8, when he was only thirty-eight 
years of- age; his wife, formerly Harriet 
Braithwaite, was born in 1832, in Bolton, 
England, where her ancestors had lived for 
many generations, and she now lives at 
Hamilton, Ontario. She became the mother 
of one son and two daughters : Thomas D. ; 
Mary Eliza, now Mrs. Harris; and Alma, 
now' Mrs. England, both of whom live in 
Hamilton. 

The early life of Thomas D. Armitage 
was mostly spent in Hamilton, where he 
learned the machinist's trade in a sewing 
machine factory, in which he remained for 
eighteen years. Three years more w-ere 
spent in a sewing machine factory in Spring- 
field, Ohio, and in 1891 he came to Duluth, 
where for two years he was a street car 
conductor. Mr. Armitage then entered the 
employ of the Northern Pacific Railway 
Co., as foreman of the round house at Su- 
perior, a position he still holds. 

Mr. Armitage married in 1877 Emma 
Gillespie, of Hamilton, Ont., daughter of 
Samuel and Ellen Gillespie, the former of 
whom is now living in Duluth, at the age 
of eighty. Five children have been born to 
Mr. and Mrs. Armitage. as follows: Percy, 
who served through the Cuban war in Com- 
pany I. 3rd \V. V. I., and is now in the em- 
ploy of the Northern Pacific Railway Co. : 
Ernest; George; Maude, who is a stenog- 
rapher and is employed in Duluth; and 
Eleanor. The family are attendants of the 
Methodist Church. Mr. Armitage is, fra- 
ternally, a member of the I. O. O. F. He is 
a Republican in principle, but has never 
been an active politician. He has built a 
comfortable home in Superior, where he has 
established a reputation for great industry 
and integrity of character. 

OTTO C. P.AEUMLE is one of the 
partners in the Ashland Bottling Works, 
which he helped tii establish. He was born 
in Milwaukee Feb. 27, 1865, of German 
parents, Leopf)ld and Rose (Bier) Baeumle. 
Leopold Baeumle was for many years a res- 



478 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ident of Milwaukee, wliere he followed the 
trade of carpenter until his death in 1893. 
His wife survived him only a year, dying in 
iSIilwaukee in 1894. They had a family of 
six children, as follows : Leopold, a priest 
of the Roman Catholic church, rector of St. 
Francis' church in Milwaukee; John, a ma- 
chinist in Milwaukee; Charles, a miner in 
Warren, Idaho; Otto C; Rose, Mrs. Fred- 
erick Boheim; and Benjamin, a cigar man- 
ufacturer of Milwaukee. 

The early education of Otto C. Baeumle 
was obtained in St. Joseph's parochial 
.school, Milwaukee, after leaving which he 
worked for three years as a book binder. 
He then went to Jacksonville, Oregon, work- 
ing in the mines there for a year, and then 
going to Spokane Falls, Wash., in the in- 
terests of the Milwaukee Bottling NVorks, 
by which concern he was employed for five 
years. After this he was in the same 
business for a year at Moscow, Idaho, and 
for four years longer at Albany, Oregon. 
In 1895 he came to Ashland, where in com- 
pany with his brother-in-law, Frederick Bo- 
lieim, he organized the Ashland Bottling 
Works, which they have ever since con- 
ducted. 

On June 24, 1902, Mr. Baeumle married 
Anna Kohout, of Ashland, daughter of Vi- 
tos and Marie Kohout, both natives of Bo- 
hemia. Mr. Kohout was a locksmith by 
trade and died in 1895. His wife is at pres- 
ent living in Ashland. Seven of their eight 
children are still living, i\lrs. Baeumle being 
the third eldest. Mr. Baeumle is a member 
of the Catholic Order of Foresters at Ash- 
land. 

GEORGE CHAPMAN WATSON, su- 
perintendent of the Lake Superior Bag Co., 
at West Superior, Douglas county, and an 
esteemed resident of that city, is a native of 
Wisconsin, bom in Milwaukee, Feb. 29, 
1852. His parents were Hugh and Agnes 
(Simpson) Watson, the former a linen 
weaver of Newcastle-on-the-Tyne, England, 
who came about 1843 to New York City. 
He was employed for a time as foreman of 
construction work on the Croton Water 



Works, and in 1849 moved to Milwaukee. 
About seven years later he located on a 
farm in Dodge county, Wis., and still later 
was for a number of years on the Milwaukee 
detective force. He died in Dodge county 
in 1874, at the age of sixty-three, having 
lived an industrious and useful life. His 
wife, who was born in Belfast, Ireland, and 
married in Scotland, died in Milwaukee in 
1884, when si.xty-nine years of age. She 
was descended from the famous Simpson 
family, which was driven from Scotland 
during the feudal wars and settled at Bel- 
fast. Later generations of the family lived 
in Dunleith, Scotland, where Mrs. Wat- 
son's great-grandfather was chief of the 
clan. 

George Chapman Watson attended pub- 
lic school in Dodge county and spent two 
years at the Spencerian Business College in 
Milwaukee. When he was sixteen he en- 
tered the United States mail service, where 
for two years he was in the railway transfer 
department. The next five years he was in 
charge of a large grain and stock raising 
farm in Dodge county, owned by his father. 
He then spent three years with a mercantile 
house in Hartford, Wis., and in 188 1 went 
to Minneapolis, where he became an em- 
ploye of the Bemis Bros. Bag Co., traveling 
in the interests of that concern for a number 
of years. The main office of this firm is in 
Boston, with branches in St. Louis, Minne- 
apolis, Omaha, New Orleans, San Fran- 
cisco, Indianapolis and West Superior. 
Having become thoroughly familiar with 
the business, Mr. Watson was, in 1894, of- 
fered the position of manager of the branch 
at West Superior, which he accepted, and 
has since held. This establishment, employ- 
ing about seventy-five people, has become 
one of the most important industries at the 
Head of the Lakes; bags of all kinds are 
manufactured ; the firm does a wholesale bus- 
iness in paper and stationery, and maintains 
its own printing and lithographing planr, 
everything moving like clock-work under 
Mr. Watson's able management. The substan- 
tial three-story brick building in which the 
business is carried on, is situated at the head 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



479 



•of Hughitt slip, and has every convenience 
for shipping, both by water and by rail. Air. 
Watson is a charter member of the Superior 
Commercial Club, of which he is a director, 
and he is also a director in the Northwestern 
National Bank of West Superior. 

In 1872 Mr. Watson married Mary Mc- 
Collum, daughter of George and Ellen Mc- 
Collum, of Hartford, Wis. Two children 
h.ave been born to this union, Edith May and 
-Mice Gessa. Mr. Watson is a trustee of 
Pilgrim Congregational church, and the 
family have the best social connections. Fra- 
ternally Mr. Watson is connected with the 
Royal Arcanum ; in political principle he is 
a Republican, but is not an active politician. 

WILLIAM EDWARD ELLIS, M. D., 
of Prentice, is with one exception the oldest 
•established practitioner in Price county, and 
has been located there since 1892. Dr. Eilis 
is a Canadian, born in Prescott, Ont., Oct. 
3, 1862. son of William and Mary E. (Jes- 
sup) Ellis. 

William Ellis was a native of Wales and 
in that country mastered the profession of 
■civil engineer. He came to America about 
1857, and for a nimiber of years lived at 
Prescott. Ont., in which place he first met his 
wife and was married. In 1879 he was ap- 
pointed general superintendent of the Wel- 
land canal and continued to hold that posi- 
tion until his death at St. Catharines in 1898. 
at the age of seventy-one. Mr. Ellis was 
always active in politics in the Conservative 
ranks, and at one time was a candidate for 
election to the Dominion Parliament, but 
lost it by nine votes only. Mrs. Mary J. 
Ellis was born at Prescott and there died. 
Her father. Edward Jessup, was a land 
owner at that place and was of English 
descent. 

William E. Ellis attended the high 
school at Prescott until he was sixteen, and 
after the family had removed to St. Cathar- 
ines, studied at the Collegiate Institute there. 
When his preparation was completed he ma- 
triculated at Trinity University, Toronto, 
and later at McGill University. Montreal, 
where he was graduated from the medical 



course in 1887, taking honors in his class, 
with the two degrees M. D. and C. M. He 
was prominent also in the social and ath- 
letic life of the university and was captain 
of the football team. 

After graduation Dr. Ellis spent a year 
in Europe, hearing lectures from some of 
the famous physicians abroad, and then, re- 
turning home, decided to begin practicing in 
Watersmeet, Mich., where he remained until 
1890. The next two years were spent in 
Ironwood, Mich., and in 1892 he went to 
Prentice and has been established there ever 
since. Aside from his large general prac- 
tice. Dr. Ellis holds several positions pro- 
fessionally. He is surgeon on the Wisconsin 
Central Railroad, and of the "Soo" Road, 
and has been the health officer of the village 
for some time ; he has served as president of 
the board of the United States Pension Ex- 
aminers, and is at present examiner for a 
number of the leading life insurance com- 
panies. 

Dr. Ellis keeps himself thoroughly in- 
formed on the medical topics of the day and 
is in touch with other physicians through 
membership in the State Medical Society. 
Since his university days he has belonged to 
the Zeta Psi fraternity and is also a member 
of the M. W. A. 

On Aug. I. 1894. Dr. Ellis was married 
to Emma George, of Minneapolis, a native 
of Wisconsin. Both the doctor and his wife 
are Episcopalians in belief, although there is 
no church of that denomination in Prentice. 
An experienced and skillful physician, and a 
fine man personally. Dr. Ellis has deserved- 
ly won a high place in the regard of the 
community. 

ANDREW W. McGEORGE was the 
senior partner in the firm of A. W. & J. S. 
McGeorge. dealers in general merchandise at 
Hayward. Sawyer Co.. Wis. His birth oc- 
curred Aug. 13. 1863, at St. Stephen, New 
Brunswick, his parents being Peter and 
Eleanor (Kelley) McGeorge. 

Grandfather James McGeorge was a suc- 
cessful blacksmith and contractor in Scot- 
land, but during a period of financial de- 



48o 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



pression came to this country and settled on 
a farm near St. Stephen, where he died when 
forty-live years of age. His wife, whose 
maiden name was Elizabeth Little, was also 
of good Scotch descent. 

Peter McGeorge came to St. Andrews, 
New Brunswick, from Dumfries, Scotland, 
in 1817, and was engaged in farming in 
Canada until 1887, when he came to Hay- 
ward, where he died four years later. Seven 
of his children are still living. Mrs. Elea- 
nor (Kelley) McGeorge passed away at 
Hay ward in 1897, aged seventy-three years. 
Her father, Joseph Kelley, was a farmer 
who came in 181 7 from Ireland to New 
Brunswick, where this daughter was born, 
and where he died at the age of seventy- 
four. 

Andrew W. McGeorge was educated in 
the public schools, and at eighteen went to 
Stillwater, Minn., where for a time he was 
employed as a carpenter. He then went to 
the lumber region on the St. Croix river, 
spending six years in logging camps at dif- 
ferent points, two years of this time in the 
interests of the Northern Wisconsin Lum- 
ber Co., and three years more in that com- 
pany's store at Hayward. In the summer of 
1889 he opened a notion and confectionery 
store at Hayward, this building, which he 
erected, being afterward burned. In 1892 
he assisted in organizing the Hayward 
Building Association, which erected a three- 
story brick building on one of the principal 
comers in the village. Mr. McGeorge rents 
the ground floor of this building, which until 
1893 he occupied with a grocery store. In 
that year he took his brother, Joseph S. Mc- 
George, into partnership, and they have 
added boots and shoes, clothing and other 
goods to their stock and now carry on an 
extensive general trade. They enjoy an 
enviable reputation for business integrity 
and enterprise, and have also a half in- 
terest in a 300-acre farm in Sawyer county, 
which is being improved and is chiefly devot- 
ed to raising hay. The former firm of A. 
W. & J. S. McGeorge is now included in the 
New Store Co. 

Mr. McGeorge married in November, 



1892, Jennie Egan, daughter of Thomas and 
Mary Egan, of Durand, Wis., Mr. Egan 
being a farmer in that vicinity. The chil- 
dren of this union are Mary, Warren E., El- 
frieda, Corinne and Wilna. Since 1885 ^'^^'■ 
McGeorge has been a member of the Hay- 
ward fire department, originally known as 
the Hayward Hook and Ladder Co. He 
was brought up in the faith of the Presby- 
terian church, and his political principles are 
those of the Republican party. He is a mem- 
ber of the I. O. O. F. and the K. P. and a 
charter memlier of Keystone Lodge, F. & 
A. M. 

THOMAS D. PHILLIPS, in the em- 
ploy of the Webster Manufacturing Com- 
pany, has been a resident of South Superior 
since 1891. 

Mr. Phillips was born in Parkman, 
Geauga county, Ohio, June 19, 1837. His 
parents, Joshua and Rachel ( Fuller ) Phillips, 
came with their family to Jefferson county. 
Wis., in 1843. Joshua Phillips sprang of an 
old Massachusetts family. He died in Jef- 
ferson county at the age of eighty-seven, 
while his wife, who was the daughter of a 
veteran of the war of 1812, lived to be sixty- 
nine. Of their eight children, three were 
daughters; of the sons, William, Elijah, 
James, Hubliard and Thomas D.. all but 
Hubbard fought on the Union side in the 
Civil war. Elijah died in the service and 
was buried at ■Memphis, Tenn. ; James passed 
away a number of years later and the others 
so far as known, are living. 

Thomas D. enlisted in December, 1861, 
in CompanyA, i6th W. V. I., for three years 
but at the close of that period he enlisted 
again and served until the end of the war. 
The first engagement in wiiich he took part 
was the famous battle of Shiloh, in April, 
1862; his regiment was in the 17th Army 
Corps and he was on the picket line when 
the firing began ; on the first day alone, the 
regiment lost 480 men. Mr. Phillips was 
also in both battles of Corinth, at the siege 
of Vicksburg, in the Atlanta campaign and 
Sherman's famous "March to the Sea," and 
took part in the grand review at Washington 




^ 



w 




cM^ui/h ^Cc^V)^ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



+i* 



at the close of tlie war. 'Jhe liardships he 
had endured had undermined his constitution 
to a certain extent and lie has never re- 
gained his f(_)rnier health. 

Before entering the war Mr. I'liiliips was 
married to Martha, daughter of John K. 
Tinker, and to this union have been horn 
six children, Walter, William, George, 
Charles, Eflie and Ella. Mr. Phillips is an 
honored member of Alonzo Palmer Post, 
G. A. R. The same cjualities which made 
him a good soldier make him also a good 
citizen and he is respected and esteemed by 
the community in which he lives. 

Mrs. Phillips' father. John K. Tinker, 
was a native of Parkman, Ohio, and died at 
Superior, March 8, 1904, at the age of 
eighty-six years. He was a life-long mem- 
ber of the Baptist Church. His grandfather. 
John Tinker, was one of the earliest I'uritan 
emigrants who settled in Massachusetts. 
Mary Rudolph, who became the mother of 
John K. Tinker, also sjjrang of an old Puri- 
tan family. 

ADOLPH JOHX'SOX, proprietor of 
the Ninth Avenue Bakery, is one of the pros- 
I)erous Scandinavian-. \merican citizens of 
Ashland. From small lieginnings he has 
worked up his tnisiness until now he has one 
of the largest bakery trades in the city. 

John Johnson, father of Adolph, is a 
farmer in Sweden, where he was born and 
where he has passed his entire life. His 
wife. Bettie (Johnson) Johnson, is also a 
native of Sweden, and the family has not 
as yet lost one member, as all of the seven 
children are still living. 

Adolph Johnson, the second chilil of his 
parents, was born in Sweden. Feb. 12. 1874, 
and came to America when he was eighteen. 
He arrived in Ashland, June 24, 1892, and 
began work as a candy maker, having 
learned that trade in his native country. He 
was cmijloyed in this way for five years, and 
then bought the property whidi he now 
owns, carrying on a boarding house for a 
year, and llien f)|)ening the bakery, which he 
still conducts. He has the best trade in Ash- 
land and employs ten bakers t<i carry out his 

31 



orders, having another man in the store and 
running two delivery wagons. 

On Nov. 10, 1897. Mr. Johnson married 
Anna M. Peterson, daughter of John and 
Anna (Sofia) Peterson, both natives of Swe- 
den. They had a family of seven children, 
all of whom are living. Mrs. Joinison came 
to Ashland in 1891 from Sweden, and her 
mother came to live with her in 1900, her 
father, who was a farmer, liaving died in. 
Sweden. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson have or.c 
child, Walter E. Mr. Jt)hnson belongs to 
the Scandinavian Relief Association, of Red 
\\ ing, Minn. He and his wife are members 
of the Swedish Mission church. 

FR.\XCIS O. LINUQUIST, a skilled 
photographer and a veteran of the Spanish- 
.American war, now living in Superior, Wis., 
was born in Hastings, Minn., in 1872, son 
of Nils Peter Lindquist and his wife, Han- 
nah Anderson, b(.)th natives of Sweden. 

-Nils Peter Lindquist was Iwrn in Skone, 
Sweden, and was there married to Hannah 
.\nderson, a native of the same place. They 
came to America in 1870, and located in 
Hastings, Minn., where they remained two 
years, then removing to a farm in Goodhue 
county, that State. Mr. Lindquist possessed 
the energy and economy characteristic of his 
race, and soon became well to do. After 
eight years in Goodhue county, he removefl 
to a farm in Ottertail cinuity, where he nr)W 
resides, having nearly reached the allotted 
span of three score years and ten. He has 
become one of the prominent citizens of his 
locality, and has tilled a number of positit>ns 
of trust and responsibility. P'or many years 
he has been a trustee of the Lutheran church 
at Amor. Minn. Previous to coming tf» 
.\merica he had followed the trade of black- 
smitli. and while he has not made it a part of 
liis work here, his ingenuity in the use t\{ 
tools, and his knowlc<lge of machinery has 
often been called into ])lay for the benefit of 
himself and his neighbors. I lis \vife died iii 
1885 at the age of forty-four. They were 
the parents of seven children. 

Francis O. Lindquist passed his boyhood 
on the farm, remaining at home until he was 



4o2 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



sixteen years of age, when he went to Bat- 
tle Lake. \V hile there he passed one year as 
a clerk m a store, and in 1889 he obtained a 
similar position in a dry gods store in Du- 
luth. After a year in the latter place he lo- 
cated in Superior, where for three years he 
clerked in a dry goods store, proving him- 
self an admirable salesman. By nature he 
was intended for an artist, having a good eye 
for color and form, and he determined to 
learn photography. In 1901 he bought a 
gallery which he had conducted for several 
years, and is now on the high road to suc- 
cess. His work compares favorably with 
that of artists who have been much longer 
.at work, and he is constantly studying to 
improve. For grace in posing his subjects, 
no photographer in the city is his superior. 
Mr. Lindquist is a very patriotic young- 
man and firmly believes in each man being 
prepared to aid his country if needed. In 
1895 '1^ helped to organize Company I, 3d 
Regiment, W. N. G., and with most of its 
members enlisted in April, 1898, for service 
in the Spanish-American war. He spent six 
months in the government's service, two 
months of that time being in Porto Rico. 
After their discharge at the close of the war, 
;he was elected vice-president of old Com- 
pany I, which position he still holds. So- 
.cially Mr. Lindquist is very popular, and at 
present is serving his third term as Es- 
teemed Lecturing Knight of the local lodge 
of the B. P. O. E. 

THOMAS W. WALKER, a member 
■ )f the prosperous grocery firm of Moir & 
Walker, of Duluth, was born May 21, 1871, 
in Verona, county Frontenac, Ontario. He 
is of English descent, his grandfather, 
George Walker, having been a native of 
Yorkshire, England, whence he came to 
America about 1825. He settled in the 
county of Frontenac, Ontario, and there 
passed the remainder of his life, living to be 
over seventy. His wife's death occurred 
about a year after his. 

Samuel W. Walker, father of Thomas 
W., lived on different farms in the county 
of Frontenac until the fall of 1890, when he 



removed to Caldwell, Kan., and there he 
still resides, now (1904) aged sixty-three 
years. He married Lavina Percy, who was 
born in the county of Frontenac, Ontario, 
and died there in 1885, when thirty-eight 
years old. She was but an infant when she 
lost her mother, but her father, John Percy, 
lived to the age of over sixty. He came 
from Scotland and was a blacksmith by 
trade. 

Thomas W. Walker attended the public 
schools in the neighborhood of his birth- 
place dun'ng boyhood, and there grew to 
manhood. In 1890 he went to Caldwell, 
Kan., where he followed farming extensive- 
ly. Sept. 15, 1893, he entered into the race 
for a homestead in the famous and fertile 
Cherokee strip, which was thrown open on 
that day for settlement, and was fortunate 
enough to secure a choice 160 acres after 
riding on horseback about one and three- 
fourths miles. He lived on the same, proved 
it up, and got a patent from Uncle Sam in 
the fall of 1895. In that year he went to 
Dayton, Ohio, where he remained two years, 
as salesman for the Singer Sewing Machine 
Company. In 1897 he came to Duluth and 
became a partner of John Moir in the pur- 
chase of a stock of groceries, the firm start- 
ing in business at No. 2021 West Superior 
Street. They have been in business con- 
tinuously to the present time, and have 
built up one of the finest trades in the West 
End. Mr. Walker owns eighty acres of tim- 
ber land near Gowan, Minn. He is active 
as a business man and is president of the 
Retail Grocers' Association of Duluth, in 
which he has taken a deep interest. 

Mr. Walker was married Nov. 23, 1898, 
to Miss Lulu Gossett, daughter of Newton 
and Lydia Gossett, of Dayton, Ohio, and 
they have one son, Gould C. The family at- 
tend the Presbyterian Church, and socially 
Mr. Walker is a member of Zenith City 
Lodge, No. 160, I. O. O. F. He is a Repub- 
lican in political principle. 

A. M. JENSEN, a prominent and suc- 
cessful young business man of Grantsburg, 
Wis., engaged in the hardware business, was 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



483 



t)orii May 8, 187 1, on the old Jensen home- 
jstead in Burnett county, son of Jens J. and 
Amelia Jensen, natives of Norway and early 
settlers of Burnett county. 

Jens J. Jensen was a larmer in his native 
-country, where he also followed the sea. In 
-about 18O0 he came to America and located 
ni Taylor's Falls, Minn., where he followed 
farming- and lumbering for about two years. 
At the end of that time he came to Burnett 
county, Wis., settling two and one-half 
miles southeast of Grantsburg, taking up 160 
acres of heavy hardwood timber land, upon 
which he erected a log cabin, in which he 
lived for several years. He then erected a 
good frame house in which he still lives. For 
many years he was engaged in general farm- 
ing, lumbering and dairying, growing all 
kinds of grain and raising sheep, hogs and 
cattle. He helped to build the Canute ..An- 
derson Mills, the first in the county, and 
held office in the county, being elected as a 
stanch Republican. Religiously he was a 
member of the Norwegian Lutheran church. 
Mr. and Mrs. Jensen were the parents of 
eleven children: Jens, deceased; Annie, the 
wife of Andrew Anderson, living in Sand- 
stone, Minn. ; Isabelle, who married Tobias 
Thoreson, a farmer of Grantsburg; Jensena, 
deceased, who married Robert Carlson ; 
Theodore, on the old place, engaged in farm- 
ing; Amandus M., our subject; Simon, of 
Sandstone, Minn., who clerks in a depart- 
ment store; William, hardware clerk, of Bra- 
ham, Minn., and three children who died 
young. 

A. M. Jensen had little chance to attend 
school, and when he could was obliged to 
go a distance of three miles. He remained 
at home until fourteen years of age, when ho 
went to work in tiie woods. Later he was 
engaged in the hardware store of P. E. Pe- 
terson & Son, Grantsburg, with whom he 
remained seven years. This business he 
later purchased, in company with B. ]•'. 
White, and they continued it until 1899, 
when Mr. Jensen Ijought hi's partner's inter- 
est in the business, in which he still con- 
tinues. He has a fine line of hardware and 
sporting goods, pumps, stoves, ranges and 



tinware, and also conducts a tin shop, and 
deals in steam fittings, paints and oils. He 
has proved himself a man of business ability. 
Mr. Jensen is himself a great sportsman and 
seldom returns from a hunting or fishing trip 
without some spoils of the forest or stream. 
Mr. Jensen was married in December, 
1S94, to Miss Emma Peterson, of Grants- 
burg, and to this union have been born three 
children, two of whom are living: Myrtle 
C. and Vera L. Alton M. died aged three 
years and two months. Politically Mr. Jen- 
sen is a Republican and has served twice in 
the village council. He is connected fra- 
ternally with the Woodmen of America at 
Grantsburg, and is a Blue Lodge Mason. In 
religion he is a Lutheran. He is considered 
one of the substantial business men of his 
\illage, in which he is very well known and 
highly esteemed. 

GEORGE FREDERICK CLAPP, the 
genial and popular e:spress agent and bag- 
gageman representing the .Vmerican Express 
Company, and also the Chicago, St. Paul, 
Minneapolis «&: Omaha Railroad at llayward, 
is a native of Minnesota, his birth occurring 
near Mankato, Nov. 16, 1867. He is de- 
scended from a distinguished Colonial fam- 
ily, which was founded in America by Roger 
Clapp, a native of Salcombe Regis, Devon- 
sliire, England, born April 6, 1609. In 
J 630 he sailed from his native land on the 
good ship "William and Mary," which after 
an uneventful voyage reached the iniiospit- 
able shores of a new world, and he effected 
a settlement at Dorchester, Mass. From 
records yet e.xtant, Mr. Clapp appears to 
have been a man of some ability and stand- 
ing, wielding no little infiuence in local Col- 
onial affairs. It is recorded that the gov- 
ernor appointed him captain of Castle Is- 
land, an early fortified post near Boston, 
and now known as Fort Independence, 
which important position he creditably filled 
for twenty-one years. He was a gentleman 
of marked religious .sentiment and one of 
the founders of the historic Puritan churcii 
of Dorchester, which he faithfully served 
three score years. His obserpiies were at- 



484 



CO-MMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



tended witli niuch pomp and ceremon}-, and 
there were present all the distinguished ot'h- 
cials of the colony. His descendants in di- 
rect line to the present are Preser\ed Clapp, 
born Nov. 3, 1(343, ^^ Dorchester, who be- 
came a resident of North Hampton ; Roger 
Clapp, born May 24, 1684, who became a 
captain of military company and a represent- 
ative to the general court, a man of some 
prominence in military and civic affairs; 
Jonathan Clapp, born at East Hampton in 
1713, who became a major of militia: Ben- 
jamin Clapp, born Dec. 16, 1738, who en- 
tered the Revolutionary army, becoming a 
quartermaster in the same ; Solomon Clapp, 
born Sept. 2, 1782, at East Hampton. 

George Christopher Clapp, son of Solo- 
mon Clapp, and the father of George Fred- 
erick, joined a colony of Massachusetts peo- 
ple about 1858 and removed to Lesueur coun- 
ty, Minn. Those were troublesome days on 
the frontier, and when the Sioux war of 
1862 broke out he joined himself to the \ol- 
unteers recruited to protect the lives and 
property of the settlers. He had inherited 
the traits of the soldier from his military an- 
cestors, and these he evinced in a manner 
so forcible that he was almost immediately 
recognized as a leader of men. As captain 
of the guard he was in charge of the mili- 
tary execution of thirty-eight Indians at 
Mankato, Minn. With war spirit un- 
quenched he subsequently enlisted and was 
mustered in as a private in the 7th Minn. V. 
I., in which he gallantly served three years, 
to the close of the Civil war. He was pro- 
moted for meritorious service and was dis- 
charged a captain by brevet. Returning to 
civil life, like Cincinnatus of old, he went 
back to his farm, giving his chief attention 
to the manufacture of lime. He was a man 
of potent energy, his career being character- 
ized by a strict oljservance of all the proprie- 
ties and amenities of life. He was a gentle- 
man of religious convictions, for many years 
being an elder of the First Presbyterian 
church at Alankato. His death occurred in 
1891, at the age of nearly seventy years. 

George Christopher Clapp was united in 
marriage with Miss Mariette Warner, also 



a native of Alassachusetts, who survived her 
husband and departed this life on the old 
homestead in Lesueur county, March 2,. 
1903. She, like her husband was descendec! 
from a family distinguished in the annals ot 
Colonial history. Her father, Jonathan 
Warner, Jr., was the brother of Paulina 
(Nash) Warner, who was the grandmother 
of Marshall Field, the merchant prince of 
Chicago. Mr. Warner was a blacksmith by 
occupation, having followed his trade at 
Williamsburg, Mass. The genealogy of .the 
Warner family appears to be somewhat ob- 
scure as to systematic details, and it is only 
possible to record in this connection that his 
father bore the same Christian name. 

The boyhood of George Frederick Clapp 
was spent on the farm in the manner com- 
mon to the sons of pioneers, and at the pub- 
lic schools he was instructed in the elements 
of an English education. In 1887 he came 
to Hayward to accept a position under his 
brother-in-law, Mark Daniels, who was 
agent for the American Express Co., at that 
place. The following year he succeeded 
Mr. Daniels in that jwsition, which he has 
creditably filled to the present time. Since 
1888 he has also been baggageman of the 
Omaha Road at Hayward. 

On Aug. 16, 1894, Mr. Clapp was united 
in marriage with Jessie, daughter of Abner 
J. and Sophia (Coleman) Tibbetts, of 
Downsville, Wis., and has two children, 
George Howard and ■\Iaurine. The family 
is identified with the Congregational churcli 
of Hayward and prominent socially. 

Abner J. Tibbetts was a son of Stephen 
and Catherine (Shafer) Tibbetts, of Wil- 
liamsburg;^, Pa., who in 1854 settled in 
Downsville, and has filled many local tiffices 
of trust. He conducts an extensive apiary 
at Downsville. The Tibbetts family came 
originally from Maine. Mrs. Sophia Tibbetts 
is a daughter of Henry and Alice ( Doughty) 
Coleman, prominent pioneers at Maxwell's 
Prairie, Wis. Henry Coleman was post- 
master for many years at Belport, Long Is- 
land, appointed about 1837. The parents of 
Alice (Doughty) Coleman were Samuel 
and Elizabeth (Nelson) Doughty. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



48; 



J. W. I'RrrZ, mcrcliaiU, postmaster and 
.ci leatling man of Rusk county, Wis., was 
Ixjrn in Rensselaer, Ind., in 1851, son of John 
<uk1 Elizaijeth (Warren) l-'ritz, natives 01" 
Pennsylvania and Indiana, resi)ectively- In 
1854 they came to Wisconsin, settling- in 
Boscohel, Grant count)', and there the family 
li\ed until the l)reaking out of the Civil war, 
when Mr. Fritz enlisted, in 1862, in Company 
C, 20th W. V. 1. He was transferred with his 
regiment to Missouri, where the same year 
he met with an accident near Springfield, 
wliich resulted in his death, and his remain.s 
lie in the National Cemetery there. 

In January, 1861, the family had re- 
moved to Crawford county, Wis., and there, 
and in the adjoining county of Grant, J. W. 
I-'ritz receivetl a limited education. He tra\- 
•eled widely in his earlier life in Wisconsin 
and thirty other States, dealing in ginseng. 
which he hought largely from the Indians. 
In 1882 he established himself at Flambeau 
and started a general store, which was suc- 
cessful, and he continued there until 1887. 
when he came to Ladysmith. There he 
■erected a store building and became the pio- 
neer merchant of this now flourishing town. 
In 1901 Mr. Fritz erected his large l)rick 
store, one of the best of its kind yet erected 
in Rusk county. Mr. Fritz has always taken 
a dec]) interest in his town and comity, 
and has been rewarded with ])ublic honors. 
For three years he served as chairman : 
for three years was town clerk ; has 
been a supervisor, and is often called 
ujjon to act as delegate to County anil 
Assembly conventions. Fraternally he is a 
charter member of the Mvstic Tie Lodge, 
A. F. & A. M.; I. O. o/v. and Encamp- 
ment. 

In 1882 Mr. I-'ritz was married to Julia 
Jerrison, of Portage, Wis., and tliey have 
two children, Bessie and Robert. Tlie former 
is a popular teacher in the Ladysmitii high 

Sch(K)l. 

In 1898 Mr. Fritz, in company with R. 
J. Sands. Dennis Cyr and John Zaner, now 
of Seattle, made a trip to Alaska, via Chii- 
koot Pass, and were on the way from Feb- 
ruary 8th until May 23 of that year. During 



this trip thc_\- encountered many hardships 
and dangers, but enjoyed themselves on the 
whole. Mr. Fritz returned ahead of his 
companions, his many interests calling him 
home. He made the trip from Dawson to 
Ladysmith in nineteen days. 

Success has crowned the efforts of Mr. 
Fritz, and during his varied life he has met 
with many interesting adventures, which he 
recounts in an entertaining manner. Pos- 
sessing good business ability he has l)een 
able to seize upon opportunities and turn 
them to the best account. He is a man of 
means, well and favorably known through- 
out northern Wisconsin, and is noted for his 
honesty of purpo.se and uprightness of deal- 
ing. As a public official he is obliging and 
considerate, giving excellent service in his 
capacity of postmaster, and this is appre- 
ciated by the people of Ladysmith. To all 
measures calculated to prove of benefit to the 
town, Mr. I'ritz gives his ardent support, 
contributing both time and money, and his 
future will be closely associated with that of 
Ladysmith. 

WILLIAM WAGNER, an esteemed 
citizen of Superior. Douglas county, who has 
been identified with the Upper Lake Region 
since 1859, was born in Prenzlau, Branden- 
burg, Germany, Oct. 7. 1839, the son of 
Frederick and Mary Wagner. 

Frederick Wagner brought his fruuily to 
.\merica about 1830 and settled in Sheboy- 
gan county. Wis., where he took up wild 
land for a farm. In Germany he had served 
three years in the Artillery, but never took 
part in any actual warfare. He spent his 
life on his farm, where he and his wife both 
reached the age of nearly seventy years. 
They were the parents of four sons and one 
daughter, of whom William is the only one 
living at the Head of the Lakes. One son, 
Charles, resides in Houghton, Mich., and 
another, Frederick, is still on the farm in 
Sheboygan county. 

At the age of twenty William Wagner 
started out for himself and going to Hough- 
ton. Mich., secured employment in the cop- 
per mines there, where he worked for ten 



486 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



years and rose to be fdreman. About iHCx), 
when the far West was still regarded as a 
veritable El Dorado, Mr. Wagner went to 
California, traveling on one of the first 
trains over the Union Pacific Railroad. He 
spent a season prospecting for silver, mainly 
in Nevada, but did not meet with success 
and so returned to Michigan. For the next 
twenty years he worked for the Lake Super- 
ior Smelting Company, where for a long 
time he was foreman. In 1863 he had in- 
vested in some land near Superior, and by 
1889 he decided to remove thither and im- 
prove his property. He was soon able to 
sell it to advantage, however, and since then 
for a number of years past has given most 
of his attention to market gardening. . 

Mr. Wagner has been twice married, the 
first time in 1864 to Miss Eliza Schermuck, 
a native of Coblentz. Gennanj', who died in 
Superior in 1900, aged si.xty-four. She was 
a member of the Catholic church. Two sons 
blessed this union : William, an electrician 
in the government employ; and Henry, a 
bookkeeper by profession in Houghton, 
]\Iich. In January, 1902, Mr. Wagner was 
united to his second wife, Mrs. M. E. Robie. 
widow of J. D. Roiiie, of Superior. Politic- 
ally Mr. Wagner is on national issues a 
Democrat, but in local matters is independ- 
ent of party lines, since he telieves in sup- 
porting the best man for the office in every 
case. He is interested in fraternal orders, 
has been a Mason since 1862 and is connect- 
ed with both the lodge and chapter at 
Houghton, Mich. Wherever he has resided 
Mr. Wagner has been invariably regarded 
by his fellow townsmen with respect and 
consideration. 

DAVID ARCHIBALD, an enterpris- 
ing and prosperous business man of the vil- 
lage of Lake Nebagamon, was born at East- 
ville, Colchester Co., Nova Scotia, March 
23, 1 86 1, son of Harvey and Ruth (Dean) 
Archibald, natives of Nova Scotia. 

James D. Archibald, the grandfather, a 
native of Calgary, Scotland, served nineteen 
years in the British army, taking part in the 
suppression of the famous Indian mutiny, 



ill which he was twice shot but not perma- 
nently disabled. Upon his retirement from-, 
the army he received a grant of 500 acres 
of wild land on the Stevviacke river. Nova 
Scotia, where he settled and improved 180 
acres into a fine farm. He reached the age 
of ninety-two years and died at Yarmouth, 
Nova Scotia. His wife, Amy (Harvey) Ar- 
chibald, died there about fourteen years be- 
fore her husband. She was born in Kent- 
ville. Nova Scotia, 

Plarvey Archibald, father of David, be- 
came the owner of his father's farm and re- 
mained there until 1898, when he sold out 
and removed to South Branch, Nova Scotia, 
where he now lives in retirement at the age 
of sixty-four years. For twenty years he 
represented his township in the Nova Scotia 
council. He was a Whig, or Conservative, 
in his politics. He was always active in re- 
ligious work, was a member of the Presby- 
terian church and served in it as deacon for 
man}- years. He married Ruth Dean, born 
on the Musquodobit river, at the Dean set- 
tlement. Her ancestors came from Scotland 
and settled at that point in Nova Scotia. 
She died in 1883, at the age of forty-seven 
years. Harvey and Ruth Archibald had five 
sons and one daughter, as follows : David ; 
George, who was drowned in 1883, at Yar- 
mouth, Nova Scotia, at the age of twenty- 
one years; Samuel, of Penobscot, Maine; 
James, living on the homestead at Eastville ; 
Edgar, of Boston, Mass, ; Maggie, Mrs. 
Dickie, of Boston. 

David Archibald attended the public 
schools at Eastville for about three months 
out of each year, until he was fourteen years 
old. After that he assisted his father on the 
farm for four years, at which time he left 
home and spent a couple of years working 
in a sawmill. His next move was to Mira- 
michi. New Brunswick, whence in 18S2 he 
went to Stillwater, Minn, There he was for 
seven years in the employ of ^Matthews, Jor- 
dan & Oleson, a prominent lumbering and 
C(MUracting firm, for whom he acted in win- 
ter as foreman of a logging camp, and in 
summer was head teamster on railroad con- 
tracts. Thence he went to Cable, Bayfield 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



•Jt'7 



Co., Wis.; the "Omalia" railroad had just 
reached that point, and Mr. Archibald built 
the first hotel there, "The Cable House," 
which he conducted in connection with a liv- 
ery business about eight years. 

In the fall of 1898 Mr. Archibald sold 
out and located at Lake Xebagamon, where 
he built the first livery stable and has con- 
ducted it successfully ever since. He keeps 
about twenty horses, does the draying for all 
the village and also packs and sells ice. He 
also deals in beer, wholesale, handling all 
the beer consumed in the village of Lake Xe- 
bagamon. 

In 1881 I\Ir. Archibald was married to 
Maggie Hovey, of Boiestowii, Miraniichi, 
New Brunswick, daughter of John and Han- 
nah Hovey, both of whom died at Boies- 
town. To this union have come three chil- 
dren : Harold, who died in New Brunswick, 
Aug. 26, 1896, aged eleven years; Lelia, 
Mrs. Henry Deere; and Clarence. ]\Irs. Ar- 
chibald is a member of the Methodist 
church. 

In his political views Mr. Archibald is a 
Republican, and he has taken an active part 
in the management of local matters. \\ hile 
he was at Cable, Wis., he was chosen super- 
visor and town treasurer, besides holding 
several minor offices. Since 1899 he has 
been a member of the township board of su- 
pervisors, and in 1900 was made health of- 
ficer of the town of Nebagamon; from 190 1 
he has acted as chief of the Nebagamon Vol- 
unteer Fire Company. Fraternally Mr. Ar- 
chibald belongs to the I. O. F. He is a cap- 
able and energetic business man, has wo!i 
the respect of his associates and is well liked 
personally. 

OLE AUNE, one of the most enter- 
prising young men of Washburn, Bayfield 
county, was born at Opdal, near Trondhjem, 
Norway, Dec. 25, 1871, son of John and 
Kari (Johnson) Windal, natives of the same 
locality, where both families had lived for 
many generations. 

The paternal grandfather, John Johnson, 
a caq)enler by trade, is still living in Nor- 
way. His sun, John Windal, came to the 



United States in 1878 and settled in Wis- 
consin, where he worked at lumbering in; 
Menomonie and Rice Lake. In 1884 he re- 
moved to Washburn, where he followed the 
trade of a carpenter, putting up many of ther 
buildings of the town. Since 1898 he has. 
lived on a homestead near Pratt, Bayfield 
county, where he has developed his land into 
a fine farm. 

Ole Aune was educated in the i)iibhc 
schools of his native land, completing a 
high school course. It was not until March, 
1892, that he followed his father to this 
country. On arriving he went West to 
Minnesota for a year, and then to Steven.s 
Point, Wis., where he worked in a sawmilL 
Another winter was spent at Fosbroke„ 
Dunn county, and while there he attended: 
an English school. In 1894 he located at 
Washburn and followed carpentering for 
four years. His next work was in a planing 
mill, and after a year in a subordinate posi- 
tion he was made foreman of the establish- 
ment and remained there until he started in- 
business for himself. 

In June, 1902, Mr. Aune helped to or- 
ganize the Washburn Co-operative Grocery 
Store, and for three months had charge t)f 
it. While still a stockholder, he gave up the 
management of the concern in September of 
the same year to enter upon a partnership 
with E. H. Sagen. They bought a stock - 
of furniture, stoves, tinware and crockery, 
and Mr. Aune has since then been in this 
business. He is also a stockholder in the 
Washburn Ice Companj'. 

In April, 1901, Mr. Aune was married 
to Anette Ness, daughter of Charles Ness. 
now a citizen of Washburn, but formerly 
of Christiania, Norway, where Mrs. Aune 
was born. Mr. and Mrs. Aune have one 
child, a young daughter. Mr. Aune is a 
firm advocate of the principles of the Prohi- 
bition party, and for the past eight years has 
been a memljer f>f the I. O. G. T. He also 
belongs to the I. O. F. ; to the Scan. S. H.- 
and E. F. of America, and I. S. W. A. Mr. 
Aune has already accomplished much for 
so young a business man, and his future, 
gives promise of continued success. 






COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



FRANK A. PARKER, a skilled and 
faithful locomotive engineer with the Great 
Northern Road, has been a resident of West 
Superior since 1892. He was born at Fond 
du Lac, Wis., Oct. 13, 1865, the son of 
Fben E. and Martha R. (Arnold) I'arker. 

The paternal great-grandfather was :i 
county sheriff in Maine and was killed when 
o)i!y twenty- four years of age by a man 
whom he was trying to arrest. He left iwci 
sons. Major Parker, a prominent citizen of 
Milwaukee in the early days, who died there 
and whose family are still residents of the 
city : and Caleb. 

Caleb Parker left Middle Bridgton, 
Maine, at an early age and settled in Fond 
du Lac county, Wis., on a farm, where he 
passed the remainder of his life, a quiet, 
plain citizen, and a member of the Episcopal 
church. His demise occurred in 1873. at 
the age of sixty-nine years. 

Eben E. Parker, father of h'nuik A., 
learned the trade of a blacksmith in the rail- 
road .shops at Portage, Wis. Later, in com- 
pany with his brother-in-law, A. G. Burn- 
ham, he opened a shop at Fond du Lac. He 
is now living in retirement at St. Paul. His 
wife was born in Wauwatosa. Wis. She 
was Martha R. Arnold, daughter of George 
W. Arnold, of New York, who moved 
thence to Chicago, later to Milwaukee and 
then to Sheboygan Falls. In Fond du Lac 
county he finally settleil down on a farm, 
where he lived for a number of years and 
was very successful. Most of his land was 
afterward sold for a county poor fann. 
\\ hen the family lived al Sheboygan Falls, 
Mrs. Parker was only a child, but she re- 
calls many interesting incidents of those pio- 
neer days, when almost their only neighbors 
were Indians. 

Frank A. Parker attended the public 
schools of Fond du Lac until he was four- 
teen years of age, at that time entering the 
employ of the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific 
Road, as fireman at Kansas City. That lo- 
cation, however, did not agree with his 
health, and the next year he went to St. 
Paul and was engaged in a similar position 
with the Great Northern lvo:id. Later he 



was with the Chicago, St. Paul, Miinieap- 
olis & Omaha Railroad, and with other com- 
panies, until in 1892 he returned to the 
Great Northern, and was scut to West Su- 
perior as engineer, in which capacity he is 
still serving the road. 

Mr. Parker's wife, to whom he was 
married Nov. jo, 1893, was a Miss Mary 
llayden, daughter of Dennis and Mary 
Ulinesj Hayden, of Camp Douglas, Wis. 
Dennis Hayden came from Muchall, Coun- 
ty Carlow, Ireland, to the United States in 
1842 and settled in Fond du Lac, Wis., 
where he helped to grade the first railroad. 
He continued at railroad work, being lo- 
cated at different times at New Lisbon, 
where the birth of his daughter, Mary, oc- 
curred, and at Camp Douglas, at which lat- 
ter point he died, June 16, 1890, in his six- 
ty-eighth year. Mrs. Hayden, now over 
sixty, is still living at West Superior. She 
was born in St. John, New Brunswick, and 
was the daughter of John Hines, of Kilken- 
ny, Ireland, and Mary (Mackey) Hines, a 
native of Maine. 

Mrs. Frank .\. Parker is a member of the 
Catholic church and also of the Catholic 
Lady Foresters. Mr. Parker belongs to the 
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. He 
is a capable and efficient engineer, and is held 
in high esteem not only by his employers 
hut bv those who know him .socially. 

FRED R. BOHEIM, who is associated 
with his brother-in-law, Otto C. Baeuiule, in 
the Ashland Bottling Works, was bcirn in 
Milwaukee, July 6. 1863. His parents were 
Fred and Mary (Heup) Boheim, who were 
both natives of Germany. Mr. Pxiheim was 
for many years a resident of Milwaukee, 
where he followed his trade of tailor until 
his death in 1895. Mrs. Boheim died two 
years before her husband. Seven of their 
ten children are .living, Fred R. being the 
youngest. 

The boyhood of h'red R. lioheiiu was 
passed in Milwaukee, where he attended the 
public school until he was fourteen years 
old. At that age he began to work as a 
grocer's clerk, remaining in that business 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



489 



fuurteen years. He then went uul West, 
and was for a time located in Albany. Ore- 
gon, where he established and carried on the 
City Bottling Works. In 1897 he came to 
Ashland and opened a saloon, which he car- 
ried on tor nearly a year. At the expiration 
of that time he went into partnership with 
his brother-in-law, Otto C. Baenmle, in es- 
tablishing the Ashland Bottling Works. 
This industry has been successfully carried 
on ever since, the concern doing a good bus- 
iness not only in Ashland but in many of 
the surrounding towns. 

Mr. Boheim married. Jan. 22. 1884. 
Rose Baeumle, of Milwaukee, daughter of 
Leopold and Rose (Bier) Baeumle, who 
came to this country from Germany. Mr. 
Baeumle, a carpenter by trade, died in Mil- 
waukee in 1893, and his wife survived him 
only a year. They were the i)arents of six 
children, of whom Mrs. Boheim was one of 
the youngest. Mr. and Mrs. Boheim also 
have a family of six children, as follows: 
Rose, Fred. Otto. Elinore. John and Percy, 
all of whom are living at home. The family 
are members of St. Agnes Catholic church, 
of whose choir Mr. Boheim is ])resident. He 
takes a great interest in music,_ being a mem- 
ber of the Northern Saengerfest, of Ashland. 
and of the Ashland Maennerchor. Frater- 
nally he is connected with the Catholic 
Order of Foresters. St. Agnes Court. No. 
425, of Ashland. Jn politics he is independ- 
ent of party affiliations. 

PETER J. SAVAGE, the e.litor of the 
Iron Rk'cr Pioneer, has been connected with 
that influential sheet since Jan. 1. 1898. 

The Pioneer was established in 1893 '^Y 
P.yron Ri])ley, the present cashier of the iron 
River Bank, by whom it was conducted until 
• >ct. I. 1897; at that time he sold to Vates 
& C<JStello, and they retained the manage- 
nicnt until Mr. Savage succeeded Mr. Cos- 
lello in partnership with .Mr. ^■ates (of the 
Washburn Xetk-s). and assumed the editor- 
ial work. The Pioneer is a Republican 
paper and succeeded se\er;d other newspa- 
pers, most of the others failin.g to secure a 
l)ermanent subscription list. 



Mr, Savage was bcirn in ]\Iankato, Minn., 
Oct. 28, 1875, and has been in newspaper 
work from early boyhood. Until he was 
eleven years old he remained in Minnesota, 
attending the public schools, and completed 
his education by a high school course. He 
at once entered the emj_)loyment of the Bar- 
ager liros., editors of the Washburn Itcin- 
icer, a paper that eight years later was 
merged into the Washburn Ncics. Here 
Mr. Savage began at the bottom and learned 
the business in all its details, displaying 
from the first a marked aptitude for the 
calling he had chosen. He remained with 
the Iteniizer for about a year and then 
worked on various papers throughout the 
State, notably the Bayfield Press .and the 
Washburn Nez^'s. Of these papers he was 
foreman and superintendent of the mechan- 
ical departments, holding that position on 
the former when only sixteen. 

On Jan. i, 1898, Mr. Savage became 
editor of the Iro)i River Pioneer, having 
bought an interest with Mr. Yates. This 
office is fitted up very completely, with the 
best presses of their kind, while the job of- 
fice is fully prepared to turn out faultless 
work on the briefest notice. 

Mr. Sa\age, from natural inclin;ition as 
well as from his position, is keenly interested 
in i)olitics, and his voice is influential in the 
local councils of the Republican party. .\1- 
though so young a man, his associates have 
learned to dejjend on his judgment of afifairs 
and he has fre(|uently been a delegate to con- 
ventions. In the spring of 1899 Mr. Savage 
received from Gov. Schofield the ai)point- 
ment of judge of the 2\m\ municipal court 
of Bayfield county and filled the jiosition 
with the utmost satisfaction for a year. In 
1902, on the death of John Brady, chairman 
of the town, Mr. Savage was a])poiiUcd. 
I'raternally he is an active and valued mem- 
ber of the Modern Woodmen Camji. 

John P. Savage, the father of P. J., was 
a native of Ireland, but early came tn this 
country. Here he met bis wife, Susan Ar- 
1)1 lur. who was born and reared in Canada, 
and after their marriage they settled in 
Brown county, Minn., I)eing among the very 



490 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



earliest settlers of that count}'. Mr. Savage 
was one of the organizers of the town of 
Mulligan, and was its first treasurer. One 
of their children, Patrick, was the first white 
child whose birth is recorded in Brown coun- 
ty. Although a fanner in early life, after 
settling in Washburn, he was librarian for 
several years. He was employed tluring the 
Civil war on steamboats engaged in carrying- 
provisions to the troops at the front, a service 
c^uite as important and not unfrequently 
quite as dangerous as that given by enlisted 
men at the front. The death of Mr. Savage 
occurred at Spooner, Wis., in 1900, while he 
had lost his wife in 1884, during their resi- 
dence in Alinncsota. 

J.VMES H. AIKEN, dealer in agricul- 
tural and farm implements, is a prosperous 
citizen of Ashland, where he has resided since 
1887. He was born in Canada, July 11, 
1858, son of James and Martha (Sim) 
Aiken, both of Scottish birth and parentage. 

James and Martha (Sim) Aiken came 
to Canada in 1856, settling on a farm in 
Sarnia. Mr. Aiken always followed the 
occupation of farming and for the last ten 
years of his life was also postmaster at 
Sykeston postoffice. He died Oct. 14, 1902. 
His wife survives him and still lives on the 
home farm. They were the parents of thir- 
teen children, of whom eleven are living, 
James II. being next to the eldest. 

James H. Aiken had a common school 
education and worked on the farm until be 
was sixteen years old, when he went to Sar- 
nia, Ont., to learn the trade of blacksmith. 
After learning his trade he worked at it for 
a year in Sarnia and then followed it in dif- 
ferent parts of the United States for live 
years. He then opened a blacksmith shop 
in Hersey, Mich., which he carried on for 
three and a half years, when he sold it and 
came to Ashland. He worked at his trade 
in Ashland two years, returned to Hersey 
for a year and a half, and in 1887 came back 
to Ashland. After working' at his trade 
there for three years, he bought a farmjiear 
Nash, Wis., which he carried on for one 
summer. Selling this farm, he opened a 



blacksmith shop in partnership with Ilenrv 
IMunkwitz, but after three years bought out 
Mr. IMunkwitz and continued the busines? 
until March. 1902, when he sold the estab- 
lishment. He is at present engaged in the 
agricultural and farm implement line, in con- 
nection with which he carries on a general 
blacksmith business. His present residence 
and his warehouses he built in 1901. He has 
an eighty-acre farm near Ashland, of which, 
thirty acres are clear, and he also owns con- 
siderable real estate in Ashland. 

On March _'0, 1882, Mr. Aiken married 
Maggie McKay, of Detroit, Mich., daughter 
of John and Mary (Martin) McKay, both 
natives of Scotland. Mr. and Mrs. McKay 
had a family of nine children, of whom 
eight are living, Mrs. Aiken being the fifth 
in order of birth. John McKay was for 
many years a blacksmith in Chicago, antl 
later moved to Canada, where he died in 
1895. His wife survived him until Jan. 26, 
1903. Mr. and Mrs. Aiken are the parents 
of the following children: Harry V., Clar- 
ence C. and Chester C, all at home: and 
W'illiam J., deceased. Mr. Aiken is a mem- 
ber of the E. & A. M., Blue Lodge. No. 311, 
Hersey, Mich.: M. W. A., No. 1109, Ash- 
land; Royal Neighbors, Ashland: and a, 
charter member of the Equitable Fraternal 
Union, Assembly No. 155, Ashland; and of 
the National Fraternal League, No. 7, Ash- 
land. In politics he is a Republican. 

A. E. HICDBACK, M. D. The medical 
profession in northern Wisconsin is repre- 
sented by many men of the highest profes- 
sional attainment, and among these may 
very justly be classed Dr. Hedback, of Bar- 
ron. He was born in Vermland, Sweden.. 
April 21, 1874, and is a son of Robert Wil- 
helm and Christine (Armquist) Hedback, 
natives of the same country, where Mr. Hed- 
back was a mainifacturer of and dealer in 
leather. In 1882 he came with his family to 
America and settled near New Richmond. 
Wis., where Mrs. Hedbnck's people had 
previously settled. Judge Armquist, the well- 
known jurist, lieing her brother. Robert 
Wilhclm Hedback is now a well-to-do. 



COMAlExMORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



4yr 



farmer, lie has Ixjcoiiie (luite pnniiinent in 
liis coniimuiily, and has rilled with credit a 
nuniher of lucal offices, being an esteemed 
and intUienlial citizen. 

Until his ninth year Dr. lledback lived 
in the place of his nativity, enjoying such 
atlvantages as the jjublic schools afforded, 
supplemented by the instructions <if a private 
tutor, nia.stering the rudiments of learning. 
Subse([uently to the settlement of his par- 
ents in \e\v Richmond he regularly attended 
the public school, and was graduated from 
tlie higii school in 1893. For a year there- 
after he rilled the position of principal of the 
Deer Park public school, proving himself a 
capable and successful instructor. His aspi- 
rations, however, were not pedagogic. From 
his youth he had a predilection for the medi- 
cal i)rofession, and during the years he w^as 
in school he read medicine under Dr. Epley, 
a prominent physician of. New Richmond, 
under whose professional guidance he was 
l)repared to take matriculation examination. 
Jn the fall of 1894 he successfully passed 
the examination and was admitted to the 
Medical Department of the University of 
Minnesota, from which lie was graduated 
with honors, at the head of his class, June 
3, 1897. He won by his high standing the 
university appointment of physician and sur- 
geon to the State prison at Stillwater, for 
one year, which he accepted and creditably 
filled. In 1898 he went to Cumberland and 
took charge of Dr. Hopkins's practice for 
six months, after which, in the fall of the 
same year, he permanently located in Bar- 
ron, in the same county. From the first Dr. 
Hedback achieved signal success, and his in- 
creasing i)ractice best demonstrates his de- 
served popularity with the people whom he 
serves. He is a student in his profession. 
His large library comprises the volumes of 
many of the world's highest authorities, as 
well as the current professional literature. 
His well arranged office rooms are centrally 
Incated and are equipped with X-ray ma- 
chine, microscopes, etc. Dr. Hedback was 
the principal promoter of the Barron County 
Medical Society, which Inter was merged 
into the Barron-Gates-Polk County Medical 



Society. He was first chairman of the orig- 
inal society, and he has been secretary of the 
permanent organization for several years. 
He also holds membership in the State and 
American .Medical Associations. The Doctor 
has been health officer of Barron for the last 
five years, and he is medical examiner to all 
the old line insurance companies, doing busi- 
ness in Barron. Dr. Hedback is a gentle- 
man of interesting personality, and has fine 
conversational powers, speaking almost 
equally well in four languages. 

HARRY H. GRACE, the first village 
attorney in Superior, Douglas county, and 
now a lawyer in active practice in that city, 
is a native of Wisconsin, a son of Robert H. 
and Caroline L. (Hicks) Grace. 

A maternal ancestor, by name Van Ben- 
schoten, settled on die banks of die hi.storic 
Hudson in 1672. His descendant. Major 
Van Benschoten, with his son. Col. Van Ben- 
schoten, served with such rank in the Con- 
tinental army, and from them is descended 
Mrs. Caroline Grace. The great-grandfath- 
er Grace served with Burgoyne. surrendered 
with die army in New York, and settled on 
the Hudson ;'his son, Henry Grace, served 
in the war of 1812, and his son. Robert H. 
Grace, was a soldier in the Mexican war. 
About 1840 Robert H. Grace came West, 
and locating in Wisconsin, spent one year at 
Janesville. He then spent some few years 
in .'\danis county, after w-hicli he went to 
Grand Rapids, built and operated a shingle 
mill there and speculated in lumber and 
lunil)ernieirs supplies. He was a shrew<l 
business man and acquired considerable 
property. He kept the "Grand Rapids 
House" for some years, and in its da}- it 
was a noted hostelry. His death occurred 
in that city .in 1879, when he was aged fifty- 
six years.' He was an active Republican in 
politics and filled a number of local offices. 
He married Caroline L. Flicks, a native of 
New ^'ork like her husband, and a descend- 
ant of the Van Benschoten family above 
mentioned. 

Flarry FI. Grace, eldest son of the above 
couple, was born at Little Lake, Adams Co.,. 



492 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Wis., April i, 1856. His boyhood was 
cliiefly passed in Grand Rapitls, where he at- 
tended the pubhc scliools, including the high 
school, and later took a course in the State 
University of Wisconsin. In 1870 he went 
to Minneapolis and studied law with the 
firm of Benton and Benton, remaining with 
them until his admission to the Bar in 1878. 
His first general prnctice was done at 
Beaver Falls, Minn., where he remained but 
a short time, and he then spent nine years in 
practice at Wausau, Wis. In 1887 he went to 
Duluth, and a few months later came to West 
Superior, where he has since remained. Ten 
days after his location here, he attended a 
meeting called for the purpose of securing a 
\illage charter and he was chosen chairman 
of the meeting. He also acted as chairman 
of the committee which drew up tlie Order 
of the Court for Incorporation. Thus his 
identification with the village began early, 
and he served as the first village attorney and 
w-as unanimously nominated for the first 
president of the village, but declined. In all 
works of public improvement he has been 
foremost. Whatever he could do to promote 
the interests of his town and county, no mat- 
ter what the personal cost might be, he has 
always been found ready and willing to do. 
For five years he was a most efficient presi- 
dent of the board of education, and in the 
face of strong opposition secured the erection 
<">f most of the substantial brick school 
buildings which are now the pride of the city. 
He was chairman of the committee which 
went to Madison and secured the location of 
a State Normal School in Superior. For 
some years Mr. Grace affiliated with the 
Democratic party, and in 1898 was the nom- 
inee of that party for attorney general of the 
State, but in 1900 he cast his ballot in sup- 
jxirt of the late lamented President McKin- 
ley. He has ever been one of the leading citi- 
zens, and in all the positions which he has 
held, he has been found to be perfectly up- 
right in every way. His reputation is liter- 
ally without stain or blemish. He has also 
found time to make some judicious business 
investments, and is a director of several ot 
the leading corporations of the city. 

In 1878 Mr. Grace was united in mar- 



riage with Miss Elizabeth McCrossen, 
daughter of James and Cornelia A. McCros- 
sen, of Wausau, Wis. Mrs. Grace was born 
in Rural, Waupaca Co., Wis. Four children 
have blessed this union, namely: Zoa A., 
a graduate of the Superior Normal School ; 
Robert J., a memlier of Company I, 3d Wis. 
N. G., who served with General Miles in 
Porto Rico during the Spanish American 
war, and is now in the lumber business in 
Everett, Wash. ; Clarence, a cadet at the 
Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. ; and 
Harry H., Jr., a student at the Michigan Mil- 
itary Academy. Mr. and Mrs. Grace and 
their children all attend the Congrega- 
tional Churcli. Fraternally Mr. Grace 
is a Consistory ]\Iason. and has filled 
all the offices in the local lodge, chapter 
and commandery. 

OTTO HENRY MARTENS. Among 
the prominent merchants and public-spirited 
citizens of Medford, Taylor county, is Otto 
Henry Martens, a merchant tailor, who has 
been in business there, except for an interval 
of two years, since 1892. He was born in 
Neenah, Wis., July i, 1870, of German de- 
scent. 

Three generations of the family have 
lived in this country, as the grandfather, 
John Martens, came with his son Charles, 
when the latter emigrated from his old home 
in the b'atherland. John Martens died in 
Neenah. in his eighty-seventh year. 

Charles Martens was born in Mecklen- 
burg Schwerin, Germany, in 1836, and 
came to the United States in 1862. He lo- 
cated at Neenah and secured a position as 
foreman of a large shoe shop, which em- 
ployed many workmen. Later Mr. Martens 
was engaged in the same line of business on 
his own account. He married Regina Grau, 
also a native of Mecklenburg Schwerin, who 
came to the United States with her parents 
in 1862. Her father, Henry C. Grau, a tin- 
smith bv trade, lived to the age of fifty-five 
years, and her mother to the age of eighty- 
two, both passing away at Neenah, Wis. 
Mrs. Grau's maiden name was Neiman. 
Mr. Martens died in 1902, but his wife is yet 
living in Medford, at the age of sixty-five 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



493, 



years. Slie is the mother of six chiUh^en : 
WilHain, of Bessemer, JMich. ; Lena, Airs. 
F. F. Heffron, of Downer's Grove, 111. ; 
Otto H. ; Robert, of Neenah ; Elizabeth, Mrs. 
George Merkel, of Appleton, Wis. ; and Al- 
fred, of Medford. 

Otto H. Martens received a gootl edu- 
cation in the public schools and was grad- 
uated from the high school at the age of 
sixteen. He then learned the trade of a 
tailor and worked at it in \eenah until the 
fall of 1889, when he left home and was 
■employed at various points until 1892. Re- 
turning then to Medford, he opened a shop 
for himself and did business there for two 
years, after which he spent a few months in 
the same occupation in Adrian, Minn. That 
opening, however, did not prove as good a 
one as he had anticipated, and he returned 
to Medfortl, where he has since been in busi- 
ness. Mr. Martens has prospered greatly, 
employs a number of workmen and caters to 
the best trade. 

In 1892 Mr. Martens was united in mar- 
riage to Helena Boettcher, daughter of John 
Boettcher, of Medford. Mrs. Martens was 
born in the State of New York. There are 
two children in the family, Ruperta and 
Ralph. 

-Mr. .Martens supports the principles of 
the Republican party. .-\ good citizen, he 
takes his part in local affairs, and since 
1901 lias served as a member of the county 
Iward of supervisors. His civic patriotism 
has likewise been manifested by his fifteen 
years of service in the Medford fire dejjart- 
ment, of which he is now chief. Socially 
Mr. Martens belongs tf) the Ma.sonic fra- 
ternity, the Equitable Fraternal Union, and 
the A. O. U. W. With his family he is 
connected with the Lutheran Church. 

G. G. GOB.\R, M. D. X.,t lrc(|uently 
is found in nne iiulividnal such versatile gifts 
and evenly balanced talents as are possessed 
by Dr. G. G. Gnbar. of .\pollonia. Wis., who 
has pro\en hiinself equally at home in the 
details of business, literary compositiun .and 
medical science. Dr. Gobar is yet a young 
man, born in 1867, at .\lma. Wis., a sun of 
fulius and Elizabeth (Kaiser) r;<ibar. 



The father of Dr. Gobar was born in 
New York and the mother in Switzerland. 
They came to Wisconsin in 1854, and Mr. 
Gobar became one of the earliest settlers of 
Buffalo county, taking up a homestead claim 
near Alma. He built the first frame build- 
ing erected in the county, and also erected 
the first grist mill there. .V practical mill- 
wright he engaged in milling for a few 
years, until his mill was carried away by a 
great flood, and he then turned his attenlioii 
to logging for a couple of years. Mr. Gobar 
then removed with his family, to ClinlDU, 
Mo., where he engaged in the manufaclme 
(if plows, and two years later, he came to 
his death, being accidentally thrown fruni 
his wagon. July 4, 1870. in the following 
year the mother and widow went to Buffalo 
City but later, returned to the family home- 
stead near Alma; she now lives in Oregon. 
The father of Mrs. Gobar was also a home- 
steader in Buffalo county, settling in 1846. 
where he lived until his accidental death, 
from the kick of a horse. To Mr. and Mrs. 
(iobar. were born six children, viz.: Dr. 
Frank, of Oregon ; Joseph, of Alma, Wis. ; 
Dr. John J., of Centuria, Wis. ; Dr. G. G. : 
Xellie, who died in Missouri in infancy; and 
I-><jttie E., wife of E. R. C. Jones, of Green 
Bay, Wisconsin. 

Dr. G. (i. Ciobar received his preliminary 
education in the .\lma public schools and 
was but a youth when he showed the bent 
of his mind by entering a drug store, at 
Durand, Wis., as a kind of preparatory med- 
ical school. He remained in the drug busi- 
ness for three years and then spent two 
years in the West, and upon his return be- 
gan the serious study of medicine with his 
brother. Dr. Frank (jobar, at Durand. Un- 
der this careful and ca])able preceptor, our 
subject was prejjared for medical college, 
and in 1888 he matriculated at Rush Medi- 
cal College. Chicago, 111. Here he pursued 
the full three years course and graduated in 
1891. Later he took a post graduate course 
of one year, and passing through the neces- 
sary ho.spital experience, he was given his 
well earned ]iost gra<luate degree. 

Dr. Gobar returned to Durand, and en- 
tered into a copartnership with his brother. 



494 



COiMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



■where he remained until 1898, when he came 
to Apollonia. Here he soon built up a very 
satisfactory practice and in the following 
year opened the first drug store in the rapidly 
growing little town. From time to time the 
Doctor became identified with other lines 
of business. In 1901, with Messrs. Hill and 
Heverin, he bought the Weekly Budget, 
which was the first paper in Rusk county. 
Later it changed hands and was taken to 
Ladysmith, and Dr. Gobar and Mr. Hill 
then bought the Reviezv; this paper was es- 
tablished by Mr. Blackwell and after its pur- 
chase the name was changed to the Apollonia 
Cause. It is now conducted by the firm of 
Gobar & Kepner. With the latter Dr. Gobar 
is also interested in the handling of 
drugs, newspapers, furniture, hardware and 
jewelry. 

In 1893 Dr. Gobar was married to Miss 
Lydia Auer, of Alma, Wis., and they have 
three children : F. Willis, Julian A. and 
Thelma L. 

Dr. Gobar is a member of the Winona 
•Medical Society and the Polk, Barron and 
Rusk County Medical Society and is a 
valued contributor to their literature. He 
continues a student and has taken a special 
post graduate course in his Alma Mater. 
His knowledge is all used for the benefit of 
-his numerous patients, who have not been 
slow to recognize his superior skill. Fra- 
ternally, he belongs to the I. O. O. F., the 
IModern Woodmen, tlie K. O. T. IL, the 
Rebekah Order, and the Royal Purple En- 
campment. 

Dr. Gobar has been one of the earnest 
and untiring workers for the development of 
this town. For the past four years he has 
Ijeen health officer and school treasurer, and 
is a member of the board of Pension Ex- 
aminers for Rusk county. In addition to his 
large practice and the interests mentioned. 
Dr. Gobar finds time to promote social move- 
ments and to encourage laudable business 
and amusement enterprises which promise 
substantial benefit. With more like citizens, 
Apollonia would soon take a very prominent 
l)lace among the newly settled towns of 
iiusk county. 



HENRY ANTOINE KCCHLI. a well- 
known citizen of Duluth, who bravely bore 
arms for his adopted country during the 
dark days of the Civil war, is a native of 
St. Jean, near Strassburg, Lorraine, France 
(now Germany), born July 27, 1844, son 
of Antoine and Julia (Damobre) Kiichli, 
the latter of whom died in the old home in 
sunny France. 

In June, 1853, Antoine Kiichli. with his 
three sons and two daughters, arrived in 
New York, in search of a home and fortune 
somewhere in the New World. He first 
came westward and located in Detroit, Mich., 
but after a few months he went to Sault 
Ste. Marie, where he kept a boarding house. 
About 1855 he moved to Ozaukee, Wis. 
.Vfter some time there, however, he sur- 
rendered to the longing for the old home in 
France, and in 1856 he went back. The 
vigor of the new land was in his blood, 
and in i860 he again came to America, this 
time locating in Superior, whence in a very 
brief time he went to Duluth, where he pur- 
chased a farm on Bay View Heights, which 
he partially redeemed from its pristine wil- 
derness. Then he again returned to France. 
In 1868 he came back to Duluth, this time 
to stay ; and he made his home in the Zenith 
City until his death, which occurred April 
19, 1886, when he was aged eighty-four 
years. His children were : Louis, who died 
in 1880, at White Bear, Minn.; Mary Ann, 
widow of Jacob Swartz Loreum, of Calumet, 
Mich. : Alary E., widow of Dr. George 
Brunsweiler, of Appleton, Wis. ; Joseph, of 
Biloxi, Miss.; and Henry Antoine. 

Henry A. Kiichli received the greater 
part of his education in the schools of Sault 
Ste. Marie, Ontonagon, and Superior, and at 
the early age of thirteen began life for him- 
self, by working with his brother in a meat 
market at Superior. His next employment 
was in a brewery, and he also assisted very 
materially in clearing one of the first farms 
in Duluth. The family cleared twenty-seven 
acres in 1859, a remarkable year's work. 
While logging on this tract Mr. Kuchli had 
his left leg crushed, and this has caused him 
more or less trouble ever since. In the fall 



CO^niEiMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



495 



•of i860 he went into the copper country in 
Michigan, and for a while was employed in 
the stamp mill of the Franklin Mine at Rip- 
ley (now Hancock), Mich. He also re- 
sumed school for five months, never missing 
an opportunity to better his mental train- 
ing. Upon leaving school again he found 
employment in a haberdashery, and was 
there at work when, impelled by loyalty to 
his adopted country, he enlisted, Aug. 20, 
1862, in defense of the Union. He became 
a private in Company B, 27th Mich. V. I., 
and served with honor until Aug. 5, 1865. 
His regiment was first assigned to the 9th 
Army Corps, and for several months was 
stationed in Kentucky. They were ordered 
to Vicksburg, arriving there just fourteen 
days before the surrender. They were em- 
ployed at building fortifications to oppose 
Johnston's forces, and after the fall of the 
city were sent in pursuit of that wily South- 
ern general. Soon after the siege of Jackson 
^Ir. KiJchli was attacked with malarial fever. 
and owing to the capture of the medicine 
train received no medical attendance until 
they reached Vicksburg by ambulance July 
27, 1863, after which the whole corps was 
sent to a convalescent camp at Maple Grove, 
Ky. Upon his recovery with his regiment he 
marched to Cumberland Gap, taking part in 
the capture of that place, after which they 
went to Knoxville, which was their head- 
quarters during the winter of 1863-64. This 
winter was not an idle one by any means, 
as there was considerable marching and 
skirmishing, including several sharp engage- 
ments, among them being those at Blue 
Springs, Tenn., and Camplx-'ll's Station, Mr. 
Kiichli receiving a wound in the knee at the 
latter place, and being compelled by reason 
thereof to pass three days and nights without 
sleep. For seventeen days they streiuiously 
defended the city of Knoxville against Gen. 
Longstreet's siege, and much suffering was 
caused by ague and the lack of Ijoth food 
and clothing. In April, 1864. after leaving 
Knoxville, they received full rations for the 
first time in several months. Marching over 
tiie mountains to Lexington. Ky., they were 
transported to Annapolis, Md.. and in April, 



1864, passed through Washington to join 
the Army of the Potomac at VVarrenton 
junction, Va. in the campaign in 1864 
the 27th Michigan lost heavily : 89 men in 
the Wilderness; 195 at Spottsylvania ; 24 at 
North Anna ; and 87 at Cold Harbor. In the 
last named battle Air. Kuchli, who had be- 
longed to the color guard all that campaign, 
airricd the regimental colors, in the first 
two days battle in front of Petersburg, 118 
men of the 27th Michigan laid down their 
lives, and on July 30th, at that place, 136 
more. Company B going into battle with but 
eleven men, of whom seven were left upon 
the field dead or wounded. On Aug. 8th, 
for the first time since leaving Warrentown 
Junction on May 5th, the men had an oppor- 
tunity to change and wash their clothing. 
[The official report of the 27th Michigan 
gives 223 men and ofiicers killed in action 
or died of wounds, and 203 of disease dur- 
ing the war. This number added to the 
nnssing and wounded makes the total loss 
fully 700 men.] They were next stationed 
in Washington, and there participated in the 
Grand Review, xMr. Kuchli carrying the old 
flag as color sergeant on that memorable 
occasion. He was recommended for a medal 
of honor, but though ofi'ered promotion re- 
fused to accept anything higher than color 
sergeant, feeling that the privilege of carry- 
ing the sacred emblem of liberty was the 
highest honor of all. 

After the war Mr. Kiichli returned home, 
and soon entered the Bryant & Stratton 
Business College, at Detroit, Mich., where 
he took a thorough business course. Lo- 
cating at Eagle Harbor, Mich., he opened a 
jewelry and notion store, and also engaged 
in photography, later going to Calumet, 
Mich. Since 1869 he has made his home in 
Duluth, where he has followed a variety of 
occupations, in all of which he has pros- 
pered. He has engaged in bridge-building 
and surveying, while for several years he 
was manager of a sash and door factory, 
and al.so conducted a soap factory. For five 
years he was light keeper at Outer Island, 
in the Apostle Islands group; he was book- 
keeper in a grocery store; foreman of con- 



496 



CO.MAIEMORATR'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



struction on the coal (.locks, aiul in Angust, 
1882, he was appointed clerk of the district 
court, and at the end of his term ivas elected 
for four years more. Although changing his 
employment often, Mr. Kuchli is ne\er uUe, 
always tinding something to do at once, and 
ills cheery disposition makes him very popu- 
lar, whether as an employe or as an em- 
ployer. 

Politically Mr. Kuchli is a stanch Ucpuh- 
lican, although in local atifairs he is inde- 
pendent. He has been active in Grand Army- 
work from the time of the organization of 
that great fraternity, and he helped to or- 
ganize two of the earlier posts at Duluth. 

On Oct. 24. 1873, Mr. Kiichli was mar- 
ried to Henrietta Laronger, of Ontonagon, 
Mich., and their happy home has been 
blessed with three sons and tw^o daughters : 
George C, of Chicago; VVilford \V. ; Hale 
A.; Adelaide J.; and Louise ALabel. The 
family are all highly esteemed. 

\\1LLL\M HENRY TODD, a success- 
ful and intluential citizen of Long Lake, 
Washburn county, where he was among the 
pioneers, was born in County Shetiford, 
Quebec, Nov. 19, 1826. His parents were 
Simon and Anna (Wood) Todd. 

Grandfather William Todd came from 
Ireland with the noted foundryman, Tyson, 
by whom he was employed, locating ore, for 
some years. Later he founded the village 
of Union, N. Y., where he owned and op- 
erated a sawmill. His son, Simon Todd, 
was born in Union \'illage, but went in early 
life to Canada, never returning to claim his 
inheritance. He was a born hunter and 
trapper, and spent live years in the wilder- 
ness, after his marriage settling on a farm 
in County Shefford. He was an active man 
until his death, which was caused by an ac- 
cident when he was nearly ninety years old. 
His wife survived him several years, pass- 
ing away at the age of seventy-seven. Her 
mother, Hannah Wood, was of Scotch de- 
scent; James Henry Wood, father of Mrs. 
Anna Todd, was an Englishman, who Set- 
tled in Vermont, near Lake Champlain. 
During the war of 18 12 his pmperty was 



contiscatei-l and he was obliged to move into 
Canada, locating in West Sheti'ord, where 
he lived to be eighty-nine years of age. He 
w as a quiet, unobtrusive man. 

Of the thirteen chiklren of Simon and 
.\nna (Wood) Todd, the only one in \\ is- 
consin is William Henry Todd. He left 
home at the age of eighteen, and went to 
X'ermont, where he worked at the shoemak- 
er's trade in winter, aiul on a farm during 
the sunmier. Later for ten years he was 
employed at bridge building on the Vermont 
Central and other railroads, then in course 
of construction. In 1854 he went to Bata- 
via. 111., where he ilid some building; he 
then spent a short time in Ereeport, 111., 
and in 1856 went to Eau Claire, \Vis. The 
Eau Claire Lumber Company was then lay- 
ing out the town, and for one season Mr. 
Todd carried on its boarding house. Pie was 
in the enipl(\\' of this company ten years, 
building the first bridge over the Eau Claire 
ri\er; he built booms in summer and ditl 
logging in winter. He bought a farm near 
luui Claire, which he cultivated for some 
\ears, and also acquired a second farm, but 
most of his time was spent in erecting and 
moving buildings in the city. About 1884 
he located in Washburn county, taking up 
a homestead claim in section 26, Town 38, 
Range 1 1. on the shore of Long Lake. There 
being no road nearer than the foot of the 
lake, seven miles from this claim, he drove 
in over the ice and built a shanty. A few 
years later he drew his timber twenty-live 
miles to a sawmill, afterward dressing it by 
hand, and built his present residence, a sub- 
stantial three-story frame building, situated 
to command a magniticent view of the lake. 
His farm now includes about 200 acres, of 
which twenty-five are under cultivation; the 
house is surrounded by hardwood grov."S, 
contaiiung- maple, buttenuit, walnut ami 
other hardwood trees. 

Mr. Todd was married in .\lburg. Vt., 
I'Vb. ,v 18:; I, til Harriet Donaldson, daugh- 
ter of Nathan and Luna Donaldson, of Cald- 
well Manor, near Clarenceville, Oucbec. 
Mrs. Todil was the first white woman in 
\v.\u Claire. Mr. and .Mrs. Toild have the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



497 



following cliildren ; Ciiarlottc (.Mrs. BellJ, 
Amanda, Henry, Nadian, AlJjert, George, 
Monroe, Charles and Emma, (Mrs. E. A. 
Youngs, of Rice Ljike^, ail but the last 
named being residents of Long Lake town- 
ship. They also have a number of grandchil- 
dren and great-grandchildren. Mr. Todd and 
his descendants are noted for regular and 
temperate liabits. Eor many years Mr. Todd 
and his sons filled logging contracts each 
winter, and he has assisted his sons to ac- 
quire good homes in the neighlxjrhood. Mr. 
Todd has always been a Democrat in poli- 
tical principle, and though he scjmctinies 
supports other candidates he is considered 
one of the most intluential members of his 
part}' in Washburn county. It was through 
his influence that Madge postoffice was es- 
tablished in 1894, and he served four years 
as postmaster. He was chairman of the 
town board of Long Lake for four years, 
and was instrumental in getting most of the 
roads laid out in the northern part of the 
township. By vigorous and timely effort 
he circum\'ented a movement to have the 
county divided, making two trips to Madi- 
son for that purpose, and circulating among 
his neighlxjrs a reuKjnstrance against the 
proposed measure, in early life Mr. Todd 
was a member of the L'niversalist Church at 
Ludlow, V't., where for several years he 
sang in the choir. 

LUDWTG KOWALKE is a well known 
resident of South Superior, where he has 
lived since 1891. He is a native of Ger- 
many, born in West Prussia, March 7, 
1836, where he remained until after his mar- 
riage. He learned the trade of millwright 
in Germany, and served three years in the 
(ierman army, besides taking part in the 
Austria-Prussian war, during which time he 
suffered much hardship and i)rivation. Be- 
lieving he should find l)etter opportunities in 
this country he emigrated, with his wife and 
tliree children, landing in Oucl)ec, June 20, 
1867. Mr. Kowalke's destination was La 
Crosse, W'is.. but at Milwaukee he had the 
misfortune to be rolilied of all his money, 
and r)n reaching La Crosse was only enabled 
to pay his freight bill of thirty-six dollars. 



through the kindness of John Gund, who, 
although an entire stranger, loaned him the 
money. This loan was very soon repaid, 
as Mr. Kowalke found employment with the 
Smith & Dean Wagon Co., of La Crosse, 
where he remained five years. He then built 
a large sawmill for John Paul, of La Crosse, 
remaining with Mr. Paul another five years. 
In partnership with others he then bought 
the furniture factory . of Stephen Hosier, 
which they operated for ten years, and then 
disposed of it to the Chicago, Burlington & 
X'orthern Railroad Co. After this Mr. 
Kowalke moved to Minneapolis. He had 
been a resident of La Crosse for twenty 
years, during which time it had grown from 
a town of 8,000, to a city with a population 
of 25,000. He was in the employ of Bard- 
well & Robinson, in Minneapolis, for three 
years, and then came to South' Superior 
where he is employed at the Webster Chair 
Works, during the winter, but during the 
summer, gives his principal attention to 
ganlening. Mr. Kowalke deserves much of 
the credit for having demonstrated that the 
soil and climate of JSoudi Superior are 
ada])ted to the production of all kinds of 
vegetables, of the finest quality and largest 
size. He has grown cabbages which have 
weighed thirty-six pounds each, cucumbers 
eighteen inches long, and carrots weighing 
two and a h.'df jjounds, while his rutabagas 
took the first premium at the Douglas coun- 
ty fair. Mr. Kowalke has grown millet four 
and a half feet high, and onions five inches 
in diameter — all going to prove the rich- 
ness and profluctiveness of the soil. 

On March 4. i860, in Germany, Mr. 
Kowalke was married to Caroline Gill- 
meister, by whom he has six children as fol- 
lows: Amiel, Otto, Ida, Gusta\', Conrad and 
Hattie. The family are all members of the 
German Lutheran Church. Mr. Kowalke 
is a Democrat in politics, and is esteemed as 
an honest and industrious citizen. 

JOHN MOIR. an enterprising and pros- 
perous business man in that part of Duluth 
known as the West End, seni<")r member of 
the firm of Moir & Walker, grocers, was 
lx)rn Oct. ,^. 1867, in Bellrock, Ontario. 



498 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



George Moir, his father, was born in 
Ediiiljurgh, Scotland, and grew to manhood 
in his native land, coming to America at 
the age of eighteen years, in about 1845. 
He spent some years traveling, principally 
in the Southern States, and about 1S60 lo- 
cated at Bellrock, Ontario, where he set- 
tled on a farm and remained until his death, 
which occurred March 1 8, 1901. He reached 
the age of seventy-five years. Mr. Moir was 
a successful farmer, and as a public-spirited 
citizen took an active part in the affairs of 
his locality, serving in several offices. He 
married Margaret Taylor, who was born 
near Edinburgh, Scotland, daughter of John 
Taylor, and came to America with her pa- 
rents in childhood. Mr. Taylor followed 
the trade of stonemason, and lived to be 
nearly eighty. His wife still survives, liv- 
ing at Warsaw, Ontario. Mrs. Margaret 
Moir is now (1904) fifty-three years old. 
George , and Margaret (Taylor) Moir be- 
came the parents of nine children : Martha, 
now Mrs. Sidney Grant, of Bellrock, On- 
tario; John; Agnes, wife of Rev. Miles 
Benn ; William, a resident of Bellrock ; An- 
drew, of , Eugene, Oregon ; Lizzie, Mrs. 
Clark, of Bellrock: and Kenneth. Elsie and 
Roy, all of Bellrock. 

John Moir remained with his parents un- 
til about eighteen years old, and received 
a common-school education. On leaving 
home he went to Saginaw, Mich., where 
he worked in the lumber woods until 1891, 
in which year he came to Duluth. He be- 
gan work here soon afterward as a street 
car conductor, and continued as such for 
five or six years, after which he entered 
into partnership with Thomas W. Walker 
in the grocery business, the firm being Moir 
& Walker. They have enjoyed a lucrative 
patronage from the start, and they have had 
a fine location for business, an advantage 
■which they have improved to the utmost. 
Mr. Moir also has a timber claim in St. 
Louis county. 

In 1891 Mr. ]\Ioir married Miss Flor- 
ence Martha Walker, and they have two 
children. Hazel Muriel and Earl Roy. The 
familv attend Grace Methodist Church. So- 



cially he is a member of the I. O. F. and 
the A. F. & A. M., and he is a Republican 
in political connection, interested in the wel- 
fare of the party, but never a candidate for 
office. 

OLAF GUSTAF OLSON is a promi- 
nent and successful real estate dealer of 
Duluth, where he has resided since 1880. 
He was born in Vermland, in the central 
part of Sweden, May 9, i860, and was the 
second eldest in a family of four children. 
He was brought up on a farm and received 
a common school education, and was 
reckoned one of the highest scholars in his 
class. His father, a practical farmer, and 
also a good carpenter and mechanic, died 
in 1870, at the early age of forty- four, when 
Olaf was only ten years old. His grand- 
father, Jonas Johnson, lived to the ripe age 
of seventy-six. 

Olaf Gustaf Olson was the first member 
of the family to leave home, emigrating to 
America when he was about nineteen years 
old. In the spring of 1880 he went to Rush 
City, Minn., where he worked on a farm 
for a Mr. Ramburg for three months. In 
July of the same year he came to Duluth, 
and was employed on the railroad a short 
time, after which he was engaged in carpen- 
tering and house building for about five 
years, meantime attending evening school, 
and taking private lessons in his spare mo- 
ments. In 1887 he opened a store, as a 
dealer in stationery and music, carrying on 
this business until 1890. In the summer 
of that year he made a trip to Sweden on a 
visit to his aged mother, and on his return 
the same year established himself as a real- 
estate dealer. He has ever since contiimed 
in this business, dealing extensively in farm- 
ing, pine and iron lands. 

In 1883 Mr. Olson married Beda C. An- 
derson, whom he had known in Sweden, 
and ever since this marriage their home has 
been at No. 305 Mesaba avenue, Duluth. 
They have a family of four children : Olga 
A'ictoria, a young lady with nmch musical 
ability; Clarence W., a youth of fifteen; and 
Roy G. and Evelyn A., aged respectively 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



499 



nine and tliree. Mr. Olson is closely at- 
iaclied to his wife and children, and they 
are a happy and interesting family. 

L'ntil the year 1S96 Mr. Olson was 
strongly Republican in politics, but since 
then he has leaned toward the Democratic 
party. He has always taken an active part 
in public affairs, and has several times been 
m-ged to become a candidate for office. This 
he has persistently refused to do, but he 
continues to take a great interest in the selec- 
tion of the best possible candidates. In re- 
ligious belief he is a Baptist, and before there 
was any Scandinavian Church of that de- 
nomination in Duluth he was a member of 
the American Baptist Church for two years. 
Since the organization of the Swedish Bethel 
Baptist Church he has been one of its lead- 
ing members and has served the society for 
many years as trustee and as treasurer. He 
is also active in Sunday-school work, and 
( although very modest as to his musical at- 
tainments) is a fine singer. Mr. Olson is 
one of the early settlers of Duluth, having 
come there twenty-five years ago. when it 
was a place of only about 4.000 inhabitants, 
and in both business and social circles he has 
a host of friends. 

WILLIAM H. TOXXE, one of the 
most enterprising young business men of 
Med ford, Taylor county, engaged in the 
drug business at that place, was born at 
Lake Mills. Wis., Aug. 7, 1861S, and is the 
son of Christopher and Meta (Hieldebrand) 
Tonne, who now reside at Fort Atkinson. 
Wis. Christopher Tonne and his wife are 
both natives of Germany, born near Bremen, 
and came to this country while still in their 
youth. They have had five children : Louise, 
who died when thirty-five years old ; Henry 
D.. of Watertown. Wis.: William H. ; Otto, 
who lived only six months; and August O., 
"f Fort Atkinson. 

William H. Tonne was educated in the 
public schools of Lake Mills and Milford, 
and by the time he was fifteen began pre- 
paring himself to be a druggist. Beginning 
with practical e.xpcrience in Watertown, he 
Liter took a course of pharmacy at the Mil- 



waukee Medical College. From Watertown 
he went to Fort Atkinson, thence to 
^larinette. Wis., and in 1890 he located at 
Med ford, where he was employed in a drug 
store ten years. At the end of that time he 
bought out his employer and has since been 
conducting the business for himself accord- 
ing to the most modern ideas. He does a 
flourishing trade, which is constantly in- 
creasing and is fast winning a place for him- 
self among the substantial men of Medford. 
Politically Mr. Tonne is a Republican, but 
has been too much engrossed with his busi- 
ness cares to give any special attention to 
matters of public policy. 

On Oct. 22, 1902, Mr. Tonne was mar- 
ried to Louisa Fredericks, daughter of Theo- 
dore H. Fredericks, one of the pioneers of 
Taylor county. Mr. and Mrs. Tonne are 
both popular socially and have many friends. 
They are the parents of one son, Christopher 
hVederick, born Sept. 17, 1903. 

SAMUEL ANGVICK is among the 
prominent Scandinavian-American business 
men of Ashland, Wis., where he has resided 
since 1886. His birth occurred in Norway, 
April 20. i860, his parents being Matthies 
and .Anna (Anbjorson) Angvick, both na- 
tives of that country. 

Matthies Angvick, like his forefathers, 
was a farmer all his life, and died in his 
native land, July 15, 1901. His wife passed 
away in 1872. leaving a family of seven chil- 
dren. Of the.se. five are still living, as fol- 
lows : Andrew, a farmer in Norway: John, 
a mechanic in the employ of his brother 
Samuel : Martin, an attorney, living in Stan- 
ley. Wis. : Edward, also in the employ of his 
brother Samuel : and Samuel, mentioned 
below. 

The early life of Samuel .\ngvick was 
spent in Norway, where he learned the trade 
of cooper. At the age of twenty-one he 
came to the L^nited States and settled at 
Eau Claire, Wis., where he immediately 
went to work in a sawmill, remaining two 
years. After that he worked for four years 
in a cooper shop in Eau Claire, .going then 
to Minneapolis, where he spent a year as an 



500 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



employe of the street railway company. In 
1886 he came to Ashland and the tirst year 
was employed by the Chaquamegon Ice Co. 
In the fall of 1888 he went into business for 
himself, setting up a furniture store at 809 
West Second street, where he has since re- 
mained. In 1893 he increased his business 
by adding a hardware department, and in 
1902 opened an undertaking establishment 
in the same building, of which he is the 
owner. He has prospered in all of his busi- 
ness ventures and now employs six men, 
his varied experience in working for others 
standing him in good stead in his own under- 
takings. 

On Sept. 12, 1902, Mr. Angvick was 
married to Anna Severson, of .\shland. 
They are both members of the United Luth- 
eran Church. Mr. Angvick has been a Re- 
publican since becoming a citizen of the 
United States. Fraternally he is connected 
with the I. O. O. F.. Lodge No. 63, of Ash- 
land; M. W. A., Cliaquamegon Camp, Xo. 
1 109, of Ashland; the Independent Scandi- 
navian Workmen Association of America, 
Branch No. 12, of Ashland; and the Fra- 
ternal Reserve Association, No. 43. 

WILLIAM M. KELLOGG. To Will- 
iam M. Kellogg, chief of the Superior fire 
department, while he is too modest to boast 
of his achievements, is largely due in reality 
the high degree of efficiency attained by the 
force. For more than a score of years Mr. 
Kellogg has been engaged in fighting the 
flames, and his life has been filled with in- 
teresting and perilous experiences. 

William M. Kellogg was born near 
Colxnirg. Ont., Dec. 14, 1857. ^ son of Will- 
iam D. and Mary E. (Beales) Kellogg, na- 
tives of the same locality. The ancestors of 
the Kellogg family came from England and 
settled in the State of New York during the 
Colonial period. John Kellogg, grandfather 
of William M., was a farmer in Ontario, and 
lived to be nearly eighty years old. A 
brother Frank, served all through the Civil 
war, enlisting as a private and rising to be an 
officer in the commissary department. He 
died in Crcsco. Iowa, from the effects of 



wounds received during his service. Two 
of his sons also enlisted, and one, Benoni, 
was wounded and died from the effects 
thereof. Singularly enough his father had a 
presentiment of his death, and told his othet 
son, Matthew, of the sad occurrence at al- 
most the exact hour of its happening, al- 
though he was widely separated from the 
wounded son. 

William D. Kellogg, father of Willianr 
AI., is a dentist by profession, and in 1862 
settled at Glen Beulah, Wis., in Fond du 
Lac county; he practiced there for a few 
years and then removed to Decorah, Iowa, 
where he is still in active practice, at the 
age of seventy-seven years. He is a de- 
vout member of the Baptist Church and lias, 
been for a number of years a deacon in the 
First Baptist Church of Decorah. He i<i 
also very active in the Prohibition cause and 
has quite a reputation as a lecturer on that 
subject, his deep earnestness necessarily im- 
pressing his hearers. Personally he has 
never used liquor or tobacco in any form. 
Mrs. Mary (Beales) Kellogg was the daugh- 
ter of Chester Beales, who lived and died 
in Ontario. The family was of Scotch 
origin and several of their ancestors served 
in the Continental army during the Revolu- 
tion. Mrs. Kellogg died in Decorah, while 
her son, William M., was a child. 

The public schools of Decorah afforded 
all the education enjoyed by AVilliam M. 
Kellogg, for at the age of thirteen, after 
the death of his mother, he left home and 
began to earn his own livelihood. A fev; 
years later he was engaged in the livery busi- 
ness at Decorah, and then in 1880 went 
to South Dakota and took up a homestead 
claim near the present village of Plankinton. 
After two years there he went to St. Paul, 
and entered the employ of the McMillen 
Pork Packing Co., where he spent about 
three years. Being an expert horseman, he 
next became a driver in the fire department 
and drove a four horse team for two years. 
Later he was made a pipeman, and rising 
grade by grade, eventually became lieu- 
tenant of Engine Co. No. 8. Still later he- 
was promoted to be captain of Engine Co.. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD" 



501 



A^o. 5, and after a year in tliat pusition, 31! 
■assistant chief of the department. 

In 1890 Mr. Kellogg resigned his posi- 
tion in St. Paul to become first assistant 
•chief of the Superior lire department, and 
since 1894 he has been in supreme command 
of the force. The department consists of 
four hose companies, two engine companies 
and two volunteer hose companies, one of 
which is equipped with a hand pump engine. 
There are tifty-five men in the volunteer 
force and forty-four in the full paid service. 
Chief Kellogg has displayed the utmost 
ability and energy in bringing the depart- 
ment to its present efficiency and his ef- 
forts are fully appreciated by the people of 
the city. , 

In 1892 Mr. Kellogg was married to 
Miss Anna Rollins, daughter of George Rol- 
lins, now deceased, of Gardiner, Maine. 
Mr. Kellogg and his wife are members of 
the M. E. Church. 

Mr. Kellogg is identified with some busi- 
ness interests, and was one of the incorpora- 
tors and vice-president of the Black Rock 
Mining Company, which is engaged in devel- 
oping valuable gold mines in Arizona. He 
is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of 
Superior Commandery. No. 25 : and of Os- 
man Temple of the Mvstic Shrine, at St. 
Paul. 

HERMAN BURG, a farmer and luin- 
herman of Duluth, is one of the prosperous 
German-American citizens of that place. He 
came first to Duluth as far back as 1856, and 
after living in many other places settled there 
permanently in 1869. 

John P. Burg, father of Herman, was 
a wine manufacturer and merchant in Ger- 
many, but after coming to Duluth settled 
down to farming. Pie married Barbara 
Sweitzer in Germany, and in 1852 brought 
his family to America. They settled first 
:it Windsor, Ont., afterward moving to De- 
troit, Mich., where Mrs. Burg died in 1854. 
In 1855 John P. Burg came to Duluth, where 
he cleared a farm on which he lived tnitil 
hi."; deatli, in 1870. He and his wife were 
the parents of nine children, of whom only 
four are now living. 



Herman Burg was born in Germany 
.March 22, 1841, and remained in that coun- 
try until he was eleven years of age, when 
lie came with his parents to America. All 
of his schooling was received in his native 
country, his working life beginning on his 
arrival m the new world. He hel])ed his 
father on the farm at Windsor, and moved 
with the family to Detroit. I'Vom there he 
\\ent alone to Mackinaw, where he worked 
for six months as a hotel waiter. In 1854 
he went to Chicago, and two years later to 
Superior, and helped his father clear his 
farm near Duluth. After that he went to 
Ontonagon county, Mich., where he worked 
in the copper mines from 1858 to 1865, in 
llie winter of that year, with a number of 
others, walking all the way to Superior on 
the ice. I'urchasing a supply of provisions 
and other goods, he went to Vermillion dur- 
ing the gold excitement, remaining until 
1866, when he returned to Superior and 
stayed until 1870. In that year he went to 
Duluth, where for sixteen years he w'as en- 
gaged in the meat business. Until the rail- 
Maj' was built between the two cities he 
was obliged to drive all his cattle from St. 
Paul to Duluth. In 1886 he went with a 
party to the Nova Scotia gold mines, where 
he remained three years. Returning to Du- 
luth he went into the lumber business, in 
which he has ever since been engaged. He 
also owns and operates a sawmill at Burg 
Park. W'is., and is quite extensixely engaged 
in farming at that place, which was named 
in his honor. 

On May 3. 1861, Mr. Burg married 
.\nna Kugler, of Duluth, daughter of Fred 
and Friedericka Kugler, natives of Germany, 
where Mr. Kugler was a sheep raiser. He 
emigrated to this country and both he and 
his wife died here. Five of their nine chil- 
dren are living. Mr. and Mrs. Burg have 
three children, as follows: Edward F.. a 
soda water manufacturer of Duluth and Su- 
perior; Rose A., at home; and .\rthur H., 
associated with his father in the lumber 
business. The family are members of the 
Catholic Church. Mr. Burg is a Republi- 
can in politics and was an alderman of Du- 
luth for four years. Fraternally he is a 



i02 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



member of the I. O. O. F., Lod^e No. 28, 
of Duliith, and the A. O. U. W., Lodge No. 
10, of Duluth. 

Z. R. CRYE, a pioneer of Wisconsin 
and a well-known cruiser of former days, 
who now resides two miles from Ladysmith, 
in Rusk county, was born in 1853, in Madi- 
son county, Ind., a son of John and Edie 
Crye. 

The parents of Mr. Crye came to Dunn 
county, \Vis., in 1862, locating in its wildest 
portion, their nearest neighbor being three 
miles away, while the nearest school was 
at Menomonie, fourteen miles distant. In 
this isolated locality the family lived for 
several years. This being the case, our 
subject had almost no chance to attend school 
during childhood, but later he became a 
pupil in the Cedar Falls public schools, work- 
ing for his board and thus obtained a fair 
knowledge of the rudiments of the English 
language. 

Early in life Mr. Crye became a woods- 
man and cruised through the forest, becom- 
ing familiar with every section for many 
miles around, and his services were soon 
in much demand from those who came to 
this section in search of homes and for lo- 
cation of sawmills and other industrial 
plants. The Omaha Railroad Company en- 
gaged his services in their land department 
and for two years he protected the com- 
pany's lands from the ravages of trespassers. 
His next engagement was with Webb & 
Grififin, a prominent mercantile and logging 
firm, and he went to Polk county, then a 
virgin wilderness, to take charge of the 
company's branch store at Joel. The posi- 
tion was a responsible one as it also involved 
the purchase of ties, bolts, lumber, etc., and 
for three years Mr. Crye remained there, 
giving the utmost satisfaction to his em- 
ployers. During this period be was made 
the first postmaster at Joel, and his commis- 
sion was signed by Postmaster-General 
Wanamaker in 1890. 

In 1894 Mr. Crve came to LadysnTitli, 
then Warner, a small hamlet of only a tew 
houses, and subsequently he bought prop- 



erty in the \illage, for which he paid $125,. 
held it until 1903 and sold it for $1,365. 
\Vhile a resident of Ladysmith he worked in 
the mills and invested his surplus earnings 
in real estate, buying the land upon which 
he now lives, at $2 an acre. This land he 
has improved by putting up a good resi- 
dence and has at present ten acres cleared, 
ready for the plow. While residing in the 
village of Ladysmith, Mr. Crye held the of- 
fice of justice of the peace for several years 
and had much to do with the adjustment of 
its early affairs. He is a well informed man, 
has taken the greatest interest in local his- 
tory and gave material assistance to J. Q. 
Bailey, a pioneer of Dunn county, who pre- 
pared a very ticceptable history of that 
county. 

In 1884 in Dunn county, Mr. Crye was 
married to a daughter of Jonathan Bow- 
man. Mr. Bowman, who was a pioneer in 
Richland county, Wis., and later in Polk 
county, was a soldier in the Civil war and 
is now deceased. Mr. Crye had five broth- 
ers who served in the same war, three of 
whom still bear honorable wounds, and all 
of whom can point with justifiajjle pride 
to noble records. Mr. and Mrs. Crye have 
liad five children born to them : Leon, Chloe. 
Zoa, Claude and Orel, a bright, intelligent 
family, promising to grow into fine types 
of American man and womanhood. Mr. 
Crye is esteemed in his locality. His knowl- 
edge of woodcraft, gained by long years of 
experience, is excelled by few, if any. of his 
contemporaries. In the early days, wdien 
cruising, he rarely used a compass but could 
keep his course with unerring certainty by 
carefully observing the bark of the trees. 

PAUL KANNEBERG. whose death oc- 
curred March 31. 1904, was a prominent 
business man of Butternut. Ashland county, 
and had been a resident of the town almost 
from its inception, as there were scarcely a 
dozen families in the locality when he set- 
tled there in 1878. Fle was born in Neurup- 
pin. ih-andenburg, Prussia. June 6. 1857,. 
son of Frederick and Fredericka (Manken- 
berg) Kanneberg, natives of Germany. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



503 



Eretleiick Kaniieberg imniit; rated to 
America in 187J and settled at Detroit for 
two years, lie then moved to ^Milwaukee, 
and in 1878 to Butternut, where he took 
up a homestead claim of 160 acres, near the 
town. He improved his land and lived on 
it until 1890, when he went to Ashland, and 
spent his last years in that city. He died 
in August, 1896, at the age of seventy-one; 
his wife is still living, and makes her home 
in Milwaukee. They hatl children as fol- 
lows: Frank, deceased; Bertha, Mrs. Julius 
Kuehl, who lives in Butternut ; Paul, de- 
ceased; George, deceased; Emma; Minnie; 
Martha ; Anna, of Iron River, Wis. ; Adolph ; 
Clara ; and Ella. Several of the survivors 
live in Milwaukee. 

Paul Kanneberg was reared in Germany 
and attended school there vmtil he had com- 
pleted the high school course. lie served an 
apprenticeship of three years in Berlin, 
learning the molder's trade, and remained 
to finish his apprenticeship when his parents 
started for America, but in November, 1873, 
he was free to follow them and did so at 
once. The young man landed in Boston and 
went directly to Detroit to join his parents, 
remaining there three years, working in a 
brewery. In 1877 he went to Milwaukee, 
where he was similarly engaged for a year, 
and then in 1878 settled in Ashland county, 
near his parents, in the vicinity of Butter- 
nut, where he also took up a homestead of 
160 acres, proceeded to build, and improved 
and developed it. P'or seven years Mr. 
Kanneberg led the usual busy, uneventful 
life of a farmer, but at the end of that 
time his health failed, and, giving up active 
w'ork on the farm, he moved into Butternut 
to accejit a position as bookkeeper with H. 
L. Besse. a general merchant and lumlier- 
nian. He remained with him five years and 
then accepted the position of cashier in the 
Ashland County Bank, at Butternut, where 
he was engaged four years. During this 
tiine he resided on a farm adjacent to the 
village. On March 4, 1894, his home was 
destroyed by fire, a total loss, as there was 
no insurance. Afterward he Iwught an- 
other forty-three acres, adjoining the town, 



which he improved and made ovtr into a 
fine farm. 

In March, 1902, Mr. Kanneberg received 
the appointment of postmaster at Butternut,^ 
and the following month entered upon the 
discharge of his duties. To this ofiice his 
widow has now succeeded, the duties being 
chieHy discharged by her daughters. Al- 
ways a Republican in politics, and a man in 
whom his fellow citizens felt absolute con- 
fidence, Mr. Kanneberg held many positions 
of trust and responsibility. For eighteen- 
consecutive years he was justice of the 
peace, but in 1903 refused another election. 
He was clerk of tlie township school board 
f®r one year, and of the village board for the 
same period. Mr. Kanneberg always took' 
an active part in local and county politics,' 
and was often sent as a delegate to the var- 
ious county and State conventions. The alj- 
solute probity, methodical accuracy and 
promptness which marked all his private: 
transactions were equally apparent in Mr. 
Kanneberg's discharge of his public duties 
and trusts. Pie was a splendid type of the 
upright, conservative business man and good 
citizen, and his circle of friends and admirers 
was a large one. The ill health with which 
Mr. Kanneberg had been troubled for some 
years, was caused by asthma and bronchitis, 
but his demise, which occurred very sud-" 
dcnly. was due to a hemorrhage. 

In 1884 Mr. Kanneberg was married to 
]\Iinnie Floth, of Butternut. Of the ten chil- 
dren born to them two are deceased : Arnold 
and one that died in infancy. The others 
are Lydia, Freda. Olga, Paul, Emma, 
Adolph. Alfred and Ella. Mr. Kanneljerg,. 
like all his father's family, was a Lutheran 
in faith, and reared his children in that be- 
lief. 

U. \V. I'ARSONS, 409 West 2d street, 
Ashland, Wisconsin, is a manufacturer and 
jobber of fine Havana cigars and tobacco.. 

FRANK CHANDLER DESCENT, an 
enterprising real estate man of Superior, 
Douglas county, is occupied by as varied in- 
terests, perhaps, as any one in the city, his 



504 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



business liaving carried him far afieltl in 
many different sections of the country. Born 
in Monticello, Minn., Feb. 24, 1857, Mr. 
Descent is a son of Abraham G. and Miriam 
(Chandler) Descent. His maternal grand- 
father, William Chandler, was a pioneer of 
Monticello, and was very extensively en- 
gaged in contracting. He furnished most of 
the ties for the Grand Trunk Railroad in 
C anada, and constnicled the grade and laid 
tiie ties for the St. Paul & Duluth Railroad. 
A man of keen business instincts, he was one 
1.1 f the incorporators of the Farmers' and 
Merchants' State Bank, of Minneapolis, and 
remained a director thereof until his death 
in 1893, at the advanced age of eighty- four. 
His wife, whose maiden name was Hannah 
Moore, came from a prominent Boston 
family. 

Frank C. Descent was a pupil in the 
public schools of Monticello, and later pre- 
pared himself in a commercial college in 
Minneapolis for a business life. At the age 
of sixteen he was given a position in the 
Farmers' & Merchants' Bank, which he re- 
tained until 1880. At that date he removed 
to Wahpeton, N. D., and there first became 
interested in real estate business. After two 
years experience there, Mr. Descent spent 
one year in Winnipeg, and then returned to 
Wahpeton, for a season, where he tried 
wheat raising. The next two years were 
spent at Coldwater. Kans.. in the real estate 
business, and still later he was in Pueblo, 
Colo., where he laid out the Hyde Park addi- 
tion. In Augaist, 1890, Mr. Descent came 
to Superior and was occupied for five years 
in handling property in and around the city. 
In 1895 '■'e went to California, first to 
Elsinore, Riverside county, and then to Al- 
ton and Los Angeles, also dealing in mining 
lands at Randsburg to some extent. Since 
1898 he has been interested in mining and 
farming lands in different regions, and es- 
pecially in oil fields in Flat Lick, Ky., having 
been secretary of the Blue Grass Oil Co. 
since 1900. Still another enterprise is the 
handling of copper lands in Wiscdusin. 

Mr. Descent was married in 1882. to 
Genevieve Hendricks, a daughter of James 



C. and Sarah Ilcinlricks. and a relative of 
the late vice-president, Thomas A. Hend- 
ricks. Mrs. Descent was born in La Grange, 
Ky. ; though reared in the Presbyterian faith, 
she is now a comnnuiicant of the Episcopal 
Church. Mr. Descent is prominently con- 
nected with the I. O. O. F., K. of P. and 
.\. O. U. \V. A Republican in politics, he 
has filled several ])ul)lic positions, but 
usually is not acti\ely interested in numicipal 
affairs. 

DAVID H. COLE, a prosperous ami 
eminently successful mill owner of Cumber- 
land, Barron Co., Wis., was born at Mallory- 
town. Lower Canada, in 1858, a son of John 
and Elizabeth Cole, of Canada. 

John Cole was a carpenter by trade. 
He went West in 1861, settling in St. Croix 
Count}-, Wis., where he worked at his trade, 
and also secured eighty acres of wild land. 
This he cleareil. living upon it until his death, 
which occurred Dec. 25, 1903. While an 
active Republican, he never desired or ;ic- 
cepted office. In religious matters he was a 
member of the M. E. Church. Xine children 
were born to himself and wife: Elizabeth, of 
Barron county; Julius, of Hudson, Wis.; 
Mary, of Downsville, Wis. : John, a car])en- 
ter; David H. ; Phineas, a carpenter and 
farmer living in Weston, Canada : William, a 
teamster of Ashlantl, Wis. ; Fri. of St, I'aul : 
and Hester, al.so of St. i'aul. 

David H. Cole had but little opportunity 
to go to .school, and when he attended it was 
necessary to walk two miles through snow 
along country roads. L'ntil he attained his 
majority he remained at home, when he 
married July 4, iS~<). Anna S. Keyes, of 
Canada, daughter of William and Jane 
(Bowers) Keyes, also of Canada, who came 
to St. Croi.x county about i860, took up 
land and made a home for themselves. Mr. 
Keyes died on the homestead, but his widow 
still survives :uid makes her home at Ham- 
mond. Wis. Four children were born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Keyes: ( 1 ) David H., of Cum- 
berland. Wis., married Mary Thomas. He 
came to this city in 1870, and first engaged 
in the hotel business, and later opened up a 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



505 



store ill partnersliip with our subject, which 
was continued for two years; since 1895, 
they have divided their interests between 
tlieir mercantile venture and a stave and 
lieading mill at Cumberland, which was 
burned in 1897, and inimeiliately rebuilt. 

(2) Anna S. is the wife of David II. Cole. 

(3) Caroline married J. N. McGregor, of 
C"umberland. (4) Charles is a farmer of 
Hammond, \\isconsin. One child has come 
to Mr. and Mrs. Cole, William H., who was 
born June 30, 1880, and is now attending 
college at ^linneapolis. He is a fine musi- 
cian and a \ery intelligent young man, who 
lias traveled to a consideral)le extent, and 
lias made good use of his time. 

After his marriage Mr. Cole learned and 
worked at the carpenter trade for several 
years, later learning the trade of millwright 
and saw-filing. He came to Cumberland. 
Wis., in 1883. He has always been a very 
active man, and in conjunction with his 
brother-in-law, David H. Kcyes. is doing a 
fiourishing business, he attending to much 
of the practical work. While their business 
is a large one. extensive plans are being laid 
to embrace a much wider field of operation, 
and to increase the number of their patrons. 
Like his father, Mr. Cole has never had 
either time or inclination for office, although 
he votes the Republican ticket. His business 
associates as well as personal friends, hold 
him in high esteem, and have the utmost 
^confidence in his ability and inlegritv. 

H. E. RIEDEL, the i)opuiar proprietor 
of "Butternut Lake Resort," one of the best 
known summer hotels in northern Wiscon- 
sin, is a native of W'isconsin and has jKissed 
his whole life in the northern and central 
part of the State. He was born in Grant, 
Clark county, Jan. 18. 1862. Mr. Riedels 
boyhood was passed in Grant, and he was 
■educated in the public schools. Until the 
age of twenty he was brought up to farm 
work, but then he learnefl the carpenter's 
trade, and for some years followed that and 
contracting. Later he began his career as a 
hotel man at Dorchester, where the "Cen- 
tral Hou.se" was under his management for 
more than a vcar. I'-or the succeediu" vcar 



he ran the iiotel in Curtiss. After that he 
returned to his contract work, being kjcated 
at Prentice until 190J, when he took charge 
of Butternut Lake Resort, at the ojjening of 
the season in April, and has been connected 
with it ever since. Mr. Riedel's accommo- 
dating and genial disposition contributes 
largely to his popularity as a landlord. 

This delightful retreat for the summer 
montlis is located a mile and a half from 
Butternut, at the Head of the Lake, and is 
(jne of the most beautiful lake resorts of 
northern Wisconsin. There are sixty-seven 
acres of land in the premises, with nicely 
kept lawns, well shaded and with a fine park 
in connection. The hotel itself is a modern 
structure, three stories in height, with ac- 
commodations for thirty-five guests. It was 
first o])eiied to the public nine years ago, and 
exce])t for one season has been successfully 
conducted ever since. It .seems increasingly 
popular each year and is taxed to its utmost 
to accommodate all who come. Its patron- 
age is largely from Chicago, Milwaukee and 
St. Lt)uis. 

Mr. Riedel is continually adding to the 
attractions in connection with his house, 
among which may be mentioned a pavilion 
for dancing or other entertainments, which 
measures thirty-two by one hundred and 
twenty feet ; a ball ground affords a suitable 
place for games, and the road from Butter- 
nut offers a splendid cycle path any day in 
the season. 

Butternut Lake itself affords a perennial 
.source of attraction ; it is .some five miles long 
by three-fourths of a mile in width, .sur- 
rounded by high banks, shaded with ever- 
greens, while its beauty is enhanced by a 
wooded island, whose romantic charm gives 
the last touch needed by the landscape. This 
island lies about three miles from the resort 
and coni])rises some seventeen acres. The 
water of the lake reaches a depth in some 
]>laces of twenty-five feet, and the bottom is 
as hard as adamant. There is excellent fish- 
ing and the lake is particularly noted for its 
fine bass, pike and muskallonge, of which 
last some specimens have been caught which 
weighed fortv pounds when dressed. 

.\ stock company has been formed by 



5o6 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



some of tlie men of the town, which runs a 
steam launch on the lake; with a capacity 
of about forty passengers, it adds much to, 
the pleasure available for the hotel guests, 
while the boat house owned by the hotel itself 
is always well tilled with good row' boats. 
Altogether, no more delightful place than the 
"Butternut Lake Resort" can be found for 
rest or recreation. 

NELS MYHRE, register of deeds for 
Baytield county, at present a resident of 
Washburn, is a native of Wisconsin, born in 
St. Croix county, May 14, 1868. 

Bernhard and Karen Myhre, the parents 
of Nels, were Norwegians ; the father w-as 
born in Hemnes and came to the United 
States in 1858, settling near Baldwin, Wis., 
where he improved a farm. He is still liv- 
ing on his homestead, at the age of seventy 
years. A Republican in politics, he has 
served as justice of the peace, and for a dozen 
years or more was postmaster at Woodside, 
near Palmer. The grandfather, Nels Myhre, 
was a teacher by profession and passed his 
whole life in Norway. 

Nels Myhre enjoyed the best educational 
advantages afforded by the schools of St. 
Croix county, attending until he was seven- 
teen, at >vhich time he left home and took a 
position in Mason, Baylield county, with the 
W'hite River Lumber Company, where he 
remained until recently. Beginning as a la-, 
uorer, he has risen in position to be scale in- 
spector for some years past, at inter\-als 
w^orking in the saw-mill as a shingle packer. 
For many years Mr. Myhre has been an 
ardent Republican, but was never actually 
concerned in politics until the fall of 1902, 
when he was elected county register. 

On Nov. 29, 1890, Mr. Myhre was mar- 
ried to Anna Helfield, of Pratt, Wis. She 
was born in Norway, the daughter of Louis 
and Martine Helfield. The family came to 
this country in 1881, lived for the first seven 
years at Canton, S. D., and since then at 
Pratt, where Mr. Helfield is engaged in both 
farming and carpentering. Mr. and Mrs. 
]\''yhre have had four children : Norman A., 
born June 27, 1892, who died Alarch 12, 



1898; Louise M.; Barnhard L. ; and Agnes- 
N. The family is connected with the Luth- 
eran Church, and takes an active part in its 
work. Their home is one of taste and re- 
finement, always open to their many friends. 

W ILLIAM LYLE TAIT. formerly of 
^^'est Superior, was born in Rochester. 
Minn., Aug. 14, 1859, son of Thomas and 
Addie (Hyatt) Tait, the former a native of 
Dunkirk, Scotland. 

Thomas Tait came to America in 1855,. 
lived a few years in Canatla, and then moved 
to Rochester, Minn., w'here he carried on a 
bakery for nearly twelve years. About 1 86o. 
he also engaged in business in Natchez, 
Miss., but was obliged to abandon that ven- 
ture at the beginning of the war. In 1870 he 
moved to Sauk Center, Minn., where he 
spent the remainder of his life on a farm, 
dying when about sixty-five years of age. 
He was a deacon in the Congregational 
Church of Sauk Center for many years. Be- 
fore coming to this country Thomas Tait 
had one of the largest bakery establishments 
in Edinburgh. During the Crimean war he 
made large army contracts with the British 
government, but owing to the sudden ad- 
vance in the price of wheat was unable to 
live up to them, and came to the United 
States hoping to mend his fortune. He never 
fully recovered from the effects of this finan- 
cial disaster and his subsec^uent loss at Nat- 
chez. Mrs. Addie (Hyatt) Tait died when 
over seventy, in Pomona, Cal., Jan. i, 1900. 
She was born in Orange county, N. Y. Her 
father had died in Ohio when quite a young- 
man, and her mother, Mrs. Elizabeth Hyatt, 
settled in Rochester, Minn., about 1853. One 
of Mrs. Tait's brothers, Amos Hyatt, was. 
a hardware merchant and one of the leading' 
citizens of Rochester, where he was prom- 
inent as a Mason, and in social and political 
circles. Thomas and Addie (Hyatt) Tait 
became the parents of three sons and one 
daughter: William L., Samuel H., of Du- 
luth; Ezra G., of Pomona, Cal.; and Eliza- 
beth, also a resident of Pomona. 

William Lyle Tait attended the public 
schools of Rochester and. Sauk Center, and 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



507 



at the age uf nineteen began work in a foun- 
dry. For about sixteen years he followed 
this line of work at St. Paul, Brainerd, St. 
Cloud and other places, and in February, 
1890, located at West Superior. ]\lr. Tait 
was for two years foreman for the Strdlil- 
man Iron Co., and head moulder for the Mil- 
huff & Gage Stove Co.. for a year. He then 
took the position of assistant foreman with 
the West Duluth Car Co., and when that con- 
cern failed, in the panic of 1893, became a 
moulder for the Duplex Manufacturing Co., 
at South Superior. Mr. Tait then bought 
the warehouse business of Sinclair, Moody 
& Co., at Duluth, where he did business un- 
der the name of the Tait Warehouse Co., for 
two years. Meantime he opened a ware- 
house at West Superior. Mr. Tait w-as sec- 
retary and treasurer, and practically owner, 
of the Tait Storage & Salt Co., and did a 
very extensive business in salt and in gun 
merchandise, handling as much as 80,000 
barrels of salt in a season, as well as otiier 
freight. He also acted as agent for the 
wholesale grocery house of Griggs, Cooper 
& Co., of St. Paul, and as agent at West Su- 
perior for the White Line Transportation 
Co., of Duluth. 

On May 26, 1887, ;Mr. Tait married 
Susie M. Clark, a daughter of William T. 
Clark, of St. Cloud, Minn. One daughter, 
Florence P., has come to this union. The 
family was identified with the Pilgrim Con- 
gregational Church of West Superior. Mr. 
Tait was a member of Superior Lodge, No. 
338, L O. O. F., and of Golden Rule En- 
campment. No. 61, in w^hich he filled all the 
chairs. He was a member of Whaleback 
Camp, ^L W. A., Chief Ranger of Superior 
Court, L'. O. F.. and passed all the chairs in 
the Knights of Malta. Mr. Tait was active 
as a Republican, and frequently a delegate 
to city political conventions. 

THEODORE N. OKERSTROM, the 
founder of the town of Port Wing. Bayfield 
Co., Wis., is a native of the city of Oster- 
sund, Sweden, where he was born, Xov. 29, 
1861, the son of N. M. and Ingrid Okcr- 
strom, both born in Sweden. 



The parents were married in their nati\e 
land, and came U) .Vmerica in 1867, settling 
in St. Paul, Minn. Mr. Okerstrom was an 
artist by profession and had executed some 
excellent designs, but after locating in St. 
Paul he w'ent into business as a house painter, 
employing others under him. In 1871 he 
moved to Isanti county, Minn., although he 
continued his establishment in St. Paul fur 
three years longer. In 1883 he moved again, 
that time to Anoka, Minn., antl there his 
death occurred Nov. 10, 1884. His wife, 
who is still living, is the mother of eigiit 
children, as follows: Charles; John; Anna; 
Theodore N. ; Ida ; Martha ; Elizabeth, and 
Albert. All of the children save Albert 
were born in Sweden. 

Theodore N. Okerstrom was nearly 
seven years old when his parents came to 
this country. He obtained a good practical 
education in the schools of Isanti county, and 
St. Paul, and w-hile still a very young man 
was employed by the State as its agent in 
looking after the State lands under the ad- 
ministration of Auditor Braden. He served 
during the years 1884 and 1885 and while 
thus employed was given the nomination ot 
the Republican party for county surveyor. 
There was much opposition through the cam- 
paign but a large majority of the votes were 
cast for Mr. Okerstrom. So well did he 
discharge the duties of the place that he was 
twice re-elected, although he resigned after 
the first year of his last term. 

Since living in Port Wing, Mr. Oker- 
strom has always manifested much interest 
in educational matters, was a member of the 
school board, and after the town organiza- 
tion was effected was president of the board. 
His business interests also have been large 
in both the real estate and lumber line. His 
operations in lumber are quite extensive, as 
he runs two logging camps and employs 
sometimes as many as 200 men. His real 
estate business has demanded quite as much 
of his attention, as during the year 190J 
alone, he handled seven thousand acres. 
Much time, too, has been given to politics, 
and he has been a delegate to the Republican 
State convention for four vears, to other 



:;oS 



COMMEMORATIVE ClOGRArillCAL RECORD 



county conventions, and a member of the 
county committee. He contributes freely of 
his means to the cause of his party, and is a 
man of much influence in its councils. 

In Ashland. Wis., in 1892, Mr. Oker- 
strom was married to Mary Erickson. daugh- 
ter of John Erickson. They have four chil- 
dren, Elvina, Roy H., Paul and Valgean. 
j\[r. and Mrs. Okerstrom and the children 
are members of the Lutheran Church. Mr. 
Okerstrom is liberal in general support of 
the Gospel, giving impartially to the dift'er- 
€nt denominations at work in Port Wing. 
Socially the family is very prominent. 

Mr. Okerstrom is a shrewd business man 
who has been very successful. He is a good 
citizen and an obliging neighbor. Generous 
to a fault he gives liberally either in the wav 
of private benefactions or for the public 
welfare. 

No sketch of Mr. Okerstrom would be 
complete without including some account of 
the town, which he founded, and for which 
he has done so much. He was one of the 
pioneers of Bayfield county, and took up a 
homestead there in 1891, where he lived 
two years. Meantime he had bought 300 
acres on the shore of Lake Superior, intend- 
ing it for a town site, and during the winter 
of 1892-93 he surveyed and platted eighty 
acres of the same, laying out the streets. The 
site is an admirable one for a city, as a 
gradual rise liack from the lake of 160 feel 
to a mile affords natural drainage. The site 
is also underlaid with red sandstcjiie. The 
name given the place is in honor of Col. 
Wing, an honored citizen of the county. 
During 1893 a number of settlers came in, 
purchased lots and put up g^iiod residences. 
Among these may be mentioned: Charles 
Greenwood, who put up the first hotel and 
was generally patronized : Xeil Cameron, 
who started a boarding house; T. F. Mc- 
Millan, a merchant ; Otto Seiler and George 
Howard, who opened another store, and the 
former of whom was the first postmaster ; 
and James Pierce and William Austin, who 
opened a saloon. 

The first year the county contributed 
$1,000 to build a road a mile back from the 



lake, through the new town. A meeting of 
the settlers was held, too, to devise a way to 
raise funds to improve the harbor. A sub- 
scription of $10,000 was secured and the 
work begun. Mr. Okerstrom, president of 
the organization, put in the money to carry 
the work through, and in the end paid the 
deficit of $7,000; only $8,000 of the sum 
subscribed was realized, while with the 
dredging and the two piers the expense of 
the work amounted to $15,000. The har- 
bor improvements were completed in 1895. 

During the winter of 1894-95 Moore, 
Kepple & Calkins bought the saw mill, 
which had previmisly been built by the I'-bery 
Manufacturing Co., with a capacity of 50.- 
000 feet per day of ten hours, and started 
it in operation. In i8()i the Wing quarry 
of red sandstone was opened, which ]\liller 
Brothers & Johnson are still operating. The 
product is a high grade of red sand stone, 
and is surpassed by nothing of its kind in 
\\'isconsin. Stone was taken from it for 
the construction of W. J. Bryan's residence 
in Lincoln, Neb. In i8t)8 Best & Loucks 
erected a shingle mill of good capacity ; this 
was moved later to Bayfield, Wis., and a 
larger and better mill erected on the same 
site by JMessrs. Aspland & Carlson. 

The first school in Port Wing was opened 
in 1893. '" '1 homesteatl shanty with seven 
pupils and Mr. Irving Herrick as teacher. 
The next year a one voom frame building 
was put up at the e.xpense of $1,000. There 
were then forty pupils. In 1898 another 
similar building was added and these two 
were usetl until 1902. when a handsome new 
structure was erected at a cost of $_'5.ooo. 
It is 78x88 feet, two stories high, the base- 
ment being built of brown stone and the 
upper portion of frame. There are eight 
rooms with all modern c(|uipments through- 
out. 

The tirsl church in the town w;is built 
in 1895 '^^ '^'^ expense oi $1,000. .\t tirst a 
union church, it is now Presbyterian. Its 
first pastor was the Rev. Mr. Fisher. In 
1896 the Swedish Lutherans put up a sec- 
ond church at a cost of $i,r)00, with Rev. 
j. 1^. Nelsenius as its first preacher. Rev. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



509 



H. Olson, the resident minister, is a veteran 
in tlie service and a most able man. The 
following year the Catlnjlics erected a $1,200 
church, and their first mass in the new sanc- 
tuary was celebrated by Rev. Father Patrick. 
The different denominations have manifested 
a most i)rotherIy spirit, for regardless ot 
differences of belief, they have rallied to 
each other's support in raising the necessary 
funds to build the three churches. 

The township organization was effected 
in 1901. the township having been set ut'i 
from Bayfield after a struggle of eight 
years, and Bayfield's resistance was only 
overcome by leaving the matter to the Legis- 
lature. The town is prospering and has now 
five general stores and three hotels. Jn 1902 
a telephone connection was constructed to 
Iron kiver. a distance of eighteen miles, and 
is township property. Another line is being 
constructed to Flag River Valley, five miles 
away, by Mr. Okerstrom and others inter- 
ested in the valley. 

To the original eighty-acre site there 
have been three a(klitions made, the Okei - 
Strom. Highbluff and Brossard additions. 
The town has a reputation for being e.s.sen- 
tially law-abiding, and practically no crime 
has been committed. 

Early in the nineties Xils 1'. llaugen. 
Congressman for the District, and Senator 
John C. Spcxjiier ])rocured an appropria- 
tion of $500 for the .surveying of the harbor 
and it was finally made in 1898. .After the 
survey it was favorably reported upon to the 
department l)y Major Clinton B. Sears. 
Corps of Engineers, C S. .\., and subse- 
quently through the recommendations of 
John J. Jenkins, Mr. Ilaugen's successor, 
an appropriation of $25,000 was secured for 
the necessary construction. The work is now 
going on. It is a harbor of refuge, 500 sail- 
ings having been made at Port Wing in 
1902. 

'{"he town is surrounded by more than 
100 good farms, generally well cleared and 
improved. The soil is a sandy loam, very 
])roductive and s])ecially adapted to vege- 
tables and fruit. Thus as time goes on Port 



Wing will have an increasing agricultural 
district to draw upon, as well as its lake trade 
and its future would seem assured. 

GEORGE LUTI-IER SHATTUCK. 
.\mong the Americans who take pride in 
tracing their ancestry back to the earliest 
days in our history, and farther still through 
the old records in England, few can show 
an unbroken line antedating that of George 
Luther Shattuck, a well known citizen of 
Medford, Taylor county. His forefathers 
in direct line are found in Tolland, Somerset- 
shire, England, as early as 1525, while mem- 
bers of the family also lived in Beckenaller. 
in the same county, and in Berkshire and 
Lancashire. 

The first of the name in this country was 
William Shattuck. who settled in Watertown, 
Mass., became one of the influential citizens 
and died there in 1672. Several of his des- 
cendants fought in the Revolution, and oth-. 
ers have been prominent in professional and 
business life. Luther Shattuck, grandfather 
of George L., represented the seventh gen- 
eration in America. He was a carpenter 
and millwright and followed his trades at 
Leyden, Mass., of which town he was one of 
the selectmen. He married Miss Margery 
Wilbur, of a well known Puritan familv of 
the State, and they had five sons and three 
daughters. 

John Ezra Shattuck. son of Luther, was 
brought up in Massacliusetts, but in 1844 
joined the pioneers of Wisconsin and settled 
first in Jefferson. Twelve years later he 
went to Neenali. where he built and operated 
a sawmill, and from there he went to Mon- 
roe in 1867. where he was similarly em- 
ployed. His death occurred at the last place 
on Thanksgiving day. 1901. .shortly before 
his eighty-fourth birthday. Mr. Shattuck 
was always one who took his part in the pub- 
lic life of the community, and in Neenah 
was made town chairman. During the Civil 
war he was very active in recruiting soldiers 
and handled the bounty funds with an hon- 
esty and discretion which were unfortunate- 
ly somewhat rare. Mr. Shattuck i)aid con- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



siderable attention to music and was an ac- 
complished musician, so much so that for a 
number of years he was the leader of the 
Severance and Williams Band, of JMilwau- 
kee, then the most famous band in the State. 
]Mr. Shattuck married Harriet Cliapin, who 
was born in Leyden, Mass., in 1818 and died 
in Monroe, Wis., May 4, 1895. Her father, 
Elisha Chapin, was a farmer in Leyden, and 
belonged to a family connected by marriage 
with the Burnhams of Massachusetts. 

George Luther Shattuck was born in 
Romulus, N. Y., April i, 1848, and was tlie 
only child of his parents. His school days 
•were spent at Neenah and after finishing his 
studies in the public schools, he worked with 
his father and became familiar with the du- 
ties of a millwright. In January, 1883, he 
went to Medford, built a small sawmill and 
operated it four years, after which he put up 
a larger one, employing some thirty-five or 
forty men, and operating it until 1890, when 
he sold it. Later he spent two years in a 
tanner's office in Phillips, but in recent years 
has given considerable attention to real es- 
tate and insurance. 

On Sept. 10, 1874, Miss Annie Raymer, 
of Monroe, became Mrs. Shattuck. She was 
a daughter of Samuel Raymer, a farmer in 
that locality. To this marriage six children 
have been born: Elum B., a U. S. Railway 
mail clerk between Fond du Lac and Chippe- 
wa Falls; Georgia M., a graduate of ^\'is- 
consin University, class of 1904; John R., 
editor of the Medford Democrat; Fredericka, 
in the class of 1905 at Wisconsin University; 
Charles D., University of Wisconsin, class 
of 1907; and Frances, attending the Med- 
ford high school. The family are connected 
with the Episcopal church. 

Mr. Shattuck is a Democrat and has 1)ecn 
elected on that ticket to several responsible 
positions. In 1885-86 he was chairman of 
the town of Medford, which at that time 
included seven townships and the present 
,city. In the fall of 1888 he was chosen 
county clerk, and two years later re-elected 
for a second term. In 1888 he was likewise 
elected clerk of the school board, and served 
.eight or nine years, and during the period 



of his service the Medford high school was 
established. Beginning with seven teachers, 
there are now fourteen employed. Mr. Shat- 
tuck is a Royal Arch Mason and has be- 
longed to the fraternity since 1873. 

T. W. BORUM, of Barron, Wis., is su- 
perintendent of agencies, Wisconsin and 
Northern Michigan, for the W. W. Kimball 
Company, manufacturers of pianos, pipe or- 
gans, reed organs, self-playing instruments, 
at Chicago, Illinois. 

THEODORE ENGSTRAXD, the pop- 
ular and genial manager of the Brule Store 
Co., at Brule, W^is., is a native of Sweden, 
born June 4, 1877. His parents, O. and 
Mary Engstrand, were also natives of Swe- 
den, and emigrated to America in 1879, set- 
tling in Price county. Wis., where they still 
reside. The father, O. Engstrand, was en- 
gaged in lumbering seven years but is now 
retired from active business. He was the 
father of six children, five sons and one 
daughter. 

In the public schools of Price county, 
Theodore Engstrand received his elementary 
education. The schools then in vogue in that 
locality, were primitive in the extreme, the 
curriculum embracing only reading, writing 
and arithmetic. However, meager as were 
his opportunities, he succeeded by dint of ef- 
fort in becoming well grounded in the pre- 
liminaries of an English education. Supple- 
mentary to this he took a year's commercial 
course at Bryant & Stratton's Business Col- 
lege, Chicago, 111., where by diligence he 
became thoroughly familiar with the prin- 
ciples of a technical business education. In 
1898 he abandoned his school duties within 
two months of graduation, to assume the re- 
sponsibility of managing the general mer- 
cantile establishment of the Brule Co., at 
Brule, which had been established in 1892 
by his brother, C. G. Engstrand, and J. A. 
Lofquist. Since accepting this responsible 
position, Mr. Engstrand has continuously de- 
\-oted himself to conducting the affairs of the 
establishment, \vhich, under his w'ise guid- 
ance, has been eminently prosperous. So- 



COALMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



5ir 



cially and fraternall)', Mr. Engstrand occu- 
pies a conspicuous place in the community, 
being an honored member of West Superior 
Lodge No. 23O, F. & A. M., and of the 
Knights of the Maccabees, Brule Tent No. 
34. Mr. Engstrand's political afliliation is 
with the Republican party. He takes an 
active interest in local affairs, and has been 
honored by his party as delegate to Douglas 
county and Congressional conventions, serv- 
ing three years in the former. 

Mr. Engstrand was married in Chicago, 
Oct. 2, 1900, to Miss Bessie Wilson, daugh- 
ter of W. R. Wilson, of Brule. They have 
one child, Allen Theodore. 

FRANK S. DHOOGE, the well known 
proprietor of the general store at Nos. IU9 
1 123 Third street. West, Ashland, Wis., is 
one of the prosperous self-made men of that 
city. He is a native of Belgium, where he 
was born Jan. 27, 1873, son of Charles and 
Anna (Pulard) Dhooge, also natives of that 
country. 

Charles Dhooge served for fifteen years 
as an officer in the Belgium army, but in 
1877 decided to try his fortune in the New 
World and came with his family to the 
United States. He settled first in Depere, 
Wis., where he remained a year, and then 
moved to Fayette, Mich., where he lived five 
years. He then returned to Depere and de- 
voted himself to farming until i8yi, when 
he sold his farm and came to Ashland, where 
he now lives in retirement. Charles and 
Anna ( Pulard) Dhooge were the parents of 
four children, of whom all but one are livin,^. 
Frank S. being the eldest. 

l'"rank S. Dhooge had few oi)portunitics 
for schooling, and began work at the age of 
thirteen. I*"rom that time until he was eigh- 
teen he was employed in the Depere Brick 
Yards during the summer, and in the lum- 
ber woods during the winter. Jn the spring 
of 1 89 1 he came to Ashland, where he 
worked five months in the brick yards, and 
then for seven montiis attended school. His 
next position was that of private coachman 
fur E. A. Shores, which he retained for 
thirteen months, after which he worked for 



nearly a }'ear at general teaming. In 1894 
he started a small dairy, which he carried on 
until 1897, when he went into the grocery 
business. Later he added a meat market 
and in 1901 opened a department for dry 
goods, boots and shoes, employing in his 
store at present fourteen assistants. He is 
president of the Dhooge Creamery Co., of 
Ashland, and owns a stock farm of 160 
acres, on which he has a comfortable resi- 
dence and fine farm buildings with fifty-five 
head of cattle, 200 hogs, four horses and a 
complete equipment of modern farming ma- 
chinery. 

Mr. Dhooge married, Sept. 3, 1894, Alice 
Smet, of Depere, daughter of Ferdinand and 
Stepheny Smet, both natives of Belgium. 
Mr. Smet is a farmer in Depere; his wife 
died when Mrs. Dhooge was but live years 
of age, leaving seven children, all of whom 
are living. In political matters Mr. Dhooge 
is a Democrat. In April, 1904 he was ap- 
pointed a member of the city council by 
^layor Williams. Fraternally he is a mem- 
ber of the Catholic Order of Foresters, No. 
425, of .Ashland; Knights of Columbus, 
Council 832; and the Elks, No. 558, of Ash- 
land. Both Mr. Dhooge and his wife are 
communicants of the Catholic Church. 

JOHN r.ANNON. at one time proprie- 
tor of a linseed oil mill at West Superior, 
and a man of varied attainments, was born 
in Liverpool, England, Sept. 26. 1853. His 
])arents were John and Elizabeth (McMul- 
len) Bannon, natives of County Down, Ire- 
land. For forty years John Bannon, Sr., 
was a member of an importing and export- 
ing firm dealing in linseed cake and Amer- 
ican produce; he died in Liverpool in 1891, 
at the age of sixty-eight. He sprang of old 
Celtic stock, one of his ancestors having 
been chief of an Irish clan in medieval times. 

Mrs. Elizabeth (McMuUen) Bannon 
passed away a few years earlier than her 
husband; her family were farmers and 
shepherds in County Down. John McMul- 
len and Eugene Bannon, maternal and pater- 
nal great-grandfathers of John Bannon, Jr.. 
both took part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. 



512 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



John Bannon, Jr., attended a college in 
the West Riding of Yorkshire, ant! spent 
two years at a Catholic institution in Liver- 
pool. Through his father's influence he be- 
came superintendent of a linseed oil mill in 
Liverpool, where he remained live years. In 
1882 he came to the United States and for 
four years was superintendent of a linseed 
oil mill at Amsterdam, X. Y. From there 
he went to Chicago where he spent two 
years as superintendent of the mill of Han- 
ford, Hall & Co., going then to New York, 
where for ten years he was superintendent of 
the largest mill in the United States. Owing 
to a change of ownership ^Ir. Bannon re- 
signed his position, devoting the next year 
or two to the completion of a book on the 
manufacture and uses of linseed oil— r-an ex- 
haustive treatise — in wide circulation among 
tne manufacturers of this produce, and rec- 
ognized as a standard reference work. He 
also wrote a book on the manufacture of cot- 
tonseed oil, which had a wide circulation 
among the cotton seed oil manufacturers of 
the South. He next published the "Butcher's 
& Packer's Review," in New York, which 
sold to good advantage, the second year 
bringing a handsome profit. This book also 
led to a wide acquaintance with the packers 
throughout the United States. In the fall 
of 1899, Mr. Bannon went to Grand Forks, 
N. D., where he built a linseed oil mill, and 
an elevator with a capacity of 75.000 bushels. 
He was doing a very prosperous business 
when his establishment was burned, in May, 
1901. After this catastrophe he decided to 
come to the Head of the Lakes, and built a 
large mill at West Superior, most of the 
product going to the Pacific coast. Mr. 
Bannon w'as always distinguished for indus- 
try and enterprise. 

On Febraary 23, 1879, ^^''- Bannon mar- 
ried Catherine Newport, daughter of John 
Newport, of Dublin, Ireland, where Mrs. 
Bannon was born and educated. The chil- 
dren of this union are as follows : One boy, 
who died at the age of eighteen months in 
Liverpool ; Catharine, who died at the age 
of fourteen vears in Grand Forks. N. D. ; 



James Oscar, and Madeline, in school. Mr. 
Bannon is a member of the Knights of Col- 
umbus. 

SAi^lUEL K. DUFF, an experienced 
forge and iron worker, has been in the Up- 
per L;ike Region for many years, and has 
been largely interested in promoting import- 
ant enterprises in the vicinity of Duluth and 
Superior. He was born in Pittsburg, Pa., 
Dec. 5, 1840, the son of John T. and Sarah 
(Bowden) Duff, natives of the region near 
Belfast, Ireland. 

The original home of the Duff and Bow- 
den families was Scotland and the parents 
of both Mr. and ^Irs. Duff' were among the 
"Seceders" who left Scotland and settled 
near Belfast. Mr. Bowden kept a drug and 
grocery store there. Mr. and Airs. J. T. Duft" 
came to the United States about 1825 and 
settled near Pittsburg, where he followed 
the trade of stone and brick mason. He 
also did consitlerable contracting and erec- 
ted numerous buildings, among them the 
First Presbyterian Church, on Wood street, 
one of the most prominent churches in Pitts- 
burg. During the Mexican war Mr. Duff' 
enlisted in the independent Jackson Blues, 
under Col. Guthrie: at Vera Cruz he was 
severely wounded, a bullet passing entirely 
through his body, and while he recovered 
from the injury, he was never as strong as 
before, and died two or three years after- 
ward. He was a man of great physical vigor 
and measured six feet two inches in height. 
In his political principles Mr. Duff was a 
Whig: his church connection was with the 
United Presbyterians. Mrs. Sarah K. Duff 
survived her husband for a number of years 
and died in 1874. at the age of sixty-four. 
Samuel K. Duff was educated in the 
jniblic schools of his native city, attending 
until the age of sixteen, at which time he 
began to learn the trade of a machinist. 
Later he learned that of a forgeman and has 
always been connected with the iron industry 
in some form, being thoroughly familiar 
with all the details of iron and steel manu- 
facture, AbiHit t8(^f). while still a vcning 



^s 




Jt(J\",^^-~ 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



513 



man, Mr. Duff built the steam fortjc ami 
iron works at New Albany, IncL. ami licKl 
the position of superintendent of the concern 
for three years. I'^or the seven years follow- 
ing he was connected with a rolling mill at 
St. Louis as traveling representative and su- 
perintendent of the forge. Returning to 
J'ittsburg, he built the Twin City Forge and 
operated that for several years. In 1885 he 
liecame interested in the \\'est Duluth Land 
Company as a stockholder and took charge 
of building the West Duluth Forge and Iron 
Works. This was carried on about two 
years and then sold to the Minnesota Iron 
and Car Company. The West Duluth Land 
Company had platted the place and built 
that portion of the city, the entire site be- 
ing originally a swamp. L'pon selling his 
interest at West Duluth, Mr. Duff organized 
the Superior Forge & Iron Company in 1888 
and operated its plant until the first de- 
pression in the iron business in the fall of 
1891, when the business was abandoned. .\ 
site for tiie plant in Superior had been con- 
ditionally granted Mr. Duff by the Consoli- 
dated Land Co., but owing to a misunder- 
standing with bis partner, he was unable to 
enlarge the business according to the ori- 
ginal plans, and he determined to fill his 
contract with the land company and forfeit 
the title to the land. Mr. Duff then took 
charge of the Lake Erie Forge at Cleveland, 
Ohio, for al)Out eight years and then in Feb- 
niary, 1899, became superintendent of the 
forge department of the Lockhart Iron & 
Steel Co., Pittsburg, one of the largest con- 
cerns in that city. This position he still re- 
tains, although since 1891 his residence has 
been in Superior. 

In 1863 Mr. Duff was married to Eliza- 
beth Ream, daughter of Samuel and Chris- 
tina Ream, of Pittsburg, where the daugh- 
ter was born. Mr. Ream was a machinist, 
a native of Geneva. Switzerland, while his 
wife was a German. Mr. and Mrs. Duff 
have had a large family, though four sons 
and one daughter are all that are living now : 
James and John T. F. are deceased : two died 
in infancy: Joseph P. is the city sewer in- 
spector for Superior: Samuel K., Jr.. is an 
al)stracter: luKvard S. is a Iniukkeeper for 



the Superior Machine Company; Ilardaman 
lilaine is a graduate of the Nelson Dewey 
high school; Ella C, a graduate of the city 
and normal schools, is a teacher in the pul)- 
lic schools. All of the famil_\- ha\e had good 
high .school educations. 

The family is connected with the First 
Presbyterian Church of Superior and prom- 
inent in its work, especially in the choir. 
One son, however, Edward, is a communi- 
cant of the Church of the Redeemer, Epis- 
copal. Mr. Duff has been a stanch Republi- 
can since his boyhood and his sons on at- 
taining their majority have followed in his 
steps. While in West Duluth Mr. Duff was. 
a member of the village council and was also> 
a census taker there. While his busines.s. 
duties elsewhere have prevented his taking 
any active part of late years in local affairs^ 
he is a man held in high estimation in the 
locality and one whose opinions carry 
weight. 

THE B 1 N G H A M HARDWARh: 
COMPANY, at Superior, Wisconsin, com- 
])osed of James F., Albert T. and Hiram 
Bingham, is one of the best known firms in 
its line in the "Copper Lake Region." 

JOHN A. McKENZIE has been f<.r 
some years night foreman for Alger, Smith 
& Co.. the well known lumber firm of Duluth. 
A Canadian by birth, he has spent most of 
his life in the States, being in various places 
between Boston and the Head of the Lakes. 
He was l)orn in Canada, Aug. 27, i8C)9, son 
of Kenneth and Sarah (Mann) McKenzie, 
natives respectively of Prince lulvvard 
Island and of Scotland. Mrs. McKenzie 
died March 13, 1876, leaving a family of 
fourteen children, of whom eleven are still 
li\ing. Tohn A. was the fifth in ortler of 
birth. Mr. McKenzie now lives retired on a 
farm, his active life having been passed in 
the occupation of millwright and carpenter. 

John A. McKenzie attended school in 
Canada during his i)oybood. and then worked 
on a farm for his father for a year. Like 
many l)oys he longed to go to sea, and after 
a year of farming got a i)lace as a sailor and 
was at sea for a year and a half. After this 



5'4 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



experience lie went to Detroit, Mich., where 
he engagetl in tlie hvery business for seven 
months. He tlien went to Boston for a time 
and from there to St. Paul, where he secured 
a chance to work in tlie lumber woods and 
spent six years in that way. At the expira- 
tion of that time he went to Cloquet, Alinn., 
anil was employed there ten years as a mill- 
wright. He then came to Duluth and be- 
came foreman with Alger, Smith & Com- 
pany, where he has ever since remained. 

On June i, i8Sb, Mr. McKenzie mar- 
ried Barbara F-. Duncan, of Canada, daugh- 
ter of James and Anna Duncan, the former 
a Scotchman and the latter a Canadian by 
birth. James Duncan, who was a lifelong- 
farmer, died in i8oj. his wife surviving him 
until 1S87. Three of their six children are 
living, Mrs. McKenzie being next to tlie 
youngest in the family. To Mr. and Mrs. 
McKenzie have been born the following chil- 
dren : Myrtle 1.. lua. Earl M., Lee E.. and 
Cirant. Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie are mem- 
liers of the l-lpiscopal church. i\lr. ilcKen- 
zie is a Republican in politics and is con- 
nected fraternally witli the A. O. C \\'.. Xo. 
10. of Duluth. He is a great s(K^rtsman. very 
fond of all sorts of hunting and tishing, and 
lias killed some big game, among others, 
many deer and bear. 

MATT N\ g\TST. a native of Finland. 
was born near Gamla-Karleby, in the pro- 
vince of Vasa, Feb. 15, i860. His parents, 
John and Seraphina Anderson, still live on 
a farm in that locality, but four of their 
sons have lived more or less in America. 
John Anderson was in business as a lumber- 
man, but he found time for public duties 
also, and served as an ofticial in his ccnuitry. 
He had six sons and one daughter : Otto. 
who died when eight years old: William 
Johnson, manager of a government fanii 
in Finland; Matt: Carl, who liveil for sev- 
eral vears at Superior, but finally returned 
to the parental farm in Finland : .\lexander, 
who lived eleven years at Superior, but is 
now in Finland: Emma, who also lives in 
Finland; and Heriuan Albert, of Superior. 

Matt Nyqvist enjoyed few educational 



advantages, for there was no public school 
near his home until he was grown, but in 
spite of this drawback he has done much by 
himself, and he is a well informed and pro- 
gressive citizen. In 1881 he came to the 
United States and spent three years at Grand 
Rapids and White Cloud, ]\Iich. Thence he 
went to Duluth. where he worked as mill- 
wright and carpenter, his regular trade. 
When the shipyards were built at Superior 
he settled there, secured employment at the 
yards and has worked there almost contin- 
uously ever since. For two years he was 
the janitor of the City Hall, and recently has 
done more or less contracting and building. 
In 1900 he built himself a commodious res- 
idence, having put up a number of other 
buildings at intervals for himself. He has 
always been a stanch Republican and is a 
man of some influence in the community 
around him. 

On June 9, 188S. Mr. Xyqvist was mar- 
ried to Gertie Catherine Josephson, a native 
of Norway. Her health failing in this coun- 
try, she went to Finland, but the change 
failed to benefit her and she died there in 
1893. ^vhen only twenty-four years old. 
Her two children died in infancy. Mr. Xy- 
qvist married, for his second wife. Amela 
Xelson. Xov. 3. 1893. She was the daugh- 
ter of Xels and Britta Xelson. and was 
born in Tierigervi. Finland, coming to the 
United States three years before her mar- 
riage. They have two children. George, 
Matthias and Walter Irvin. upon whose edu- 
cation they are devoting esi>ecial care. Mr. 
and Mrs. Xyqvist are connected with the 
Swedish-Finnish. Lutheran church at Eighth 
street and Clough avenue. Superior. Mr. 
Xyqvist being one of the original members 
of the society. He is a member of the I. O. 
O. F. 

O. J. KAUFFAL\X. Among the many 
public-spirited citizens of Ladysmith. Rusk 
county, one who has lieen especially instru- 
mental in developing the life of the town 
along educational and intellectual lines, as 
well as those of material progress, is O. J. 
Kauffman. the manager of the Electric Light 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



515 



& Power Co., of that place. For a number 
of years Mr. Kauffman was identitied with 
purely educational work, but since the fall 
(if 1903 he has held his present position in 
the business world. 

Mr. Kauffman is a native of \'ernon 
county, Wis., where he was born Feb. 16, 
1872. His father, B. F. Kauffman, was one 
of the pioneers of the county, whither he had 
come from Pennsylvania, his birthplace. His 
wife, whose maiden name was Jane Town- 
send, was a native of New York. O. J. 
Kauft'man was brought up on his father's 
farm and was given as good an education 
as the schools of the county offered. He com- 
])leted the public school course, graduating 
from the high school when only seventeen 
years of age. Immediately after graduation 
began Mr. Kauff'man's career as a te;icher. 
The first three years he taught in the country 
schools of Vernon county, and in the spring 
of 1892 entered Dixon College as a student. 
There he took a special teacher's course, cov- 
ering one year, and after this special training 
and preparation for his chosen work, re- 
sumeil teaching. For two years he served 
as principal of the graded schools of Union 
Center, Wis., and the succeeding year had 
a similar position in the grammar school in 
Xecedah, Wis. Later he spent three years 
as principal in the high school at Pittsville, 
Wis., where he had direction of the three 
years' course offered there. 

In 1899, desiring to equip himself more 
completely for his profession, Mr. Kauff- 
man entered the State Normal School at 
Oshkosh. taking the English Scientific coi.irse 
and graduating in 1901. After leaving col- 
lege, he was offered the jirincipalship of the 
high school in Markesan, Wis., which he ac- 
cepted and remained there until September. 
1902. He then came to Ladysmilh and 
alter one year as principal of the high school 
was induced to leave the jjrofession which 
had engaged his attention so long, and ac- 
cepted his jiresent position at Ladysmith with 
the Electric Light & Power Company. 

Mr. Kauffman is a member of the Mas- 
onic fraternity, in the Mystic Tie Lodge, and 
also Ijelongs to the Equitable I'raternal Cnion 



of Markesan, \\is. Personally he is a man 
of scholarly attainments and cultured tastes, 
whose success as an educator is known 
throughout the Slate. Since settling in 
Ladysmith Mr. Kauff'man has built a line 
modern. house, commodious and inviting, and 
his broad hospitality has made him as prom- 
inent a figure in the social life of the town 
as in its business circles. 

JOHN McKIE, passenger conductor on 
the Wisconsin Central Railroad, has been a 
resident of Ashland since 1882. He was Ijorn 
in Scotland Feb. 27, 1851, son of James and 
Jeannette (Derby) McKie, both natives of 
Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. ^Ir. and 
Mrs. McKie, Sr., came with their family to 
Ontario, Canada, where the father settled 
down to farming. He died in 1900 in Paris, 
Ontario, where his wife still has her home. 
Of their famil)' of seven children five are 
still living, John being one of the elders. 

John McKie was educated in the com- 
mon schools of Paris, Ontario, and worked 
on the farm with his father until 1871. He 
then secured a position as bridge carpenter 
on the G. W. & R. Railroad, of Canada, re- 
taining the place three years. After this he 
was a brakeman on the same road (which 
later became part of the Grand Tntnk Sys- 
tem ) and then had charge of a switch engine 
until 18S2. In Ai^ril of that year he came to 
.\shland and went to work for the Wiscon- 
sin Central as a brakeman. but after one 
month was given the position of conductor 
on a freight train. He was employed as 
freight conductor until 1889. when he was 
])romoted to be passenger conductor, and 
still retains that position, his run being be- 
tween Ashland and Abbotsford, Wis. He 
owns his home in Ashland. 

Mr. McKie has been twice married, his 
first wife being Charlotte Fry. of Capetown, 
Ont. They were married in I'ebruary. 1878, 
and Mrs. McKie died in 1888. leaving the 
following children: Vied J., chief clerk to 
the superintendent of the Santa Fe Railway 
Co., at Chicago: John W.. a graduate at 
West I'oint in the class of 1904: and Frank 
L., cniploved in Nelson Bros.' lumber office 



5i<J 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAI'HICAL RECORD 



at Waupaca. Wis. Mr. McKie married 
(^second) in 1S95, Mrs. Anna Dalryniple, of 
Ashland. Both ^Ir. and Mrs. ^icKie are 
members of the Episcopal Church. Mr. 
^IcKie is a Republican in politics. Frater- 
nally he belongs to the O. R. C, Division 
Xo. 253, of Ashland; and to the A. F. & A. 
M., Blue Lodge of Stevens Point, Chapter 
and Comniandery of Ashland. 

ERWIN B. FOLLETT. for some years 
agent for the Xorthern Pacific Railway 
Company, at Superior, was born at Geneva 
Lake, Wis., Feb. 15, 1857, his father being- 
George W. Follett, a New Englander, prob- 
ably of French descent. 

John P\iilett, grandfather of George \\"., 
served in the Continental army, taking part 
in Ethan Allen's expedition ag-ainst Ticon- 
deroga and in other caniixiignis ; he was a 
farmer and received a grant of land for his 
military service. Luther Follett, son of John 
and father of George W., lived and died in 
Xew England. 

George W. Follett learned the black- 
smith's trade in the East, and when a young 
man set out with his tools for Pike's Peak. 
Abandoning that idea, however, he settled 
about 1852 at Lake Geneva, Wis., where 
for some years he carrietl on a blacksmith 
shop. From tliere he went to Coral City, now 
\\'hiteliall. Trempealeau Co., Wis., where 
he became a merchant, also doing an ex- 
tensive business in logging in Clark couiuv. 
In 1880 he moved to Wadena, Minn., where 
he passed the remainder of his life on a farm, 
dying Nov. 12, 1901, at the age of seventy- 
six. George W. Follett was a man of de- 
cided opinions, and in every way an exem- 
plary citizen ; in politics he was an enthusias- 
tic Republican, and in religious faith a Uni- 
\ersalist. His first wife died when her son, 
Erwin B., was an infant. Her other chil- 
dren were two daughters who died in child- 
hood, and Flora, Mrs. Ruseling, who died in 
Eleva, Wis., in 1898, when thirty-seven 
years of age. George W. FoUett's sccoml 
wife. Lamira Cummings, had two children 
by a previous marriage, and by her marriage 
with Mr. Follett became the mother of four 



children: Jemiie; Cora; Leona ; and Grace- 
who died w hen five years old. ]\lrs. L;imira 
(^Cummings) Follett died at the age of sev- 
enty-three, Oct. jS, 1901. 

When Erwin B. Follett was a small boy 
the family located in Trempealeau county, 
where he attended the public schools, after- 
ward spending two years at JetYerson Liberal 
Institute, JelYerson, Wis. In 1880 he went 
to Wadena, Minn, where he spent two year.>?- 
improving a farm of wild land. He then 
entered the employ of the Xorthern Pacific 
Railway Company as clerk and was gradualt\- 
promoted during the four years he spent in 
the office. He became cashier in the station 
at Superior in 1880, and four years later, 
cashier at West Superior, where he remained 
three years. In 1893 Mr. Follett was made 
agent at West Duluth for the Xorthern Pa- 
cific and the St. Paul & Duluth Railway 
Companies, but was transferred in 1897 as 
agent to Superior, where he has had charge 
oi the passenger and freight business of the 
Xorthern Pacific, and he has also been local 
agent for the Chicago. Milwaukee & St. 
Pan! Railway Company. 

In 1887 -^^''- Eollett was married to El- 
vina Krenz, daughter of Henry Krenz, of 
Wadena. Mrs. lu^llett was born in Germany 
aiul came with her parents to this country 
in early childhood ; she died in Superior in 
1890, when about thirty years of age, leav- 
ing two children, Freddie and Ada, both of 
whom died the same year. Mr. Follett mar- 
ried (second) Mrs. Jeannette Henry, daugh- 
ter of Mr. Weatherhead. of Zumbrota, i\linn. 
Mr. and Mrs. Follett are communicants of 
the Episcopal Church, of which I\Ir. Follett 
was treasurer in 1901. He is a K. T. 
Mason, past master of the local lodge, and 
past high priest of the local chapter; also 
]>ast chancellor commander of Watlena 
I^^dge, K. of P. In political principle ]Mr. 
l-^ollett is a Republican, but he has never 
been an ottice seeker. 

E. R. SMITH, one of the oldest and 
most traveled conductors on the eastern tlivi- 
sion of the (^rcat Xorthern Railroiul. makes 
his lionie in \^'est Su]K'rior. Wisconsin. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



517 



SYLVESTER BRADLEY is the presi- 
•tlcnt of the Garland Clothing Co., of Ash- 
land. He is a Canadian by birtli, born in 
Toronto, Ont., although !iis parents, TlKJinas 
and Esther (Caranaugh) Bradley, were 
both natives of Lockport, New York. 
Thomas Bradley spent most of his active 
•career in the fuel business, but has now re- 
tired to a farm at Newmarket, (^nt. His 
wife died in 1894. All of their twelve chil- 
dren are living. Sylvester being the third. 

Sylvester Bradley was born Nov. 24. 
1865, and until he was thirteen years old at- 
tended the public schools of Toronto, ^\'hen 
he was sixteen he secured a position as brake- 
man on the (Jirand 'JVunk Railroad. After 
two years with that road he entered the em- 
ploy of the Detroit, Mackinaw & Marquette 
Railway Company, where he was brakeman 
for several years, and then for a year and a 
half acted as assistant purchasing agent. He 
ne.xt became a brakeman on the Northern 
Pacific Railroad, retaining that position until 
1889. when he came to Ashland as an em- 
ploye of the Wisconsin Central Road. He 
was a brakeman on that road for nine 
months, and was then promoted to the posi- 
tion of freight conductor. After seven years' 
work as freight conductor he was made a 
passenger conductor, and was thus emi)loyed 
until June i, 1901. At that date he left the 
service of the Wisconsin Central and went 
into partnership with George P. Walters in 
the gentlemen's furnishing l)usiness. Suljse- 
quently they added clothing and hats to their 
business, and Oct. 17, 1902. organized a 
stock company under the firm name of 
Bradley, Walters & Cartier Co., which was 
succeeded by the Garland Clothing Co., of 
which Mr. Bradley is president. They carry 
a full line of furnishing goods, hats and 
clothing, and do a prosjierous business. 

Mr. Bradley married Jennie Prentice, of 
Hamilton. CJnt.. daughter of John and Chri.s- 
tina ( McCall ) Prentice. iKith of Canadian 
f)irth. Of the Prentice family of nine chil- 
dren, eight of whom are living. Mrs. Bradley 
was the fourth in nrdcr of birth. Mr. and 
Mrs. Bradley are bntli members of the Pres- 
djvterian Churcli. Mr. I'radlev is a faithful 



adherent of the Republican party. Frater- 
nally he belongs to the Elks, No. 558 of Ash- 
land; F. & A. M., Blue Lodge, No. 410, 
.\shland ; Cliapter No. 58. and Commandery 
No. 22, K. T., of Ashland ; O. R. C, Division 
No. 253, of Ashland, being secretary of the 
Division ; the Roval .\rcanum. Council 
No. II 13. of Ashland; tlie M. W. A., Che- 
f|uamegon Camp No. 1 109. and National 
Fraternal League, Ashland Council No. 7. 

ALEXANDER RASMUSSEN. Nor- 
way has gi\-en many of her sturdy sons to 
the New World, and the Northern lake reg- 
ion in particular owes much of its develop- 
ment to the strength and daring with which 
they faced the hardships anfl dangers of the 
frontier life. .Among many who have left 
their native land for America is Alexander 
Rasmussen. of Price county, who was born 
near Christiania July 23, 1873. 

The jjaternal grandfather was Rasmus 
Christenson, who by his wife Bertha, had a 
son Jacob. Jacob Rasmussen was born near 
Drammen, Norway, and from the time he 
was fifteen he worked in sawmills. In 1874 
he brought his family to America, and after 
trying Green Bay and several other places in 
Wisconsin, finally took up a homestead claim 
at Dorchester in 1877. For several years, 
however, he continued his work in a saw- 
mill. After ten years in Dorchester he be- 
came a citizen of Phillips, and has since lived 
there, at present in the employ of the John 
R. Davis Lumber Company. At the time 
of the fire in 1894 Mr. Rasmussen was car- 
rying on a general .store, and lost not only the 
st(jre with all its contents, but also his home. 
He now has another comfortable residence 
with modern improvements. 

Jacob Rasmussen married Miss Caroline 
Olson and they reared a family of seven chil- 
dren : John R.' of Snohomish, Wash. ; Oscar, 
of Phillips; Alexander; George, of Phillips; 
Herbert, of I'.emidji. Minn.; William, of 
Phillips; and Matilda, now Mrs. Tuttle, of 
Tacoma, \\'ashington. 

Alexander Rasmussen was only a few 
months old when his parents came to Wis- 
consin, and so has had the usual training of 



;i8 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



the American boy in a new country, lie at- 
tended school both in Dorchester and I'liit- 
lips, and then for several years helped his 
father in the store until that was burned. 
Since then he has been principally occupied 
in public capacities. 

Air. Rasmussen is a Republican in his 
party affiliation, and has been elected on that 
ticket to several ofiices. lie served one term 
as city clerk, and in 1898 was elected clerk 
of the circuit court, and was returned for 
the same office in 1900, and again in 190-'. 
Fraternally he is a member of the I*". & A. Al. 
Phillips Lodge, Keystone Chapter. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON LUT- 
TON, ex-chief of police in the city of Su- 
perior, Douglas county, was boni in 
Lawrence county, Pennsylvania. December 
16, 1854, .son of John N. and Eliza Jane 
(Maine) Lutton, natives of Pennsylvania. 

Thomas Lutton, grandfather of John N., 
came from the north of Ireland about 1800, 
and settling in Pennsylvania, taught school 
in Lawrence county for many years ; he was 
also a farmer. His wife lived to an ;i(I- 
vanced age, dying on the farm where her son, 
Thomas, also lived until his death, at the age 
of fifty, and where her grandson, John N., 
was born. In 1858 John N. Lutton moved 
to Keokuk county, Iowa, where he was 
among the pioneers and became a successful 
farmer, his death occurring in the fall of 
1879, wiien he was about si.xty. Plis widow 
still lives in Keokuk county at the age of 
eighty. Her grandfather was a merchant in 
Dublin, Ireland, but failing in business, came 
to Pennsylvania and settled on a farm in 
Orange county. 

The education of George Washington 
Lutton was acciuired in tiie public sciiools 
of Keokuk county, at McLean's Academy 
and Business College in Iowa City, and at 
the State University, from the law depart- 
ment of which he graduated in 1884. He 
practiced in Bozeman, Mont., for a time. In 
the spring of 1879 Mr. Lutton was employed 
on construction work on the Northern Pa- 
cific Railroad, and was foreman and super- 
intendent of that work for se\-eral vcars. 



Later he took contracts on that road in Mon- 
tana and Dakota. In 1887 he came to West 
Superior as superintendent of dock and con- 
struction work on tiie Chicago, St. Paul & 
Omaha Railroad, spent a year with Dear & 
Hayes, contractors, and was also employed 
on the Duluth & Iron Range Railroad and on 
the Duluth, Mis.sabe & Northern Railroad. 
In the spring of 1894 Mr. Lutton was ap- 
pointed by Alayor Woodward chief of police 
of Superior ; he served two years and was re- 
appointed in January, 1900, and held the 
l^osition three years longer. Meantime he 
had also served a year on the city detective 
force. The tirst measure introducetl into 
the Wisconsin legislature for placing under 
civil service rules the ix)lice force of all cities 
of a population of over 10,000, was drafted 
by Air. Lutton, a similar bill being passed 
two years later. 

In the autumn of 1891 Mr. Lutton mar- 
ried Mary Beerman, who was born in Mich- 
igan, daughter of J. A. and Eliza J. Beer- 
man, of Superior. Three children have come 
to this union. Merle, Edith and Everett. Mr. 
Lutton is a member of the local lodge and 
chapter of Alasons, and of Superior Lodge, 
1. O. O. F., Golden Eagle Encampment, and 
Canton Superior. No. 55 ; he also belongs to 
the Maccabees, to the M. W. A. and to other 
fraternal organizations. Politically he is a 
Republican. 

JAMES F. SULLIVAN, the genial and 
popular proprietor of the "Tremout Hotel" 
at Dulutli, is a native of Wisconsin. Pie was 
l)orn Aug". 22, 1861. on M;ideline Island, son 
of Patrick and Johanna (Hern) SuUivan, 
Ijoth natives of Ireland. Patrick Sullivan, 
left his country when a young man, and 
coming to the United States, settled first at 
l')etroit, Mich. Later he went to Beaver 
Island, but was so persecuted by the Mor- 
mons that he was obliged to leave the place. 
In 1853 he located on Madeline Island where 
he died in Febru;'ry, 1861. He was a cooper 
by trade and in his later years combined this 
trade with that of a fisherman. After her 
husband's dentil, when James V. was a mere 
infant, Airs. Sullivan moved with her family 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



519 



to Necedah, Juneau Co., Wis., where they 
lived for twelve years and then came to Ash- 
land. Airs. Sullivan died in Ashland in 1895. 
She was the mother of the following child- 
ren: Marie, Jerry and John, deceased; 
Thomas ; and James V. Jerry was postmaster 
at Ashlrmd during- Cleveland's administra- 
tion; Thomas is a grocer in Ashland; and 
James F. is mentioned helow. 

James F. Sullivan was educated in the 
public schools of Necedah and Ashland, re- 
maining at his books until he was fourteen. 
At that early age he began work as a brake- 
man on the Wisconsin Central Railroad and 
continued with the road five years. He then 
entered the employ of the Ashland Light and 
Street Railway Co., and was for ten years in 
charge of their gas plant, being the first man- 
ufacturer of gas in Ashland. Leaving this 
position in 1890, he established himself as a 
meat dealer, a business which he carried on 
four years. His next venture w^'ls a restaur- 
ant, which he conducted successfully two 
years. On Jan. i, 1901, he opened the 
"Athern Hotel" of which he was the pro- 
prietor until its destruction by fire in Febru- 
ary, 1904. His previous business experience 
enabled him to make this hotel both po])ular 
and successful. It was the only two dollar 
house in Ashland, and catered especially to 
the commercial trade. Since May, 1904. Mr. 
Sullivan has been proprietor of the "Tre- 
mont Hotel" at Duiuth. It is centrally lo- 
cated and in every way is a pleasant stopping 
place, the host sparing no pains in providing 
for the comfort and convenience of his 
guests. 

Mr. Sullivan married Margaret J. 
Murphy, of Ashland, daughter of Morris 
and Nora (Flawley) Murphy, both natives 
of Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Murphy were the 
parents of four children, namely: Bridget, 
deceased ; Michael, an under sheriff of Ash- 
land county; Nora, widow of Thomas Mc- 
Donald, living in Ashland; and Margaret J., 
Mrs. James F, Sullivan. Mr. Murphy spent 
all of his life as a farmer, and died in 1890, 
at Cooperstown, Wis. His wife passed 
away in 1896 at the home of her daughter, 
Mrs. Sullivan. The following children were 



born to Mr. and Mrs. Su!Ii\an : William J., 
Marie N., Evelyn A., Mildred and Eileen. 
The family are members of the Catholic' 
Church. Mr. Sullivan is a Democrat in pol- 
itics. He is a member of the Catholic 
Knights of Wisconsin, the Catholic Order 
of h'oresters and the Ancient Order ofc 
Hibernians. 

WILFORD H. NICHOLS, county sur- 
veyor of Price county, has lived in Wiscon- 
sin since he was four years of age, and is one 
of the most experienced woodsmen of north- 
ern Wisconsin. He was born at Shoreman, 
Vt., April 4, 1852. His parents were 
Eugene and Rosella (Bertrand) Nichols, of 
Quebec, Canada, and New York State, re- 
spectively. 

The Nichols family, or Nicholas as the- 
name was spelled originally, is of French* 
stock and is descended from the Gen. Nich- 
olas who was a commander in Canada in' 
the Colonial days. Eugene Nichols learned 
the butcher's trade, and established himself 
in business in Whitehall, Vt., and worked 
there until 1856, when he went to Ripon, 
Wis., and engaged in logging on Wolf river, 
and in farming. After six years in Ripon 
l.e moved to St. Charles, Winona Co., Minn., 
and in 1887 to Spokane, Wash., where he 
died in November, 1903. aged seventy-four 
years. 

Mrs. Rosella Nichols was a daughter of 
Edward Bertrand, a butcher by trade, who 
went from Canada to Ripon in 1847. ^" 
i860 he removed to Winona county, Minn., 
preceding his son-in-law's family by two 
years. He was the father of fourteen chil- 
dren, and lived to an advanced age in Min- 
nesota. Three of Mr. Bertrand's brothers 
also left Canada to make the United States 
their home. Mrs. Nichols died in Spokane 
at the age of sixty-six. 

Wilford H. Nichols began his school life 
in Ripon, where he went to tiie public school. 
His education was continued at St. Charles, 
and when he was twenty-two he became a 
surveyor and civil engineer. He was first 
engaged for a number of years as a timber 
cruiser, through central and northern Wis- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



cousin, and finally in July, 1S82, he settled 
at Phillips, where he still makes his home. 
His occupation is now almost exclusively 
land surveying, and one piece of work on 
which he was engaged in 1893. was locating 
and platting the town of Sisseton, S. D, Mr. 
Kichols was one of the "sooners" who en- 
tered the Reservation at night in order to 
secure and hold claims. He remained there 
for two years, but in 189s, returned to Phil- 
lips. 

For some three years from 1888 to 1891 
Mr. Nichols carried on a hotel, the "National 
House." then the leading hotel of the city, 
but which has since burned down. His time 
was considerably occupied, too, with the du- 
ties of elective jxisitions. to which he was 
chosen. A Republican in his political views, 
he was an alderman of Phillips two years, 
and for the same length of time served as 
justice of the peace in the town of Fifield. 
His first election as county surveyor for 
Price county came in 1S86. and he has been 
chosen for the same position a number of 
times since, as the present is his .>^i.Kth term. 
His map of the county, an admirable one, 
was drafted in 1901, and was published the 
following year. 

In 1878 Mr. Nichols was united in mar- 
riage with Elizabeth Hawks, who was born 
in Illinois, July 17, 1850, but at the 
time she was married she was living in 
Neillsviile, Wis. Her death occurred Feb. {"j, 
1904, at Phillips. She was a member of the 
Catholic Church. Only one child, Joseph, has 
survived of those born to Mr. antl Mrs. 
Nichols. 

Mr. Nichols is a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, Phillips Lodge No. 225, and 
the chapter at the same place. He is a man 
much respected in business circles, and so- 
cially, and that he has many friends and sup- 
porters is evidenced by his many re-elections 
to office. 

GRAFTON MASON was born in 
Louisa. Va., in 1866, a son of Grenville 
Mason, who died in Washington, D. "C, 
while in the government employ. The fam- 
ily had located there when Grafton was five 



years of age and the boy's school days were 
spent in the public schools of that city. Later 
he attended the law school of Columbia Uni- 
versity, and was graduated in 1887. After 
a few months he started for the West, and in 
December, 1SS7, went to Superior. In 1894 
he was made secretarj- of the Consolidated 
Land Co., a position which he still holds. 
This company controls most of the real es- 
tate in the East End. not in private hands, 
their holdings including about 17,000 lots. 
They also own the "Euclid Hotel" property, 
one of the finest buildings in the city. Mr. 
i^Iason has made some individual invest- 
ments in real estate, farm lands, etc. 

In 1889 Mr. Mason was married to j\Iiss 
Gertrude Boteler. daughter of Rev. J. Wes- 
ley Boteler, a ]\lethodist clergyman of Wash- 
ington. D. C. Mr. and ]\Irs. Mason are the 
parents of five children: Grenville, Grafton. 
Jr., Sue Hester, Gerald and Alice Gertrude. 
Mr. ]\Iason belongs to the K. of P. and in his 
political sympathies is a Democrat, though 
he never takes an active part in politics. 

JASON D. CLARK is engaged in the 
abstract business at Superior. Douglas coun- 
ty. Wisconsin. 

WILLIAM H. LIPPELS. county clerk 
of Price county, and a highly esteemed citi- 
zen of Phillips, is a native of Germany, but 
has lived in America since 1877. His pa- 
rents were John H. and Elizabeth (Bar- 
renger) Lippels, and he was born Nov. 10, 
1862, in Hanover, which had been the home 
of the Lippels for generations. 

William H. Lippels, great-grandfather of 
our subject, was a brick layer and contractor 
in Hanover. John H. Lippels, father of 
William H. (2). served in the Hanoverian 
armv in 1866 as a sergeant. At the battle of 
Langensalza. he was wounded, and was dis- 
abled for abtuit a year. His military serv- 
ice in all. covered five years. In 1879 he 
came to America, and settled on a farm in 
Sauk county. Wis., but his tleath occurred 
in Cn^pper. Okla.. Jan. 13. 1902, at the age 
of seventy-three. His wife had passed away 
the preceding Jai\uary, at the age of seventy- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



521 



one. They were the parents of three chil- 
dren: Henry, of Cropper, Okla. ; William 
H. ; and Dorothy, who married Henry Beck, 
of Belvidere, Illinois. 

William H. Lippels received his educa- 
tion in the public schools in Hanover, and 
he was sixteen years old before he left his 
native land. VVhen he first came to this 
country he joined an uncle in Sauk county, 
Wis., and stayed witH him until 1880, when 
he took a logging contract at Chippewa Falls. 
A business career of that nature was put to 
an end, however, in 1885, when he was so 
injured by a falling tree that his left arm 
had to be amputated. With his plans for 
life thus altered, Mr. Lippels entered a com- 
mercial law school in Eau Claire, and spent 
two winters there, after which he became the 
special agent of St. Joseph Hospital at Chip- 
pewa Fails, and for ten years was so occu- 
pied, traveling over northern Wisconsin, 
with headquarters at Phillips. In the fall 
of 1898 Mr. Lippels was elected clerk of 
Price county, and was re-elected in both 
1900 and 1902. He has always been a Re- 
publican, and has ever taken a citizen's part 
in public affairs. 

In 1893 Mr. Lippels and Isabel Cook 
were united in marriage. Mrs. Lippels was 
born in New Brunswick, daughter of Charles 
and Anna (Morton) Cuok, later of Marin- 
ette, Wis. They have one child, Myrtle. 
The family is connected with the Presby- 
terian Church. 

A number of social orders claim Mr. 
Lippels as a member ; he is especially prom- 
inent m the I. O. O. F.. in which he was 
chosen a delegate to the Grand Lodge held 
in Eau Claire in 1903 ; he also belongs to the 
M. W. A. and the E. F. U. Mr. Lippels has 
great confidence in the future of Wisconsin 
and has invested rather largely in lands. 

WILLIAM GEORGE ROBERTS, of 
West Superior, Douglas county, a successful 
dealer in tin and metal work, was Ixirn near 
Friendship, Adams Co.. Wis.. Aug. 12. 
r862. His parents, Edward and Mary ( W'il- 
loughby) Roberts, were natives of I'jigland. 
who came to the United States in 1852, and 



settled in Adams county. Edward Roberts, 
a tinner by trade, carried on a tin shop on 
his farm at Fordham and also did work in 
Portage, Milwaukee, and other places. 
About 1870 he settled in Westfield, Wis., as 
a dealer in hardware and tin. He died at 
Westfield in 1886, at the age of sixty-five, 
his wife having passed away about six 
months earlier. She was a daughter of Lord 
Willoughby, of Preston, England. The 
children of Edward and Mary (Willough- 
by) Roberts were: Llewellyn; Edward, de- 
ceased at the age of twenty; Henry R. ; 
Elizabeth, Mrs. G. B. Crockett ; Mary ; Will- 
iam George; Lottie, of Superior; and Fran- 
ces, Mrs. Brown ; all the survivors are resi- 
dents of Westfield, except Lottie and Wil- 
liam George. 

\Villiam George Roberts received his 
education in the public schools and then 
learned the trade of tinner, which occupa- 
tion he has ever since followed. In 1888 he 
came to West Superior and opened a tin 
shop, later he was for two years a member 
of the firm of Roberts & Bingham, and for 
a number of years past has conducted a busi- 
ness of his own in tin roofing and cornice 
work. He is president and general manager 
in the Traders' Gold Mining Company, 
which is developing some rich gold mines in 
Idaho, and is agent for this company at 
West Superior. He also owns considerable 
real estate, and in 1889 built a two-story 
shop and residence. 

In 1889 Mr. Roberts married Mary Stin- 
son, daughter of J. P. Stinson. of Westfield, 
Wis., and they have one son, Glenn P. The 
family attend the Presbyterian Church. Fra- 
ternally Mr. Roberts belongs to the K. O. T. 
M. ; politically he is a Republican. 

WILLIAM B. ARDOUIN. a successful 
prospector and dealer in iron properties, who 
has been a witness and promoter of the phe- 
nomenal grt)Wth and development of Du- 
luth, is a native of Quebec, Canada, burn 
Jan. 18, 1855, son of George G. and Mary 
n'eed) .'\rdouin, both natives of the Prov- 
ince of Quebec. 

Charles J. .\rdouin, father of George G. 



522 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



and grandfather of William B., came to 
America from London about the beginning 
of the nineteenth century. He sprang from 
a race of French Huguenots who fled from 
France to London to avoid religious perse- 
cution. He settled in Quebec but lived only 
a few years. By trade he was a jeweler 
and watchmaker. His wife, whose maiden 
name was Lee, lived to be over sixty years 
of age. 

George G. Ardouin, son of Charles J., 
learned the drug business in Quebec, where 
he passed his entire life. Neither he nor his 
wife reached the age of thirty-five years. 
Mrs. Mary (Teed) Ardouin, wife of George 
G., was a daughter of John Teed, who came 
from Pom fret, England, and followed the 
trade of tailor at Quebec. He took an active 
part in the Rebellion of 1836, was im- 
prisoned on account of the same, and was 
sentenced to banishment to Van Die- 
man's Land, but was released by 
order of the British government on the 
eve of his departure. He married Miss 
Julia Meade, who came from Wexford, Ire- 
land; she was a relative of Gen. Meade, the 
hero of Gettysburg. Of the children, six in 
all, born to George G. and Mary (Teed) 
Ardouin, three survive: Julia A., widow 
of the late Mr. Beaulieu, of Duluth; George 
G., in the Department of Labor, Canadian 
Government, Ottawa; and William B. 

William B. Ardouin received the advant- 
age of a common school education, after- 
wards read law and in 1882 came to Duluth 
and practiced in the United States . Land 
Office for a time. Since 1893 he has given 
his chief attention to the exploration of the 
iron ranges in St. Louis county, spending 
considerable time in prospecting. He has 
made some valuable discoveries there, and 
he had begun his investigations as early as 
1885. When he first came to Duluth there 
were but four buildings of more substantial 
material than wood. The development of 
the iron ranges, that have played so substan- 
tial part in the development of the whole re- 
gion, have all taken place since then. Mr. 
Ardouin has taken a prominent part in all 
this, and his name has been linked with some 
of the most important discoveries. 



In 1893, at Duluth, Mr. Ardouin was 
married to Miss Ida Story, daughter of 
Thomas H. and Sarah A. Story, of Du- 
luth. Mrs. Ardouin was born in Lindsay, 
Ont. This marriage has been blessed with 
two sons, one of whoni died in infancy ; the 
other, Louis R., is a manly little fellow who 
bids fair to make proud those who love him. 
Mr. W. B. Ardouin resided in Duluth until 
the summer of 1905, when he removed to 
Los Angeles, California. 

DeWITT S. PECK is a prominent citi- 
zen of Hayward, Sawyer Co., Wis. His 
birth occurred in Albany, N. Y., Nov. 18,. 
1856, his parents being Myron H. and Mary 
Jane (Gary) Peck, both of New York State. 

The ancestors of the Peck family came 
from England, and members of the family 
have been prominent in civil and military af- 
fairs in the United States for generations. 
Nathaniel Peck, father of Myron H., was a 
native of New England, but spent most of 
his life farming in Jefferson county, N. Y., 
where he died at the age of eighty-nine. 
Myron H. Peck, father of DeWitt S., went 
to California in 1849. via Cape Horn, and 
there spent three successful years in mining, 
and as an employe in a store at Mormon 
Island, kept by DeWitt C. Stanford. Mr. 
Stanford, a brother of the famous Leland 
Stanford, had accompanied Mr. Peck from 
Albany, N. Y., where they had been school- 
mates. On returning from California, Mr. 
Peck operated flouring mills at Dexter, Jef- 
ferson Co., N. Y., for some years, after which 
he moved to Daytona, Fla., where he is in 
the grocery business in partnership with a 
son and a son-in-law. He is an influential 
citizen, ser\'ed as supervisor and justice of 
the peace in Dexter, and is a deacon in the 
Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Mary Jane 
(Gary) Peck was born in Connecticut, and 
is still living at Daytona. Her mother lived 
to extreme old age. 

DeWitt S. Peck attended public school 
at Dexter, N. Y., and while still a lad worked 
in his father's mill and also in a flour and 
feed store at Cohoes, N. Y., in which his 
father was interested. Later he was em- 
ployed in a dry goods store in Watertown, 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



N. v., and in the spring of 1879 came to 
Wisconsin, locating at Ment)monie, wiiere he 
worked for a time in a grist mill, and then in 
the office of county register of deeds. From 
there he went to Knapp, Wis., where for 
three years he was bookkeeper for the Bailey 
Manufacturing Co. After this he kept the 
books of a furniture store in Eau Claire un- 
til June. 1883, when he settled at Hayward. 
On the day the Northern Wisconsin Lum- 
ber Co.'s saw-mill began operations, jNlr. 
Peck took the position of bookkeeper, and 
retained it until the business was sold in 
1902, to the Northern Wisconsin Lumber & 
Manufacturing Co., the books of which con- 
cern he has ever since kept. 

In 1876 Mr. Peck married Kitty Mc- 
Wayne, who was born in Dexter, N. Y., 
daughter of Josiah A. McWayne, of Sack- 
ett's Harbor, N. Y. To Mr. and Mrs. Peck 
four children have been born, viz. : Wayne 
C, a tiler in the Hayward sawmill ; Ray C, 
a graduate of Beloit College, Beloit, Wis., 
now editor of the PhiUips Bee at Phillips, 
Wis. ; Bertha, now residing with her parents 
at Hayward ; and Bessie, formerly a teacher 
in Sawyer county, now a student at Milwau- 
kee Downer College. 

In tlie spring of 1902 Mr. Peck was 
elected chairman of the town and county 
board of supervisors. He is a charter mem- 
ber of Keystone Lodge, F. & A. M., of which 
he has been an officer from the beginning, 
and is past Master; he was also venerable 
consul of Progre.ss Camp, No. 4156, M. W. 
A. He is a member of the purchasing com- 
mittee of the Hayward Free Library. He is 
also a member <jf the building committee 
which is preparing to erect a new pressed 
brick and brown stone Carnegie Library 
building. In politics he is a Repu))lican. 

CH.\RLES BECKWITH SIMPSON, 
sheriff of Bayfield county, is an active, en- 
terprising and prosperous citizen of Wash- 
burn, Bayfield county, where he is engaged 
in the lumber and contnicting Ijusiness. He 
was born at Saranac, Mich.. .April 15. 1870, 
and was the only son of William .\. and 
Sarah Jane ( Beckwith ) Simpson. 

The paternal grandfather, Thomas Simp- 



son, was an Englishman and came from the 
vicinity of Leeds to Kent county, Ont., about 
1840. There he settled on a farm and died 
when, about forty years old. The widow, 
Mrs. Mary (Sncjwdon) Simpson, lived for 
some years more, and about i8(j6 removetl 
with her son to Hamilton, Caldwell Co., Mo. 
The Snowdons were also an English famil}', 
and an estate belonging to them was settled 
up not many years ago. 

William AI. Simpson was lx)rn at Mor- 
peth, near Chatham, Ont., but after reaching 
manhood left Canada and crossed over into 
Michigan, where he located in Ionia and for 
some years manufactured brick. Later he 
began on logging contracts. In the fall of 
1886 he removed to Washburn and assumed 
the duties of superintendent of logging for 
A. A. Bigelow & Company, a position he 
held at the time of his death, in June, 1893, 
at the age of fifty-one. His wife, who died 
in the spring of 1889, at the age of forty- 
six, was born at Saranac, Mich., and was 
of Massachusetts parentage. She was one 
of a family of seven, three sons and four 
daughters. To William and Sarah Simp- 
son were born, besides the one son, C. B., 
three daughters, of whom the only survivor 
is Lena B., who resides in Cleveland, Ohio. 

Charles B. Simpson received his educa- 
tion in the public schools, which he attended, 
either at Lamont or Mersey, until he was si.x- 
teen. At that age he went to Washbuni 
and entered the employ of A. A. Bigelow & 
Company as timekeeper, while the next year 
he was made foreman of a logging crew. In 
No\ember, 1890, in connection with his fa- 
ther, he began contracting, his part being the 
oversight of the work in the woods. Since 
his father's death he has continued the same 
work and has filled contracts for different 
lumber companies in Wisconsin, while in 
the winter of 1902-03 he filled contracts on 
the Brule river. He employs from eighty to 
250 men. 

-Always a Republican, Air. Simpson has 
been one of the active workers in town, coun- 
ty and State affairs, taking a prominent part 
in various conventions. In the fall of 1902 
he was elected sheriff of Bayfield county. 

In J;nniar\-, 1896, Air. Simpson was luar- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



ried to Gertrude ]\IcOuirk, daughter of :Mrs. 
Sarah McOuirk, of'St. Paul. " I\Irs. Smip- 
sou was born in Chicago, wliere her fatlier 
died. Prominent in political life, Mr. Simp- 
son is almost equally so in fraternal circles; 
he belongs to the Masonic fraternity, is past 
master of the local lotlge, a member of the 
cliapter and council, of the .\shland (U'is.) 
Consistory, and of the Tripoli Temple of the 
^Mystic Shrine in Milwaukee: he also be- 
longs to the B. P. O. E., and the Concat- 
enated Order of Hoohoos. 

ARTHUR W. PETERSEN, one of the 
young- and energetic business men of Mellen, 
Ashland Co., Wis., has much executive abil- 
ity and power of organization. He is a na- 
ti\e of the Badger State, having been Imrn 
at \\'inneconne. \\'innebago Co.." Wis,. 
March lo. 1873, son of VVilliam C. and 
Cora (Barber) Petersen, natives respectively 
of Germany and Vermont, ^^'illiam C. Pet- 
ersen came to America when a child, and was 
only sixteen when he settled in Wisconsin. 
In early life he followed the occupation of a 
barl)er for some yeare, and later was a com- 
mercial traveler. He then went to Antigo, 
where he now lives, engaged in the insur- 
ance business, also following his trade as a 
barber. 

The boyhood of Arthur W. Petersen was 
spent in Appleton, whither he went when 
tive years old. and at Antigo. where he grad- 
uated from the Antigo high school when 
only sixteen. He learned the barber's trade 
with his father, following this occupation 
for some years in Antigo, and for six years 
longer in Ashland. West Superior and 'Mel- 
len. He came to tlie latter place in 1896. 
and opened a shop in a building which he 
•erected, which was the first in town after tlie 
iiew boom. In 1898 he opened the first in- 
surance office in Mellen. having agencies for 
tile Prussian National of Gcrmanv : the New 
A'ork Underwriters' ; the Queen, of Amer- 
ica; Phoenix, of London ; the Scottish Union 
and National, of Edinburgh, Scotland: and 
the American, of Newark, N. J. He was 
also interested in real estate, and took an 
active part in developing the resources of 



Mellen and of Ashland county. Jan. i, 
1902. ]\lr. Petersen became connected with 
the Holmes Mining and Milling Company, 
which he organized. Jn this enterprise he 
was connected with John Holmes, owner 
of the Holmes ^line. J. R. Wliiitaker. C. A. 
Poundstone, \\'. H. Chaney and A. D. Wil- 
son, who were the original incoqwrators of 
the company. In February. J 903. Mr. Peter- 
sen organized and incorporatetl the Penokee 
Development Company, the other incor- 
porators being John F. Scott, Edward Bek- 
ken, John Hedman and George Pulsifer, of 
Ashland; J. R. Whittaker of Mellen; Ed- 
ward Borgen, of W'ashburn; F. B. Chase, 
of Oshkosh ; S. E. Carrier, of Oakfield : 
James Guest, of Hurley; and James 'SI. 
House, of Watertown, S. D. Mr. Petersen 
is a young man of much business foresight, 
tactful in organization, and in the carrying 
out of his plans, which he usually brings to 
successful issue. He has the confidence and 
esteem of a wide circle of friends and busi- 
ness associates. 

Mr. Petersen married in iS()3 Kiltio L. 
House, of Ashland, and to this union have 
been born four children. Mabel, I\tada, Rus- 
sell and Claude. j\Ir. Petersen is a Repub- 
lican, and has taken an active part in politics, 
having for the last five years creditably tilled 
the office of justice of the peace. Fraternally 
he is a member of the Modern \\'oodmen of 
America, being- a charter member of the local 
camp, of which he has been venerable con- 
sul three terms. He also belongs to the 
Brotherhood of the Protective Order of 
Elks, Ashland Lodge. No. 558. 

G. B. WILKINSON, attorney, Supe- 
rior, \\"isconsin. 

JOHN MICHAEL SIIONG. who n.nv 
!i\es in retirement in West Superior, has 
taken part in half a century of develoiiment 
of Wisconsin. He was born in Lening. a 
province of Lorraine. France (now Prus- 
sia) Aug. 15, 1830. son of John M. ;\n(l Mar- 
garet (Pelow) Shong. 

The Shong family came to this country 
in 1844, and settled on a f;u-in in Lewis 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



5^5. 



county, N. Y., where the father Hved to be 
eighty-two years old. He was a Republican 
in politicari)r'"ciple. Mrs. Margaret (Pe- 
low) Shong, who lived to be over seventy, 
was born in Lening, which had been the 
home of the family for several generations. 
Her father, Francis I'elow, was a farmer; 
her brother, John I'elow, was for some years 
mayor of Lening. Four of the sons of John 
M. Shong were in the Union Army during 
the Civil war; John, who was in the 21st 
W. V. I., and now lives at Eau Claire, Wis. ; 
Michael, who was in the 14th N. Y. V. 1., 
and is now a resident of Menomonie Falls, 
Wis. ; Stephen, twin brother of Michael, who 
was in the same regiment, and now lives in 
California; and John Michael. The other 
children of John M. and Margaret (Pelow) 
Shong were : Nicholas, who lived for thirty- 
five years near .Augusta, Wis., where he still 
owns a fine farm, and who now lives in Mc- 
Minnville, Tenn. ; Charles, w ho resides in 
Augusta, Wis. ; Margaret, who is Mrs. 
Matz, of Augusta, Wis. ; Barbara, who is 
Mrs. Allen Rickart, of Chicago; Mary, who 
is Mrs. Algover, of Lowville, N. Y. ; .\nna, 
who died in Minneapolis; Mary Ann. who 
is Mrs. Henry, of Lewis county, N. Y. ; and 
Peter, who died in New York. 

Until he was twenty-one years of age, 
John Michael Shong lived on the farm in 
New York, and being the eldest of twelve 
children was obliged to help in clearing the 
land, and had little time for school. Jn 185J 
he went to Milwaukee, and spent the folKnv- 
ingyear in travel, visiting Muskegon, Mich. ; 
Chicago, and Galena, 111. ; St. Paul and Still- 
water, Minn. ; and many other places which 
are now thriving cities, but which at that time 
were just emerging from the wilderness. 
From St. Paul, Mr. Shong went on foot to 
Eau Claire, Wis., which then consisted of a 
saw-mill, a store and a boarding Ikjusc; in 
all the journey he .saw only three or four 
dwellings. He spent the ne.\t two years with 
a luml^er firm in Fan Claire, and then located 
on 160 acres of wild land near the present 
village of I-'all Creek. Fau Claire county, 
which he had entered in 1853. and which in 
time he converted into a well improved farm. 



This farm he sold in i888, when he moved to 
Superior, where he has since lived in prac- 
tical retirement, owing to failing health. 

For some time after coming to Wiscon- 
sin, Mr. Shong was engaged in tlraw-ing sup- 
plies for loggmg camps from Sparta, Wis. 
He was often obliged to camp in the woods, 
and on one occasion had his provisions, 
which were under his head, stolen by the 
wolves while he slept. During his first sea- 
son in Wisconsin, he spent several months 
alone in a logging camp forty miles above 
Eau Claire, where he was surprised one day 
by a visit from about fifty Indians; con- 
trary to his expectations they did him no 
harm and afterward became very friendly. 
For a number of years Mr. Shong had con- 
siderable intercx)urse with the Chippewa In- 
dians, there being no white neighbors, and 
scarcely a road through the valleys of the 
Fau Claire and the Chippewa. During the 
Sioux outbreak, in 1862. the settlers gath- 
ered at I'"all Creek for safety, and prepared 
to l)uild a fort, but the cxciteiuent soon sub- 
sided, as the Chippewas showed but little 
desire to join their old enemies, the Sioux. 
In the spring of 1865, Mr. Shong enlisted in 
Company G, 48th W. V. I.; he took part 
in the pursuit of Gen. Price through Kansas, 
conducted by Kit Carson and Col. Leaven- 
worth, and afterward was in an expedition 
across the plains, from which he returned to 
Leavenworth in December, 1865. While 
on this expedition the army encountered a 
severe snow storm, which lasted for twenty- 
four hours, and through which they marched 
over fifty miles, exposed to all its fury. Mr. 
Shong never fully recovered from its ill- 
effects of cold and exposure. He was dis- 
charged after reaching Fort Leavenworth, 
where the citizens gave a banquet to the 
troops, who for many months had subsisted 
on army rations. 

In 1866 Mr. Shong married Harriet 
l?rown. a native of Lowell. England, whose 
father, John R. Brown, settled in Thomp- 
son's Vallev. Fau Claire Co., Wis., in 1854. 
To this luiion were born four sons and one 
daughter: Edwin R., who is employed in 
the Union Depot at Duluth : Frank, who is a 
detective in the citv service at Superior; 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Charles, who is a locomotive engineer at 
Superior; Albert C, who taught in Superior 
several years and is now principal of the 
Nelson Dewey high school there ; and 
Lottie, who lives at home in Superior. Mrs. 
Harriet Shong died in 1903. Mr. and Mrs. 
Shong were both members of the Methodist 
Church. Mr. Shong has been a Repul^ii- 
can since casting his first vote for Gen. Scott 
in 1852 — which he did at the risk of vio- 
lence from his Democratic neighbors. Lie 
is a member of Alonzo Palmer Post, 
G. A. R. 

Edwin Riley Shong is a son of John 
Michael and Harriet (Brown) Shong, and 
was born at Fall Creek, Wis., Feb. 25, 1869. 
He attended the public schools of Fall 
Creek and Augusta, Wis., and in 1887 came 
with his parents to Superior. For several 
}ears Mr. Shong engaged in draying, em- 
ploying three teams, and he also carried 
mail and express matter for the Adams. 
American and Northern Pacific Express 
Companies. Since 1892 he has been night 
baggageman and watchman at the Union 
depot for the Lake Superior Terminal and 
Transportation Co., and is incidentally 
studying telegraphy. He has built two 
houses in the city, one of which is his present 
home, a pleasant cottage on Baxter avenue. 

Mr. Shong married, in 1894, Tillie 
Klingberg, daughter of John Klingberg, of 
Cannon Falls, Minn., and they have one 
daughter, 01i\-e. Mr. Shong has been a Re- 
publican from his youth; fraternally he is a 
member of the Independent Order of 
Foresters. 

JAMES C. DALY, a dealer in real es- 
tate and chairman of the town Ixiard of Port 
Wing, Bayfield county, has not taken a 
prominent part in town affairs since he has 
resided there, but is a widely known poli- 
tician and orator. He was born in Milwau- 
kee. April 17, 1852, and his parents were 
John and Mary (Quinn) Daly. 

John Daly was of Irish descent, but a 
native of the State of Massachusetts. -A 
highly educated man and a college graduate 
lie was trained professionallv for a civil en- 



gineer. In 1833 he settled in Milwaukee, 
and was government surveyor, assisted in 
laying out the original town site and con- 
tinued in such work until his marriage. 
After that event he bought a farm in Gran- 
ville, near Milwaukee, and lived there until 
his death in 1872. His wife, a native of 
Ireland, bore him six children, of whom 
James C. was the third. 

James C. Daly was reared on the farm 
but was sent regularly to school, both to the 
public schools and to an academy, and then 
taught for three years in Milwaukee. He 
took his first position when only sixteen, 
and when at the end of his first term he 
took an examination with seventy other ap- 
plicants, only one of that number received 
a better certificate. 

Before reaching the age of twenty Mr. 
Daly went into the lumber regions of Wis- 
consin, and was appointed deputy lumber 
inspector, a position he retained eleven years. 
During that period a contention arose be- 
tween the State of Minnesota and the 
Weyerhauser Syndicate as to the authority 
of the State to scale individual logs and 
collect payment, and as Mr. Daly was a 
prominent lumberman and of wide exper- 
ience, he took a leading part in engineering 
the fight. It was carried into the United 
States Supreme Court, and ended in having 
the State sustained by every decision given. 
Mr. Daly continued as deputy inspector un- 
til 1895.' 

In the fall of 1893. Mr. Daly was ap- 
pointed trespass agent for the Wisconsin 
State Land Commission, to look after the 
State lands, and he filled the position two 
years. In the discharge of his duties as 
deputy inspector, he came to Port Wing 
in the fall of 1894, and the next year bought 
land and located there permanently. He 
was appointed deputy sheriff of the county 
and at the same time acted as police officer, 
serving in the latter capacity six years. 

Mr. Daly was always a Democrat until 
Cleveland's second term, when he abandoned 
Cleveland but not the party. Since then, 
however, he has generally voted inde- 
pendent! v. When the township was organ- 



COMiMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



527 



ized Mr. Daly was elected town clerk and 
served one year. The next year, iy02, he 
was elected chairman of the town toard, and 
was appointed deputy town clerk. He was 
re-elected as chairman of the board and is 
the present incumbent. He takes an active 
interest in general politics, and is a well 
known campaign speaker. Finely educated 
and with positive views, his keen and logical 
mind enables him to state those views con- 
\incingly while his natural eloquence helps 
him to carry his auditors with him. and he 
has made one of the most popular sjieakers 
of the State. He is also very popular per- 
sonally, and the people have great confidence 
in him, for no trust confided to him has 
ever been abused. 

In 1891 Mr. Daly was married to Sarah 
McLaughlin, of Arcadia, Wis., who has 
borne her husband three children, John 
Patrick, James Stewart and Mary Elizabeth. 
The family are connected with the Catholic 
Church. When Mr. Daly settled in Port 
Wing in 1895, 1''^ erected a handsome resi- 
<lence, which he is making his home. He 
also bought other town property and has in- 
vested in farming lands until he now owns 
260 acres. One of his interests is fruit cul- 
ture, and he has a fine orchard of 200 apple 
trees, which demands most of his attention. 

W. W. FISHER is the city clerk of 
.\shlan(l, Ashland county, Wisconsin. 

GEORGE SELDEX, one of the vet- 
erans of the Civil war, now a resident of 
Superior, was liorn on a farm in Bodiham, 
Sussex. England, June 29. 1827. His pa- 
rents, William anrl Sarah Selden. were na- 
tives of Bodiham, where they lived and died. 

Selden is an old .\nglo-Saxon name. 
Jolin Selden was chancellor of Englanrl, and 
one of the magistrates who condemned 
Charles I. to death. Upon the restoration 
of the monarchv most of his descendants 
came to the L'nited States, where many of 
the name liave been prominent. The mother 
of Chief Justice Waite belonged to this fam- 
ily. William Selden, father of George, came 
of a branch of the family which rcm.'iined in 
England. 



George Selden had no schooling and 
from early boyhood was employed on his 
father's farm. When he was seventeen, he 
and his brothers, William and John, came 
to America. William died near Waukesha, 
Wis., and John lives in the vicinity of Lo- 
ganville, Sauk Co., Wis. Another brother, 
Charles, a soldier in the Civil war, also lives 
in Sauk county. Several of George Selden's 
nephews were also in the Civil war. None 
of the other members of the family who 
came to America are now living. 

On coming to this country George Selden 
located in Madison county, N. Y., where he 
was engaged in farming until the outbreak of 
the Civil war. In August. 1862, he enlisted 
in Co. A. 157th N. Y. V. I., served three 
years and received his discharge in August, 
1865. Mr. Selden was in the battles of 
Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In the 
latter battle his regiment was nearly annihil- 
ated, only seventeen men being left fit for 
service. On the first day of the battle a 
bullet struck Mr. Selden's knapsack with 
such force that he fell to the ground stunned. 
Before he recovered from the shock he was 
taken prisoner, later was sent to Richmond, 
and then to Libby prison and Belle Isle, 
where he was nearly starved to death. He 
was finally paroled and spent the winter at 
.\nnapolis. He was exchanged and rejoined 
his company at Jacksonville, Fla., in the 
s])ring of 1864. From there he went to 
Hilton Head, where he was sent to the hospi- 
tal, owing to ill health brought on during his 
imprisonment. He rejoined his regiment in 
1865 and was mustered out with the eighty 
survivors of the original regiment. 

After the war Mr. Selden went to Iron- 
ton, Sauk Co., Wis., bought wild land and 
clearefl a farm, on which he lived until 1893. 
He then came to Superior, where he is now 
living in retirement. 

On Dec. 25, r850, Afr. Selden married 
I lannah Petley. daughter of John Petley. 
The father came from England in 1835 and 
settled in Madison county. N. Y. Mrs. Sel- 
den was born in Lawrence, County of Kent. 
T'jigland, I'eb. 5. 1832, and died in Sauk 
county. Wis.. Anril 19, 1887. She was the 
mother of nine children, two of whom died 



S2): 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



in childhood. The others are: WilHam Al- 
bert and George Henry, proprietors of a 
marine supply store at West Superior; 
Frederick Merrill, of West Superior; Sarah 
Elizabeth, Mrs. A. L. Carr, of Sauk county, 
Wis. ; Fannie Jane, Mrs. William Parnham, 
of Whiteside county, 111. ; Hattie, Mrs. Sigel 
Hoover, of Mauston, Wis. ; and Meltha, of 
West Superior. Mr. and Mrs. Selden were 
both members of the Methodist Church, with 
which Mr. Selden has been connected since 
his early manhood. Mr. Selden is a mem- 
ber of the G. A. R.. and has been a life- 
long Republican. 

FERDINAND C. FRIEDRICHS, the 
able editor and proprietor of the Butternut 
Eagle, was born in Dunkirk, N. Y., April 
1 8, 1858, son of Theodore and Fredericka 
(Dickman) Friedrichs. 

The parents were both born in Germany 
and married there. Coming at once to 
America after their marriage, they settled in 
Dunkirk, where Theodore Friedrichs en- 
gaged in farming. Two years after the birth 
of their son, Ferdinand C., they went West 
and made their home on a farm near Apple- 
ton, Wis., and there the boy was brought up. 

F. C. Friedrichs was sent to the public 
schools of Appleton. and made his way up, 
grade by grade, until he was graduated from 
the high school. Teaching offered the most 
congenial field open to him, for his tastes 
were always of a literary order, and he se- 
cured a position in Outagamie county, which 
he filled until 1892, when he went to Butter- 
nut as principal of the public schools there 
He remained there three years and during 
that time became so familiar with the con- 
ditions and prospects of the place, that he felt 
no fear in purchasing the Butternut Eagle, 
in 1898, and preparing to edit it himself. 
Since then Mr. Friedrichs has been identified 
with the town and has used his paper to ad- 
vance its interests wherever possible. He 
has always taken his part in local affairs per- 
sonally as well as through the columns of 
his paper, and at present is serving as justice 
of the peace. 

In 1885 Mr. Friedrichs was married to 



r^Iary A. Grimes, and their family life has 
been brightened by the advent of two in- 
teresting children, Margaret and Carl. 

The Butternut Eagle was established in 
1895 by Iver Anderson, who edited it until 
May 2, 1898, when it was purchased by its 
present proprietor. The paper is a six 
column quarto, issued Saturdays, and is 
Democratic in its political ground. Mr. 
Friedrichs is naturally adapted for news- 
paper work, is terse and clear in his style, 
forcible in his expression, and sound in his 
judgments, and with his native ability and 
his good education in two languages to assist 
him, it is not strange that the Eagle should 
rank among the best journals in the State, 
outside of the large cities. 

Mr. Friedrichs is a man of most gentle- 
manly demeanor, affable and courteous ta 
friends and strangers alike, and is justly 
popular in Butternut. He has abundant 
faith in the future of both the town and coun- 
ty, and is ever ready to assist in any move- 
ment tending to tlie prosperity of either. 

HENRY M. STARK. The military in- 
stincts of a family have seldom been trans- 
mitted to a later generation in a more marked 
degree than in the case of Henry M. Stark, 
of Superior, a descendant of a famous New 
England family, that of Gen. John Stark, 
the hero of the battle of Bennington, whose 
wife, "Molly" Stark, won, perhaps, even 
wider fame than her husband. 

John Stark, the grandfather of Henry 
M., named for the noted general, left Ben- 
nington, Vt.. with a brother soon after the 
close of the Revolution and settled in New 
Jersey, and there the family remained for 
over sixty years. 

Henry M. Stark was born in Flanders, 
near Dover, Morris Co., N. J., April 14, 
1845, ^ son of A. D. and Nancy (Case) 
Stark, who were both natives of the same 
State. Within a year or two of his birth. 
his parents went to Alden, McHenry Co.. 
TIL. where the father died in 1858. Mrs. 
Nancy Stark survived her husband for many 
years and passed the last years of her life 
in the home of her son Henr>' at Milwaukee, 



COM.MKMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



529 



where she died in 18S0. There were four 
children in tlie family: Mrs. Phoebe Perry 
resides in Los Gatos, Santa Clara Co., Cal. ; 
Dr. John W. Stark is a physician at Denver, 
Colo. ; Mrs. Catherine C. Dutton lives in 
Algona, Iowa; Henry M. is our subject. 

When the Civil war broke out. Henry M. 
Stark was only a youth, but March 8, 1862, 
when but seventeen years of age, he en- 
listed as a member of Co. G, i8th U. S. 
Infantry. From Chicago, the place of en- 
rollment, he was sent to Camp Thomas, 
Ohio, where in a few months the rigid drills 
converted the civilian into the soldier and 
in September he was sent to Cincinnati, next 
took part in the operations against Gen. 
Kirby Smith and. then returnetl to Cincin- 
nati for provost duty till March. 1863. At 
that time the company was ordered to join 
the regiment at Murfreesboro, Tenn., and 
was in the army under Gen. Rosecrans up 
to and during the battle of Chickamauga. 
During the winter of 1863-64 Mr. Stark 
was at Chattanooga and later took part in 
the severe battles of Missionary Ridge, 
Resaca and Ringgold, and in various other 
engagements of that important period. May 
31, 1864, at the battle of Smyrna Church he 
received a wouiid that shattered his left leg 
and also injured the right foot. He was 
taken to the field hospital, where his leg was 
amputated. His exceeding coolness and 
judgment under all circumstances may be in- 
ferred from the fact that while lying waiting 
his turn at the operating table, he selected 
Dr. Solon Marks from the various surgeons 
in attendance, and begged him to perform 
the operation in person, a request that was 
granted. I'rom the field hospital he was re- 
moved first to Acworth, Ga., two weeks later 
by hospital train to Chattanooga, and in the 
latter part of June he was again transferred, 
this time to the Nashville hospital, whence 
he was finally taken home by his brother 
John. At the end of the year he went to 
Camp Thomas. Ohio, where he was dis- 
charged, Dec. 22. 1864. 

In 1871 Mr. Stark went to Chicago, 
where he was employed in the pension ofifice 
for about four vears and then for four vcars 



more in a similar position in Milwaukee, 
h'rom 1879 to 1 88 1 he worked for the 
Western Transfjortation Company and then 
entered the employ of the Chicago, Milwau- 
kee rmd St. Paul Railroad. For ten years 
he was an accountant there, served as com- 
ruissioner of labor and statistics for Wis- 
consin for two years, traveled for thfee years 
as general agent for insurance interests and 
in 1894 was appointed agent for the North- 
ern Pacific Railroad at South Superior, 
which position he still holds. 

Mr. Stark was married in Milwaukee in 
T878 to Helena M. Julian, the daughter of 
Philip Julian, an old time resident of that 
city. Mr. and Mrs. Stark have had eight 
children, of wdiom one son and six daughters 
are living. The oldest son, John H. Stark, 
true to his name and traditions, enlisted for 
service in Co. G, 45th U. S. Vol. and died 
in the Philippines, Aug. 16, 1900. 

.'-liiicc coming to South Superior, Mr. 
Stark has not only shown great efficiency 
in his position but by his many manly quali- 
ties has made himself very popular and is 
not only honoreil as a gallant ex-soldier but 
esteeiucd as a progressive and valuable 
citizen. 

WALTER J. PHILBROOK. a public- 
spirited citizen of South Range, and for 
some years prominent on the school board 
of the town of Superior, is a son of Amiel 
E. and Margaret Elizabeth ( Desmond ) 
Philbrook. and was born in Monticcllo. 
Minn., .\pril 6. 1874. 

The family came to Douglas county 
while Walter J. was an infant. He received 
his education in the public and parochial 
schools of Superior and at the age of fif- 
teen began working in the woods with his 
father. Several seasons were spent in that 
way. while he was also doing a certain 
amount of contracting on his own account. 
In i8(;8 he opened a general store ;it South 
Range, as a member of the firm of Phill)rook 
and Tubbs. .After c< inducting this business 
for two years the firm sold out and since that 
time have been interested in logging, getting 
out ties. etc.. which has alwavs been reallv 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



its most important line of work. They em- 
ploy a number of men and are \ery success- 
ful in all thejr undertaking's. 

'Mr. I'hilbrook has always been a Demo- 
crat in his political views and so far as the 
cares of his business permit is activel}^ inter- 
ested in the affairs of his town. For a short 
time he served as town clerk and since 1899 
has been a member of the school board, verv 
efficiently filling the office of secretary. 

On April 30, 1900. Mary Fitzgerald, 
(laughter of John and JNIargaret Fitzgerald, 
became the wife of Walter Philbrook. She 
was born in Ishpeming, Mich., but later the 
family moved to Wisconsin and settled at 
South Range, where her marriage took place. 
Mr. and Airs. Philbrook are connected with 
tlie Catholic Church, and both are most 
highlv esteemed by their numerous circle of 
acquaintances. 

JOHN C. HUNTER will long be re- 
membered as one of the most worthy pio- 
r.eers of Duluth, having been for nearly 
three decades closely identified with the de- 
\ elopment of that phenomenal city. He was 
born in Perthshire, Scotland, Sept. 13, 1830, 
and his death occurred in Duluth May 13, 
J 897. 

John C. Hunter was educated in Glas- 
:gow. where he also acquired a business train- 
ing- in a commission house. In 1852, soon 
after his marriage, he went to Melbourne, 
.Vustralia, becoming a member of the whole- 
sale grocery firm of Dameron & Hunter. 
After three years spent in that city he re- 
turned to Scotland, and in 1856 came to the 
United States, locating on a farm near Kala- 
mazoo, Mich. Because of lack of agricul- 
tural training he did not find the work profit- 
able or congenial, as had been anticipated, 
and a year or two later he disposed of his 
interests and moved to Hastings, Minn., 
where he again embarked in the wholesale 
grocery business. He also made investments 
in real estate, but, owing to a period of 
business depression which followed, he 
met with some severe losses. Later he en- 
gaged in business in Wilton, Waseca county. 
'^\'hile on a visit to St. Paul he met with the 



late Dr. Foster. Duluth's pioneer editor, and 
became so impressed with the latter's enthus- 
iastic account of the Zenith City's prospects, 
that he decitled to locate in that place. He 
reached there in 1869, bringing a large stock 
of merchandise, and opened the first store of 
importance on the Minnesota side of the har- 
bor. Near where the old Masonic Temple 
now stands he erected a store building, in 
which he carried on business for several 
}ears, and afterwards built the Hunter block, 
a three-«tory brownstone building at 
the corner of Superior street and First 
avenue West, where he dealt in hard- 
ware. The Hunter block, at the time 
of its construction, was the most con- 
spicuous building in th& town, greatlv in- 
advance of the demands of the day. and is 
still among the most substantial buildings of 
the city. After selling out the hardware 
business Mr. Hunter gave his attention to 
real estate, buying and selling considerable 
tracts of city and suburban property. In 
1872 he organized the Duluth Savings Bank, 
of which he was president until it was reor- 
ganized as the American Exchange Bank. 

Always a Republican in principle, Mr. 
Hunter was never an active politician. At 
the first municipal Duluth election he was 
nominated for the position of mayor, and 
was defeated by J. B. Culver, the Demo- 
cratic nominee. In official as well as in busi- 
ness affairs he was the soul of honor, and 
he always declined to participate in any- 
thing which would not be justified by the 
most conscientious principles. Under Gov. 
Merriam he was appointed a member of the 
hoard of State prison commissioners. For 
many years he was an elder in the Presby- 
terian Church, with which his family is still 
connected, and he always contributed freely 
of his means to its support. 

In 1852 Mr. Hunter was married to 
Catharine, daughter of the late Ronald Mc- 
Laurin, of Oban. Scotland. Mrs. Hunter, 
who still resides in Duluth. is the mother of 
two sons and five daughters, and has nine 
living grandchildren. The first generation 
is as follows: Mrs. Douglas A. Petrie; 
Ronald M. ; Mrs. .\. R. INIacfarlane; James 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



S3t 



C; Margaret; Mrs. E. H. Eddy, and the 
Jate JNIrs. E. P. Towne. All the survivurs 
are still residents of Duiuth. 

HUGH RUSSELL, M. D., who passed 
away March 8, 1905, passed his last years in 
retirement in Superior. He was among the 
pioneer physicians in Wisconsin and South 
Dakota. His birth took place near the his- 
toric town of Ballynahinch, in County 
Down, Ireland, Aug. 7. 1827, his parents 
being Hugh and Isabella (Johnston) Rus- 
-•^ell, natives of that county. 

The early home of the Russells was in 
County Antrim, the Doctor's grandfather, 
Robert Russell, moving to County Down. 
He was a farmer and a linen manufacturer, 
•<Mnploying a number of weavers. His son, 
Hugh, learned the trade of weaver, and came 
to the United States in 1847, locating at 
W'estfield, N. Y. In 1849 he came to Wis- 
consin, and he died at Westfield, Marquette 
Co., Wis., in 1876. aged seventy-eight years. 
His wife died in Ireland, where her father, 
Francis Johnston, was a farmer; his ances- 
tors for generations lived in County Down. 
To Hugh and Isabella (Johnston) Russell 
were born four sons and two daughters, the 
only survivor being Samuel, of Westtield, 
Wisconsin. 

Dr. Russell studied medicine at the Bel- 
fast Medical School, and after coming to the 
United States took a further course at Rush 
Medical College, Chicago, 111., where he re- 
ceived his diploma in 1855. He practiced at 
Fox Lake, Cambria and Westfielcl, Wis., and 
in 1880 went to Huron, S. Dak., being one 
of the earliest physicians in that town, where 
he remained until the fall of 1890. In addi- 
tion to his medical practice he and his sons 
interested themselves in agriculture. In 
1890 he located at Superior, where he at- 
tended to an occasional patient, though he 
gave up his regular practice after going 
there. In March. 1864, Dr. Russell enlisted 
tn the 38th Wis. V. I., was commissioned 
first assistant regimental surgeon, and was 
in active service with the .\rmy of the Po- 
tomac until the close of the war: his i)rofes- 
sional skill was constantly rcrjuired owing 



to the hardships and exposures to which the 
men were subjected, and he became very 
popular with the soldiers. 

In i860 Dr. Russell was united in mar- 
riage to Mary T. Conan, a native of Canada, 
daughter of Daniel and Winifred Conan, of 
Trenton, Dodge Co., Wis. Nine children 
were born to this union, as follows : Grace 
(Mrs. William Merrill), Frank, (member of 
the United States Engineer Corps), George 
T., Lillian B., Irving IL, William R., Mar- 
ian R.. l'"red A. (married to Florence Gla- 
zier) and Elinore E., all living in Superior. 

Dr. Russell was always a Democrat in 
political spirit; he served as town superin- 
tendent of schools at Fox Lake, and filled 
other positions of trust, and was a man held 
in the highest esteem wherever he went. He 
was a member of the A. F. & A. M., the I. 
O. O. F. and the G. A. R. 

GEORGE W. BROWER, formerly of 
Phillips, Price county, W'isconsin, is now- 
making his home at Antigo, Langlade coun- 
ty, that State. 

COL. CHARLES E. ROSTWTCK, one 
of the oldest underwriters in Duiuth, and 
a most respected resident of that city, was 
born July 2, 1835, in Pine Plains, Dutchess 
Co.. N. Y. He is the son of William H. 
and Emily (Dibble) Bostwick, and a grand- 
son of Benjamin Ruggles Bostwick, who 
was born in New Milford, Conn., and re- 
moved to Pine Plains, Dutchess Co., N. Y., 
where he passed the remainder of his life, 
reaching the age of eighty-eight years. His 
wife also lived to about the same age. The 
ancestors of the Bostwick family came to 
.\merica from the north of England, and 
settled at New Milford, Conn., about 1640. 
Meml)ers of this family served in the Revo- 
lutionary war, and at the present time there 
are rejiresentatives in almost e\ery part of 
the Union. 

William H. Bostwick carried on a mer- 
cantile business at Pine Plains and .'\menia. 
X. Y., and died at the latter place, when over 
se\enty. He was a successful business man, 
and inllucntial in the affairs of his dav, 



532 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



serving two terms in the State Legislature. 
He was a Democrat in politics. Mrs. Emily 
Bostwick died at the age of seventy-two 
years ; she was a native of Pine Plains. 

Charles E. Bostwick was a young child 
when his parents removed to Amenia, in 
1838, and there he was reared and educated, 
attending the district schools and Amenia 
Seminary. In his twenty-first year he suc- 
ceeded his father in the mercantile business 
at Amenia, where he also built and operated 
saw and grist mills, and he became quite 
active in local matters, serving as supervisor; 
he was the first supervisor elected on the 
Democratic ticket in the town of Amenia in 
twenty-one years. In July, 1862, Mr. Bost- 
wick began recruiting men for the LTnion 
service, and he succeeded in raising 400. He 
entered active service as captain of Company 
B, 128th N. Y. V. I., was in camp at Balti- 
more from August to September, 1862, and 
was ordered thence to Gettysburg, to search 
for Confederate cavalry under Gen. Stuart, 
who was raiding towns in the vicinity. 
Later Mr. Bostwick was at Fortress Monroe, 
and in December, 1862, went to New Or- 
leans, where his command joined Gen. 
Banks, who had been ordered to relieve Gen. 
Butler. They made the trip on the steamer 
"Arago," and 1,300 men were confined on 
the vessel for forty-two days, only two 
hundred being fit for duty when they landed, 
our subject being one of the fortunate 
number. In May, 1863, he was appointed 
to the rank of major of an engineer regiment 
operating in Louisiana, and served as such 
until August, 1863, when he became a col- 
onel of the 90th United States Infantry, 
with which he participated in the siege of 
Port Hudson. In the summer of 1864 he 
resigned his commission, and he subsequent- 
ly served in the quartermaster's department 
at Washington, D. C, until 1867, when he 
was transferred to the Department of Dako- 
ta, with headquarters at St. Paul. In 1870 
Col. Bostwick resigned his position and lo- 
cated in Duluth. Since 1883 he has been 
connected with the firm of Mendenliall &: 
Haines and its successors, Mendenball & 
Hoopes, giving his chief attention to the in- 
surance Hne. 



Col. Bostwick was married, Feb. "13,. 
1863, to Catherine J. Douglas, daughter of 
David and Caroline Dougla.s, of Amenia, 
N. Y.. and four children have come to this 
union: Emily, who died in infancy; Mar- 
ion B., who died May 20, 1902, aged twenty- 
four years; Edith H. ; and Harry D., who is 
employed as a commercial traveler for a 
wholesale house of Duluth. The famil}' is 
connected with the Episcopal Church. 

THOMAS R. WALKER, a well-known 
citizen of Shell Lake, was born Oct. 24, 
1846, in Pomeroy, Meigs Co., Ohio, son of 
Samuel and Sarah (Sloan) Walker. 

Grandfather Adam Walker came from 
County Tyrone, Ireland, and settled in 
Pennsylvania, where his son, Samuel, was 
born. In early life Samuel Walker went to 
Ohio where he learned the trade of black- 
smith, following that calling most of his 
life. In 1855 he came to Monroe county. 
Wis., clearing a farm on which he passed 
the remainder of his life. For some years 
he carried on a blacksmith shop at Elroy, 
being one of the pioneers of that industry 
in Wisconsin. In July, 1861, he enlisted 
in Company I, 6th Wis. V. I., and was dis- 
charged on account of disability, in February, 
1862. He was in the battle of Bull Run, 
where he lost his sight, being blind for six 
months after his discharge, and never fully 
recovering. His death occurred at Ontario, 
Wis., in 1887, when he was eighty-two years 
of age. He was a Universalist in religious- 
faith. His widow survived him until 1897, 
when she died at the age of eighty-seven. 
Her father, Joseph Sloan, was of Scotch de- 
scent, and built the first distillery at Dayton, 
Ohio, near which city his daughter. Airs. 
Walker, was born. Joseph Sloan died in 
.\thens county, Ohio, when over ninety years 
old. 

Thomas R. Walker spent most of his 
boyhood on the farm in Monroe county, 
and when he was twenty-one began farming 
in Vernon county. In 1882 he went to- 
Cumberland, Wis., where he was employed 
in a sawmill, and two years later came to 
Shell Lake, where he was employed by the 
Shell Lake Lumber Co. for about twenty 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL Ki'XORD 



yearrs. He began work in the machine shop, 
and from 1895 lias been in charge ol tlie 
pnmping station supplying water for the mill 
(until it was permanently closed in 1903) 
and for the village, and furnishing power for 
other industrial purposes. Mr. Walker has 
an enviable reputation for faithfulness and 
])unctuality in business. 

On Nov. 4, 1865, Mr. Walker married 
.Miss Miza Curtis, a native of Rome, N. 
^^, daughter of Alfred and Mary Curtis, 
who were pioneers of Ontario, Wis., ha\ing 
mo\ed to this State in 1862. Alfred Curtis 
died at Shell Lake Jan. 4, 1892, aged sixty- 
eight years. He was long prominent in the 
.Masonic fraternity and L O. O. F. His 
widow now lives at Lowell, Wash. Her 
father, Elisha Harrington, is still living at 
Ceneseo, 111., aged ninety-eight years. Mr. 
and Mrs. Walker have five living children, 
as follows: Leonora, Mrs. Edward l>ur- 
gen. of Shell Lake; Leslie, a farmer in Bur- 
nett county. Wis. ; Raymond ; Pearl, and 
Crace, the latter born in Cumberland, Wis.. 
ihe others all natives of \'ernon county. 

There were two other children, Herbert, 
who died when thirteen months old, and 
Mary. Mrs. V. E. Covey, who died in 1899, 
at Vashon, Wash. There are twelve grand- 
children. The family is connected with the 
M. E. Church, of which Mr. Walker is a 
trustee. He has been a life long Republican. 
1 le is a charter member of Shell Lake Lodge, 
-Vo. 67, L O. O. F.. and of Shell Lake En- 
.ampment, No. 55, and has filled all the 

hairs in both organizations. 

WlLf,L\M F. .\L-S'iRiA. .M.l).,a phy- 
sician of Bayfield, Wis., has been a resident 

>i that town since May, 1900, and in the.sc 
few years has already Iniilt up a practice that 
.Uigurs well for the future. He was born in 
Oakfield. near Fond du Lac. Wis., son of 

\. and Mary .\ustria. The father was born 
in Ciermnny, where he was reared and edu- 
cated. He learned the milling business, and 
oiming to .\merica about forty years ago, 
while still unmarried, he settled in Wiscon- 
>in and engaged at his trade, which he is still 
following steadily there. His practical 



knowledge of the business has brought him 
continued success. He and his wife, who 
was born near Fond du Lac, have had nine 
children, of whom Dr. William 1'". is the 
eldest. 

Dr. ,\ustria was reared to village life, 
and acquired his education in the schools of 
Omro. He graduated from the high school 
there in 1893, and immediately entered upon 
his medical studies, reading first with Dr. 
Daniels, of Onn\), and later with Dr. Wright, 
under whom he studied two years. He ma- 
triculated at the Chicago Flomoeopathic 
Medical College, from which he was gradu- 
ated in 1899. He remained in the school 
another six months, taking a post graduate 
course and serving in the Chicago Homoef)- 
palhic Hospital. When Dr. Austria began 
])racticing he chose Winneconne, Wis., as a 
location, but after si.x months there he dis- 
posed of his practice to settle in ]3ayfield, 
where he has established himself very satis- 
factorily and is building up an increasing 
practice. In 1902 he erected an office build- 
ing f(jr the special i)urpose of securing a 
thoroughly well-appointed and modern of- 
fice and is now well situated for caring for 
the many cases that seek his aid. Li politics 
Dr. Austria is a supporter of the Republi- 
can party and was the nominee of that party 
in igo2 for coroner of Bayfield county, re- 
ceiving a good majority of the votes cast. 
He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, 
and belongs to the M. W. A. 

J. S. CRISLER. president of the Cris- 
ler-Tremper Lumber & Supply Company, is 
;i resident of Rice Lake, Barron county, 
\\'isc<insin. 

THOMAS JEFFERSON CLEVE- 
L.Wl) was lx)rn at Roscoe. Winnchaoo 
Co., 111.. May 2. 1842. and is the fifth child 
of Daniel F. and .Ann Jane (Nelson) Cleve- 
land. The father was Ixirn near Rochester, 
N. Y.. April 14. 1809, and died at Tomah. 
Wis., Dec. 12. 1901. He learned the carpen- 
ter's trade in his native State and snbsequent- 
Iv followed the same at Mislruvak-. Ind. 
.\fter spending several more years in Tlli- 



534 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



nois, in 1852 he became a resident of Wis- 
consin, locating first at New Lisbon. He 
was ahvaj's distinguished for pubHc spirit 
and patriotic impulses. During the Mexi- 
can war he enlisted but was not called into 
active service. During the great Civil war 
he became a member of Company H, loth 
W'is. V. I., in which he did valiant service 
and at the battle of Chattanooga received 
a wound in the right leg which made him a 
cripple for the balance of his life. Four of 
his sons also participated in the Civil war. 
He lived to see four generations of his pos- 
terity, and with himself the family included 
four generations of voters, all of whom sup- 
ported the Republican party. He was a 
distant relative of ex-President Grover 
Cleveland, being a descendant of Moses 
Cleveland, who came from England in the 
seventeenth century and settled in Maryland. 
Daniel F. Cleveland was the chief organizer 
of Edward S. Clapp Post, G. A. R., at Hud- 
son, Wis., and of the camp of Sons of Vet- 
erans at the same place, which was named 
in his honor. He likewise organized a Wo- 
man's Relief Corps at Hudson. 

Ann J. (Nelson) Cleveland, a daughter 
of a farmer named John Nelson, was born 
near Niagara Falls, N. Y., and died near 
Winona, Minn., July i, 1878, at the age of 
sixty-six years. She was the mother of 
nine children, of whom eight grew to man- 
hood and womanhood : Emer Jane died at 
five years of age; William Henry lives at 
Valley Junction, Wis. ; Sarah Elizabeth is 
Mrs. Henry Brown, of Tomah; Blooma is 
Mrs. John J. Johnson, of the same place: 
Thomas J. is next in order; David Albert 
died at Hudson in January, 1895, aged fifty- 
one years; George Washington is a citizen 
of New Lisbon ; Charles Nelson died in the 
United States service during the Modoc war; 
and Dan Eugene died at Hudson. William 
H. was a member of the same company as 
his father during the great Rebellion; Da- 
vid served in the 44th Wis. V. I. ; George 
was in the 49th regiment from the same 
State. 

Thomas J. Cleveland spent most of his 
Ixjyhood in Juneau county, Wis., where he 



enlisted, June 25, 1861, in Company K, 6th 
Wis. V. 1., which became a part of the 
famous Iron Brigade. He re-enlisted, Jan. 
I, 1864, and was in continuous service until 
the close of the war, receiving his final dis- 
charge July 16, 1865. He took part in all 
the important engagements of his brigade, 
including Gainesville, second Bull Run, the 
first and second battles of Fredericksburg, 
("hancellorsville. South Mountain, Antietam. 
(iettysburg, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania 
Court House, Cold Harbor, North Anna, the 
nine months' siege of Petersburg, the first 
and second battles of Hatcher's Run, Five 
Forks and Appomattox, and lastly partici- 
pated in the Grand Review. Very few men 
who saw as much active service came out 01 
tlie conflict so nearly unscathed. He had a 
number of narrow escapes, and at the battle 
of Antietam was knocked down by the con- 
cussion of a bursting shell, which rendered 
him unconscious for a time and caused the 
report of his death, but he shortly recovered. 
On the same battlefield his life was saved bv 
a bullet striking his canteen of water instead 
of passing through his body. In August. 
1862, he was detailed as a member of the 
drum corps of his regiment, all the mem- 
l)ers of which were placed on the hospital 
f(M"ce at Gettysburg, and were undisturbed 
in their duties, though the hospital in which 
they were employed was in the hands of the 
Confederate forces a part of the time. He 
saw much of the carnage of that fearful 
conflict, and was brought into intimate con- 
tact with a number of the most noted of the 
Confederate commanders. 

After the war Mr. Cleveland learned the 
trade of stationary engineer, in a sawmill at 
Eau Claire, Wis., and for twenty-two years 
thereafter was in charge of the railroad' 
drawbridge over the St. Croix river at Hud- 
son. Since 1894 he has been a resident of 
Superior, where he has charge of a National' 
interlocking switch and signal tower for the 
Lake Superior Terminal & Transfer Rail- 
way Co. He has always been prominent in 
the G. A. R. ; was a charter member of Ed- 
ward A. Clapp Post, at Hudson, and is a 
memlier of Alonzo Palmer Post,. No. 170. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



53 = 



at Superior, of whicli lie has served as com- 
niamler and adjutant. He was a delegate to 
the State Encampment in iyo2, and lias fur- 
nished a good share of the instrumental mus- 
ic for many reunions and other social en- 
tertainments. He is also prominent in the 
I. O. O. F.. being a past grand of Colfax 
Lodge, No. 185, at Hudson, and past chief 
patriairch of Silber Encampment, No. 46. 

On Sept. 8. 1865, occurred the marriage 
of Mr. Cleveland and Miss Sarah Ball, who 
was born in Marion countv. Ohio, daughter 
of Allen and Florilla (Terrill) Ball. Allen 
Ball, a tanner and shoemaker by trade, died 
at Superior, Jan. 5, 1900, aged seventy- 
seven years. His widow still lives there at 
the age of seventy-four years. Her mother, 
Mrs. Betsey M. Terrill, died at New Lisbon, 
Wis., after attaining the age of ninety-three 
years, at which time four generations of her 
descendants were living. Mr. and Mrs. 
Cleveland are the parents of live sons and 
one daughter, and have five living grand- 
children. One daughter, Maud !•"., died in 
infancy. The surviving children are: Allen 
J. is division foreman of the Atchison, To- 
peka & Santa Fe Railroad, at Emporia, 
Kans. ; Avery F. is a machinist in the em- 
ploy of the Northern Pacific Railroad, at 
Brainerd, Minn. ; Avery and Edwin N. have 
each spent two and one-half years in the 
United States regular army, and the latter 
is also a veteran of the Spanish-American 
war; he is now employed in the postal ser- 
vice at West Superior ; Harry L. and I'reddy 
E. are in the employ of the Eastern Railway 
Company, of Minnesota; and Satie. 

JOHN GORDON, in his lifetime a mer- 
chant of West Duluth, whose settlement in 
Duluth dated to the year 1870, was born 
April 15. 1839. in England, son of James 
and Mary (Dobsnn) Gordon, of Scotch and 
English descent. 

Both parents of Mr. Gordon were born in 
the North of Ireland, and after marriage they 
.settled in Ashton, Lancashire, England, 
where the father was connected with a large 
cotton manufacturing concern, in 1847 
James Gordon, with his wife and children. 



emigrated to the United States, landing at 
New Orleans after a voyage of six weeks 
and three days. From New Orleans they 
went to Cincinnati, traveling up the Missis- 
sippi and Ohio rivers. In the latter city Mr. 
Ciordon worked for the Globe for years and 
continued to make Cincinnati his home; his 
wife died in 1848. Their children were: 
Elizabeth, who now resides in West Duluth, 
aged over seventy years ; Mary, who is the 
widow of D. H. Morgan; John; Thomas; 
Anna, deceased, who married Freeman 
Keene; and James, who died soon after his 
mother. Mr. Gordon was married a second 
time. 

John Gordon was eight years old when 
the family landed in America, and he was 
given two years' schooling in Cincinnati. At 
the age of ten years he entered the counting- 
room of the Cincinnati Gazette, where he 
remained three months, when he entered the 
composing room and worked at typesetting 
there and in other offices until the outbreak 
of the Civil war. 

During that struggle he entered the quar- 
termaster's department of the United States 
government as an employe, and, with the 
exception of one year of sickness, he served 
until the war was over, when he resigned 
the position. After the war, in 1865, he 
went to Chicago and secured a position on 
the Chicago RcpubUcan as compositor, re- 
maining there until 1869, when he came ta 
West Duluth with his sister, Mrs. Mary 
Morgan. Then he went back to Chicago, 
but he had seen enough of the locality to in- 
duce him to return in 1870. He secured em- 
l)loyment with R. C. Mitchell on the Duluth 
Tribune, and worked some six months on 
that journal. 

In 1871 Mr. Gordon began teaching in 
the country schools during the winter 
months, and during the summers was 
clerically employed with N. G. Swan- 
strom. Pie taught eighteen terms in 
St. Louis county. Then he was engaged 
as an inspector of the dredging being done 
in the bay, for one year, and then engaged in 
the mercantile business, which he successful- 
Iv followed until his death. 



COMMEMORATR'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Mr. Gordon was one of the active citizens 
of Oneota, and served as justice of the peace 
and town clerk. In pohtics he was a ivcpub- 
lican. 

WILLIAM McLean GR.MIAM. The 
pride of ancestry seems deeper rooted in 
families of Scotch descent than in others, 
and one can but feel it is justly so when a 
man can trace his lineage back through 
names which are a part of Scotland's his- 
tory and have been immortalized in Scottish 
song. From such ancestors on both sides 
descended William McLean Graham. As 
the last name indicates, he came from the 
ancient family of the Graemes, of whom Sir 
Walter Scott has written. An ancestor on 
the maternal side, John McLean, came from 
Edinburgh to New Jersey about the liegin- 
ning of the Revolutionary war. He had six 
sons and one daughter, Jane. An old clock 
which was brought widi tliem and wliich has 
struck for over two centuries, is still in the 
family, having been owned by Mr. Graham. 
Jane McLean married James Graham, father 
of Robert and grandfather of William L. 
Being driven from New Jersey by the In- 
dians, the McLean family moved to Wash- 
ington county, N. Y., where James Graham 
was accidentally killed in early life. His 
widow lived to the age of eighty-three. 

Robert Graham, son of James, was edu- 
cated at the Albany Normal School. In 
1 86 1 he came to Wisconsin, first teaching 
at Kenosha, and then becoming superinten- 
dent of schools for Kenosha county. Later 
he inaugurated the Teachers' Institute work 
in the State and was himself institute con- 
ductor. He became superintendent of the 
model department of the Oshkosh State 
Normal School, where he also taught Eng- 
lish, and later, from 1 882-1 887, he was State 
superintendent. He died Dec. 14, 1892. 
aged sixty-six years. His wife. Mary (Ma.x- 
well) Graham, mother of William McLean 
Graham, was like her husband, a native of 
Washington county, and she too came of 
Scotch ancestry, for the Alaxwelis are de- 
scended from one of the oldest Scottish 
clans. Her death occurred Oct. 10. 1901. 



at the age of sixty-nine. Her father, Alex- 
ander Maxwell, a farmer, had two sons, 
Robert A. and Walter S. Robert A. was 
State treasurer of New York for two terms, 
afterwards insurance commissioner of the 
State, and during Cleveland's second term 
he was the fourth assistant postmaster gen- 
eral. He was the only Democrat in the 
family. Walter S. Maxwell served as State 
senator from Kenosha county. Wis. An- 
other ancestor of Mrs. Graham, John Alex- 
nnder, her maternal grandfather, came from 
the neighborhood of Glasgow, Scotland, to 
Washington county, N. Y., where he was 
one of the most influential of the pioneer 
farmers, being known familiarly as "the 
Emperor." Robert and Mary Graham left 
oidy one son. \\'illiam ]\IcLean. 

William !\IcLean Graham's ability made 
him conspicuous among the legal fraternilx' 
of Superior, while his active interest in edu- 
cational problems did -iMuch to develop the 
excellent school system of that city. He 
was born in Washington county, N. Y.. 
Sept. 26, 1856. In 1875 ^^^ ^^"^s graduated 
from the Oslikosh Normal School, and five 
years later from the college at Oberlin, Ohio, 
where he completed the classical course. He 
studied law at the University of Wisconsin 
and was admitted to the Bar in 1883. For 
seven years he jiracticed law at Sparta, and 
<luring that time, from 1886 to 1890, served 
as county judge. He removed to Superior 
in 1890 and engaged there in general prac- 
tice until his sudden death, in June, 1905. 
He was always a Republican, but not an ac- 
tive politician, as his interest was more vit- 
ally concerned with educational matters : he 
served several years as a member of the city 
board of education and for a \y<\rt of the time 
was president of the hoard, being once elec- 
ted during his absence from the city. 

In 1883 Mr. Graham was married to 
Mary B. McKoy, daughter of Horace W. 
and Alary (Goe) McKoy. of Oshkosh. Mrs. 
Graham, a Californian liy birth, is a gradu- 
ate of the Oshkosh Normal School. Six 
cliildren were horn to this union : Roliert, 
William M.. Jr., .\gnes. .Alexander. Donald 
and Sadie Marie. The relictions connection 



COMMExMORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



537 



■of tiie family is with tlie Pilgrim Congrega- 
tional Church, of West Superior, where Mr. 
(jraham was superintendent of the Sunday 
school and a member of the hoard of trus- 
.tees. He was a member of Madison Chap- 
ter, Chi Psi Fraternity. 

XELS M. OSCAl^. county clerk of Bay- 
field county, was born in Crawford Co., 
Wis., Nov. :6, 1877, a son of T(;bias A. 
and Nellie Oscar, who since 1888 have been 
residents of Washburn. The paternal 
grandfather, Thomas Oscar, was a veteran 
of the Civil war. serving in Company H, 6th 
\\'is. W I., ,-nid his death occurred at Bar- 
ron, Wis. The maternal grandfather. Nel- 
son Kinney, died in Wasliburn at an ad- 
vanced age, though he continued strong and 
vigorous to the last. . 

Nels M. Oscar received his education 
in the public schools of Wisconsin, gradu- 
ating from the high school at Washburn 
when nineteen years old. After graduation 
he entered a fire insurance office, and two 
years later secured a position in the Bayfield 
County Bank. Succeeding that he was for 
;i time emjjloyed in a wholesale commission 
house and since April. 1901, has been with 
the N. W. Fuel Company. 

Mr. Oscar is a strong Republican, and 
for a nunilx;r years has been an important 
factor in the party locally. Besides acting 
as chairman of the Rejjublican town commit- 
tee for a long time, he has been since 1897 
a member of the public library board, has 
acted as a delegate to several Assembly Dis- 
trict conventions, in igoo was a delegate to 
the State convention held in Milwaukee, and 
in the fall of 1902 was elected county clerk. 

In May, 1900, was celel)rated the mar- 
riage of Mr. Oscar and Florence Robinson, 
who was l)orn in Canada, daughter of M. H. 
and Lillian Robinson, the former of whom 
is now president of the Longshoremen's 
L'nion. The family came to Wisconsin in 
1880. Mr. and Mrs. Oscar have one child, 
Elliott Max. The family attend the Con- 
gregTtinnal Church, while fraternally he is 
connected with the K. of P.. K. O. T. M. 
and the I. O. F., and holds official position in 
all of these orders. 



TOBIAS A. OSCAR, a much respected 
citizen of Washburn, was born in Norway, 
l'"eb. 19. 1852, the son of Thomas Oscar. 
His mother died during his infancy near 
Ossian, Iowa, leaving also another child, 
I'llecta. who married Eugene Rowe, and died 
in Sumner. Iowa, in January, 1885. 

Thomas Oscar brought his family to the 
United States in 1853, settling at Ninnegar, 
Minn. There he followed his trade, cooper- 
ing, for a few years, and then remo\ed to 
Crawford county. Wis., where he lived on a 
farni. I'^or three years of the Civil war he 
served in the 6th Wis. V. I., as a member of 
Company H, and was actively engaged dur- 
ing most of the time. At the battle of Se\en 
Oaks he was captured and held for nine 
months in Andersonville and Libby prisons, 
being one of the two from his company who 
survived that experience. Thomas Oscar 
married for his second wife Miss Martha 
Thompson. l;y wdiom he had five children, 
who are all living. The father's death oc- 
curred at Cumberland, Wis., in 1887. wdien 
he was aged sixty-nine. The paternal grand- 
])arents of our subject lived and died in Nor- 
way, on a farm called "Sporkland." The 
maternal grandfather was a sea captain. 

Tobias A. Oscar attended the public 
schools in Crawford county. Wis., living 
on the farm until the fall of 1888. when he 
decided to try his fortune elsewhere, and 
went to W^ashburn, conducting a dray line 
there for a numlier of years. The year after 
settling in W'ashburn he cleared up the 
ground and erected his present home, a most 
substantial and c<jmfortal)le two-story resi- 
dence. 

On Jan. 7, 1875. Mr. Oscar was united 
in marriage with Miss Nellie Kinney, who 
was born near Whitewater. Wis. daughter of 
Nelson anrl Bertha Marie Kinney. Nelson 
Kinney and his wife came from Skien. Nor- 
way, in 1846. and first settled in Walworth 
county, later in Crawford county. Wis., and 
then in Barron county, but in t88() changed 
his residence to Washburn, where he made 
his home until his death. May 12. 1902, at 
the age of eighty-one years. His wife had 
passed away five years earlier, on Nov. 5. 
1897, when she was nearing her seventieth 



538 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



birthday. ]\Ir. and Mrs. Oscar have six 
children living: Albert Stephen, assistant 
teacher in the Washburn high school; Nels 
Martin, the county clerk of Bayfield county ; 
Minnie Electa, the wife of P'aul Weed, of 
Ashland. \\^is. ; Thomas Clarence, who is 
employed in a real estate office at Wa^-.hburn ; 
Kenry Adolph, baggage master at \\'^ash- 
bum for the '"Omaha Road ;" George Otto, 
in Washburn. The family are all attend- 
ants upon the services of the Congregational 
Church. 

Mr. Oscar has always been not only a 
stanch Republican in theory, but a Republi- 
can who is active in pushing the interests of 
his party. He takes a prominent part in 
local affairs, has served one year as highway 
commissioner, and for two years has been 
a member of the town board of supervisors. 
In 1904 he was elected a member of the first 
city council of Washburn. Fraternally he is 
connected with the K. O. T. M., and the 
Scandinavian H. and E. F. of America. 



D. AIcLENNAN. 
countv, \Visconsin. 



Rib Lake, Tavlor 



EDWARD A. DAHL, now one of the 
influential Scandinavian-American citizens 
of West Superior, was born in Norway, 
near Christiansund, Aug. i, i860. His pa- 
rents, Ambjorn O. Dahl and Beret (Larson) 
Dahl, lived and died there on the old Dahlen 
farm, from which the name of the family was 
taken. This farm, which is still owned bv 
a brother of Edward Dahl, was purchased 
by their grandfather, who had previously 
been a tenant on it. He was a prosperous 
business man, dealing in live stock and other 
products, while he also served in the Nor- 
wegian army during the war with Sweden. 
Pie died at the age of ninety-four. 

AmI)jorn O. Dahl lived on the old place 
till 1899, when he died at the age of eighty- 
seven years. His wife, who passed away 
two years earlier, aged eighty-three, also 
came of a long-lived family, being the 
daughter of Lars Augwick, a prosperous 
farmer, who attained the age of over eighty 
years. Ambjorn O. and Beret Dahl had 



three sons and two daughters, of whom three 
live near Christiansund: Olava (Mrs. Hans 
Blagstad), Sarah (Mrs. Thorstin Nosta- 
doren) and Ole. Another son, Lars, is a 
professor in the government military school 
at Trondhjem, while Edward alone is in 
America. 

Edward .X. D:ihl had only limited edu- 
cational advantages in his native place and 
has received no regular instruction in Eng- 
lish, but he has acquired a good command of 
the language. In Norway he became a car- 
penter's apprentice, serving four years. In 
1883 he came to the United States, first 
locating at Eau Claire, Wis. The next 
year he went to Chippewa Falls, where he 
was employed in a furniture factory, and in 
1887 he moved to West Superior, where he 
has made his home .ever since. For the 
first year he lived at 3d street and Hammond 
avenue, in the spring of 188S building a 
house at the northwest corner of Lamborn 
avenue and 6th street, the fifth house built 
in the Fifth ward. Hiis he still owns. 
though in 1S98 he built his present home, in 
tlie same locality. He has also put up a fine- 
residence on Hughitt avenue, and several 
others. His business is that of a general 
contractor, and among the many structures 
he has erected some of the most important 
are the John Ericson school, the bridge over 
the Nemadji river (nearly a mile in length), 
the approach to the Duluth-Suiierior bridge, 
the Kimball school and the Superior laundry. 

Since becoming a citizen of this country 
Mr. Dahl has been a Republican, and has 
served as a representative of the Fifth ward 
on the county board of supervisors and as 
an alderman. In the city council, as chair- 
man of the committee on Water and Light, 
he succeeded in making great reductions 
in the expense for those items to both city 
and consumers. He also introduced the Cur- 
few Ordinance, which h'ls been very benefi- 
cial in its effects upon the rising generation. 

In 1887 Mr. Dahl was married to Ella 
.\ugvick, daughter of Ole and Gunliild 
.\ugvick, of Augvick, Christiansund, Nor- 
way, where her parents still live, Mrs. Dahl 
coming to this country in 1885. Mr. and 



COMMEiMORATlVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



539' 



Mrs. Dalil have lour cliildren, Albin, Geneva, 
Esther and an infant daugliter. They are 
memhers of tlie I'irst Norwegian Lutheran 
Ciuirch of Superior. Mr. Dahl lielped to 
organize tlie society, drew plans for the 
building, supervised its construction, was a 
member of the first board of deacons, for 
several years was the superintcnrlcnt of the 
Sunday school, and is now on the board of 
trustees. He was likewise a leading spirit 
in securing twenty acres to be used for River- 
side cemetery. 

ED.MUXD D. GRAEF is not a resident 
of Dulutli, but he has been so long identi- 
fied with business interests in the city and is 
so well known in financial circles that he de- 
serves mention among the prominent figures 
in the Zenith City. 

Mr. Graff is a resident of Worthington, 
Pa., where he was born Nov. 24, 1846. and 
his parents, Peter and Susan (Loljengier) 
Cjraff, were also natives of Pennsylvania. 
Peter Graff was for many years connected 
with the Lhiion Line of canal boats plying 
between Philadelphia and Pittsburg, and 
made his home in the latter city for some 
years. Pie was also interested in the whole- 
sale grocery business, and later in iron fur- 
naces there, and in time removed to Worth- 
ington to take charge of furnaces there be- 
longing to the firm of P. Graff & Co. Ow- 
ing to the change in the operation of the 
furnaces, to modern methods, this establish- 
ment was abandoned. Mr. Graff lived to 
the age of eighty-two years, and his wife 
reached the age of eighty-six. 

John Graff, grandfather of Edmund D., 
came from Neuwied. Germany, in early life, 
settling in Westmoreland county. Pa., where 
he cultivated a farm and carried on a dis- 
tillery. He married Barl)ara Fried, who 
came of an old Pennsylvania family, and 
who attained a good old age. During her 
childhood she was captured by Indians, but 
a savage whom she had previously be- 
friended rescued her. 

Edmund D. Graff received a good pre- 
p.Tratory education, and closed his literary 
training with a course at the Western Uni- 



versity, Pittsburg, from which he was grad- 
uated in 1868, with the degree of B. Ph. 
For a time he was employed in the office of 
Graff, McDevitt & Co., manufacturers of 
axes, hoes, shovels and hinges, at Pittsburg, 
and he subsequently succeeded to his father's 
interest in the Buffalo Woolen Mills, still 
the chief industry of Worthington. The 
firm has always been Peter Graff & Co. 
Since 1880 he has also had extensive inter- 
ests at the Head of the Lakes, in that year 
embarking in the manufacture of luml>er at 
Duluth as a member of the firm of Graff, 
Little & Co. There have been several 
changes in the firm since that time, but Mr. 
Graff has always retained his interest as one 
of the chief stockholders, and has been presi- 
dent of the concern now known as the Scott, 
Graft' Lumber Co. since 1889. Their saw- 
mill, which is the oldest in Duluth, has been 
rebuilt several times, on the same location. 
Mr. Graff was one of the original incorpora- 
tors of the Howe Lumber Company, of 
Tower, Minn., and was president several 
years before the burning of their mill, in 
I goo, when he became an incorporator of 
the Tower Lumljer Company, of which he is 
still a director and large stockholder. The 
Scott. Graff Lumber Co. has recently made 
extensive investments in timber lands in 
California. In addition to all this, Mr. Graff 
is a stockholder in the First National Bank 
of Duluth, and a director of the First State 
Bank of Tower. Minnesota. 

Mr. Graff has been prominent in the 
public affairs of his native State, and is one 
of three members of his family who have 
served in the Pennsylvania Legislature. He 
was a delegate to the National Convention 
of 1884, which nominated Grover Cleve- 
land far the Presidency. Of late years he 
has affiliated with the sound monev wing of 
his party. Since iqoo he has been a trustee 
of Pennsylvania College, at Gettysburg, a 
prominent educational institution of the 
State, in which his father endowed a pro- 
fessorship in memory of his brother. Dr. 
Charles H. Graff, who was for a number of 
years a leading physician of Duluth, where 
he died in 1889. 



HO 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



WILLIAIM A. MARSHALL, for sev- 
eral years superintendent of sawmill 
for the Edward Hines Lumber Com- 
])any, was one of the most esteemed 
citizens of Washburn, Bayfield county, 
during his residence th.ere, while his in- 
\'entions of machinery have made his name 
known through all the lumber regions of the 
country. He was born in Sharon, Pa., June 
25, 1845, son of .Andrew and Jane (McCal- 
vey) Riarshall. 

Andrew Marshall and his wife were both 
natives of Belfast, Ireland, and came to 
.Kmerica in 1839. They settled on a farm 
in Sharon, and there Mr. Marshall died some 
years later at the age of forty-two. His 
wife lived to be 79 years old. Besides 
his farm Mr. Marshal! was also interested 
for a time in the Oregon iron furnace at 
Sharon. Andrew and Jane Marshall had six 
children, as follows: John C, who is inter- 
ested in mining and ranching at Chihuahua. 
Mexico; James T., deceased, for several 
years a circuit judge at Leadville, Colo.; 
Jane, the wife of William Lynn, of Oakland, 
Cal. ; Andrew J., adjutant of the 76th Pa. 
Zouaves, who saw three years" serx-ice. and 
died while in command at Braddock's Field; 
Catherine, Mrs. McClery, of Sharon, Pa. ; 
and William A. 

William A. Marshall attended public 
school in Pennsylvania and while quite 
\oung began working in a machine shop in 
which the family was interested. Later he 
became interested in oil wells in the State. 
About 1870 he went to Bay City, Mich., 
where he leased a sawmill, and operated it 
for some time. Later he went to Choate, 
Mich., where he built a sawmill, and was 
well started in business when, at the end of 
six months, the mill burned. In 1881 he 
went to Ludington, Mich., as superintendent 
iif mills for the A. B. Ward establishment. 
There he remained for fifteen years, at the 
end of that period accepting a similar posi- 
tion offered him with .\. A. Bigelow & Co., 
at Washburn, and when the concern was 
sold to the Edward Plines Lumber Com-' 
]}any he was retained in the same capacity. 
This mill employs about 250 men in Wash- 



burn, besides a large number in the woods 
logging. Mr. Marshall is at present a resi- 
dent of Ludington, Michigan. 

Mr. ]\Iarshall has always been of an in- 
ventive turn of mind, and has several of his 
patents in the market. ]Most of his in- 
ventions have been the result of some need 
in his own line of work. In October, 1899, 
he patented a lumber cart of his own inven- 
tion, and then organized the firm of Jtlar- 
shall & Benson, for the manufacture and 
sale thereof, with headtpiarters at Minne- 
apolis. About a thousand of these carts are 
disposed of annually in the various lumber 
States of the Union. JNIr. ^Marshall also 
invented the Marshall band wheel grinder, 
which is manufactured in East Saginaw, 
Mich., and is used very generally in the 
sawmills of the country. 

In 1874 Mr. Marshall was married to 
Elizalieth Frost, daughter of George Frost, 
of Bay City, Mich. They have no living 
children. Mr. and Mrs. Marshall belong 
to the Methodist Church. He is a mem- 
ber of the I. O. O. F., the Royal Arcanum 
and the I. O. F. 

ABE. WILEY, proprietor of the "Wiley 
House," Fifield, Price county, Wisconsin. 

JOHN F. W. FAWCETT. was born in 
Tipton, Iowa, Oct. i, 1857, his parents being 
John and Susan (Hamilton) Fawcett, na- 
tives of England, who came to the United 
.States when children. 

Grandfather Jolm Fawcett, a native of 
Yorkshire, and a stonemason by trade, set- 
tled in Ogdensburg, N. Y., where he spent 
the rest of his life engaged in the stone con- 
tracting business. His son, John Fawcett, 
went as a voung man to Canada, where 
he studied for the IMelhodist ministry under 
his cousin. Rev. W'illiam Fawcett, a promi- 
nent clergyman. Soon after his ordination, 
about the }ear 1850, Rev. John Ivawcett re- 
turned to the United States, and joinin.g 
the Upper Iowa Conference spent about 
thirty years in the ministry. His death oc- 
curred March 23. 1895, at the age of sev- 
enty-three, in Independence. Iowa. Mrs. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



541 



Susan (^llamillon) I'"a\vcett still lives there. 
She was born in 1827 in England, her pa- 
rents coming to i\merica and settling near 
Prescott, Ontario, where they died a few 
years later. On the death of the parents 
the Hamilton children, William, George and 
Susan, were separated, and only a few years 
ago learned of each other's whereabouts. 
George is now in Kansas. Of the ,seven 
children of John and Susan (Hamilton) 
Fawcett, the only survivors are : John ¥. W., 
mentioned below, and Charles, a journalist, 
of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. 

The early education of John ]•". W. Faw- 
cett was obtained in the Iowa public schools. 
About 1880 he l)egan work in a sawmill and 
wood shop owned by his father at West 
Union, Iowa, and in about 1888 he went 
to St. Paul as superintendent of the Bohn 
Mfg. Co., manufacturers of sash, doors and 
house furnishings, remaining there three 
years. He then came to the Head of the 
Lakes and organized the St. Louis Manu- 
facturing Co.. becoming its president and 
manager, and building a sash and door 
factory at St. Louis (a suburb of Superior). 
During the panic at that place two years 
later he moved to West Superior and entered 
the employ of Scanlon, Houston & Co., as 
foreman of their sash and door factory. In 
1898 he organized the Union Machine Co., 
of which he became \ice-president and man- 
ager, manufacturing and dealing in boilers, 
engines and machinery, making a specialty 
of sawmill machinery, and employing from 
ten to twenty men, according to the season. 

Mr. Fawcett married, in 1882, Stella 
C. Camp, daughter of Evans Camp, of West 
Union, Jnwa. To this union have been born 
six children : Marie. Charley, Eva, Stanley, 
Auryl and Kenneth. The family attend the 
Methodist Church. Mr. Fawcett is vener- 
able consul of Whaleback Camp. .Xo. 779, 
M. W. A., and is a member and past com- 
mander K. O. T. M.. Columbia Camp, Xo. 
^2. In ])rinciple lie is a Republican, but 
he is not an active politician. 

CAPT. JOHX R. R.WDALL. member 
of the State Legislature of Minnesota, and a 
man extensivelv interested in real estate at 



Dulutli, was born in Steuben county, N. Y., 
in the vicinity of Tyrone, a son of Darius 
C. and Eliza Jane Randall. 

Darius C. Randall was an artist. He 
migrated to Cold Water, Mich., and later 
lived at Niles, Mich., finally removing to 
West Duluth. where he lived at the home 
of his son John R., until his death, which 
occurred when he was ninety years of age. 
Darius C. Randall was twice married and 
Capt. John R. was his only child. 

Capt. Randall was reared at Jonesville, 
]Mich.. and attended the common schools. 
He learned the trade of a miller, and con- 
tinued his studies at the mill by night, some- 
times poring over his books until nearly 
morning. While he was struggling to edu- 
cate himself, and at the same time earn his 
living, he became interested in current 
events, and when the Civil war broke out 
he felt the call of his country and organized 
a company at Jones\ille for the b'ourth Mich- 
igan Infantry; he was made its captain, but 
owing to his youth the townspeople decided 
it best for him not to accept the position. 
His patriotism was not dampened, however, 
for he enlisted in Company C, 7th Mich. 
V. I., and he was fourth sergeant of it. 
serving as such for a year. He was with 
Gen. McCIellan in the Shenandoah Valley 
when he was transferred to Company G. 
18th Mich. V. I., and promoted to the rank 
of first lieutenant. Five months later he was 
transferred to Company F. same regiment, 
over eight others wlio outranked him. anfl 
in April. 1864. was made captain of the 
company. He was offered the colonelcy of 
the 17th United States Colored regiment, but 
refused. For two years Capt. Randall re- 
mained with the Army of the Cumberland. 
Being stricken down with typhoid fever he 
resigned at Xashvillc. Tenn.. in April, 1865, 
returning home. 

Capt. Randall married Harriet A. Ran- 
som. i)f Jonesville, Mich., daughter of 
.Monzo and Mary A. CGoss) Ransom. 
Capt. and Mrs. Randall have two daugh- 
ters : Bertha May. a teacher in the .'Xdams 
school of Duluth : and \'esta Claudia, also 
teaching in that city. 

After the war Capt. Randall followed ; 



■542 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



milling, in which business he was engaged in 
all for nearly thirty years. He went out to 
San Francisco, and was second miller in 
Uie Cknessee Mills about a year. He then 
came back to Michigan, and conducted a 
ilr}' goods store at Buchanan for about a 
year, after which he built a mill at Berrien 
Springs, whicn he ran for eleven years. Be- 
fore he went to California he and his father- 
in-law had purchased a mill at Niles. Mich. 
From Berrien Springs Capt. Randall went to 
Terre Haute, Ind., spending four years there 
in the Wabash Mills, thence went to St. 
Louis, and was in the Waterloo Mills, of 
Monroe county. 111., for two years, so that he 
is a very experienced man in his line of busi- 
ness. He went to Harlan county. Neb., in- 
tending to erect a mill there, but as he did 
not like the locality he decided against the 
\xnture. From there he went to Pullman, 
111., where he operated a hotel for two years. 
He was next attracted to Blue Earth county, 
Minn., and settling at Vernon Center built 
the Randolph Mills, operating them for four 
}ears. These mills he sold and then went 
to Mankato, Minn., where he remained a 
year, and in 1887 removed to Duluth and 
for two years operated a hotel on 22nd 
avenue, west, known as the "Sherman 
House." His next change was made when 
he removed to West Duluth, and built the 
"Randall Hotel," which he conducted several 
years. He also bought his present hand- 
some home at No. 1717 Piedmont avenue, 
known as the Cox property. For the past 
few years Mr. Randall has dealt extensively 
in real estate, and is judged an expert on 
realty values. 

For a time Capt. Randall was deputy 
clerk- of the court, and is now and has been 
since 1903 a member of the State Legisla- 
ture, where he has made his influence felt 
in promoting some very desirable measures. 
As a politician he has always supported the 
principles of the Republican party, and is 
very prominent in its ranks. 

Fraternally Capt. Randall is a Blue 
Lodge Mason, being connected with a lodge' 
in Duluth ; he is a member of Diamond 
Lodge. K. of P., and of the K. of H. He is 



also very prominent in the G. A, R., having 
held all the offices in Gorman Post, No. 13, 
Duluth, of which he is now vice-com- 
mander. Among his fellow members in 
this post he is particularly popular. 

As a capitalist, extensive property owner, 
legislator and good citizen, Mr. Randall has 
won universal respect. During the war he 
served his country bravely and gallantly, 
and the regard he receives is only commen- 
surate with his services. In every capacity 
he has shown himself worthy of the honors 
already conferred upon him, as well as of 
those which time may bring. 

THOMAS ARMSTRONG, a resident 
of West Superior, has had over forty years' 
experience as a ship carpenter. His native 
place was St. Catharines, Ontario, where he 
was born Feb. 4, 1845. son of John and 
Mary (Suborn) Armstrong, both natives 
of eastern New York. 

Grandfather Armstrong came from 
Scotland and settled in eastern New York in 
the latter part of the eighteenth century. 
His son John learned the trade of ship car- 
penter at some port on Lake Ontario, and 
was for many years foreman of a shipyard 
at St. Catharines. Later he located at 
Wheeling, W. Va., where he died after many 
years. Mrs. IMary (Suborn) Armstrong 
died in 1 870, when about fifty-five years of 
age. Her father, John Suborn, was a farmer 
in New York State, whither he had come 
from Germany; he was a soldier in the 
United States army in the war of 1S12, 
and afterward settled near St. Catharines, 
Ontario. To John and Mary (Suborn) 
.\rmstrong were born the following chil- 
dren : John, George, Thomas, Elizabeth 
(Mrs. Potts), Mary (also married) and 
Frances (Mrs. Bowers). 

At the age of eight Thomas Armstrong 
left home, and since then has known little 
of his relatives. When he last beard of 
them his brothers, carpenters l)y trade, were 
living near Buffalo. As a boy he earned a 
Ii\-elihood as a farm laborer in New \ovk 
State, and when about sixteen went to Port 
Dalhousie. Ontario, where be learned the 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



543 



trade of ship carpenter, an occupation he has 
'ever since followed, rrevious to and fal- 
lowing the Civil war he was employed in 
bufifalo. In February, 1865, he volunteered 
in the naval service and was assij^ned to the 
Mississippi squadron, under Capt. Wilson, 
being discharged in July, 1865. After the 
war Mr. Armstrong found employment in 
shipyards at Chicago, Buffalo, Port Muron, 
Detroit and other places, and in the United 
States navy yard at Mound City, 111. He 
spent nine years at Sault Ste. Marie. Mich., 
])rincipally engaged in repairing dredges 
used in the construction of the canal. In the 
spring of 1899 he came to West Superior, 
where he has since been employed at his 
trade. He is considered one of the most skill- 
ful workmen at the Head of the Lakes. He 
thoroughly understands boat building, and 
has done more or less house cari)entering. 
At Port Burwell, Ontario, in 1866, Mr. 
Armstrong married (first) Jane Burt, a na- 
tive of England, who died at Port Burwell, 
in 1870, when but twenty-three years of age. 
She left two children : Beverly Dunleith and 
Sarah Elizabeth. Mr. Armstrong married 
(second) Elizabetii Burnham, of Owen 
Sound, Canada, and to this union have come 
three children: Montague (a carpenter bv 
trade), Marie and Frances, all of whom 
have had good educational advantages. The 
family are communicants of the Catholic 
Church. Mr. .\rmstroiig is a member of the 
G. A. R. He is a Republican, but not an 
active politician. 

E. CHARBOXNEAU, proprietor of 
the Twin City Iron Works, at Hurley, Wis., 
was born Oct. 28, 1857. in Hancock, Mich., 
and is of French descent. His father sprang 
of one of the pioneer families of the Province 
of Louisiana. He was pro1)ably born at St. 
Louis, and came to Michigan when a young 
man. On the breaking out of the Civil war 
he enlisted, in 1861, in a Micliigan regiment, 
and fell in one of the early battles. His 
wife survived the .shock of his death only 
a month. 

Being left an orphan at the earlv age of 
four our subject was given into the care 



of a I'rench-Canadian, who took him to 
Canada. He thus lost all track of his 
brothers and sisters, none of whom he has 
seen, and is even ignorant of the given names 
of his father and mother. Not receiving 
very good treatment in his adopted home, he 
ran away when about nine years of age, and 
went to Holton, Mich. Lie obtained work 
at different employments, child that he was, 
and finally learned the trade of machinist. 
After some years' experience in his chosen 
trade he came to Hurley, in 1888, and 
opened the Twin City Iron Works, which 
are still in successful operation. Later he 
established a similar plant at Ironwood, but 
that foundry was destroyed by fire in 1899. 
The Twin City Iron Works is an extensive 
establisment. the main building being 250 
by 40 feet in dimensions, with an L 40 by 
16 feet. The pattern shop is a building 40 
by 20 feet in size, and in the busy season 
as many as thirty-eight men are employed in 
the foundry, which turns out mostly general 
machine work. 

On Oct. 5. 1879, Mr. Charlx-mneau mar- 
ried Anna De Forge, of Holton, and they are 
the parents of the following children: 
Emanuel, who is employed in his father's 
office ; Delore ; Mavina ; Joseph, and Delia. 
Mrs. Charbonneau and the children attend 
the Episcopal Church. Mr. Charbonneau is 
a Republican in politics, and fraternally he 
is connected with the A. F. & A. M. — Blue 
Lodge, No. 237, of Flurley, Ashland Chap- 
ter and Conimanderv, K. T. ; with the K. P., 
No. 88. of Hurley': and the I. O. O. F., 
Lodge No. 334, of Hurley. 

\\\ W. STRICKLAND, Superior, Wis- 
consin, is manager of the Minnesota ^Milling 
Company, of Gaylord, Minnesota, manu- 
facturers of high-grade roller process Hour. 

ROBERT E M M E T T CL.XRKb:. 
.Among the many old soldiers who came at 
the close of the war to Wisconsin to help 
build up that new western country was 
Robert Emmett Clarke, of West Superior. 

Mr. Clarke is a native of Scotland, born 
at Portobello. near Edinburgh, July 2, 1837, 



544 



COMMEMORATU'E BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



son of Jolin and Jeannette (Geddes) Clarke, 
both natives of tliat same region. The grand- 
father, John Clarke, came from County 
Cavan, Ireland, to Glasgow, and locating 
there as a contractor assisted in the con- 
struction of the first railroad built in Scot- 
land. As is usually the case in that coun- 
try, the son (John II) followed his father's 
trade. Five years after Robert's birth he 
brought his family to the United States, and 
settling on a farm near Milwaukee. Wis., 
continued in business as a contractor. He 
built the first three miles of the Alilwaukee 
& La Crosse railroad, and it was while thus 
engaged that he was unfortunately drowned 
in the Milwaukee river, June 26, 1853. when 
only forty-two years old. His wife sur- 
vived him until October, 1894, when, at the 
age of eighty-four, she died in Summit, 
Juneau county. She was the daughter of 
Robert Geddes, a ploughman on the large 
estate of Bylie Young, near Edinburgh. 
Mrs. Clarke was the mother of ten chil- 
dren, of whom all the survivors, except 
Robert Emmett Clarke, reside in Juneau 
county. The children were Euphemia, Mary 
and Hannah, none of whom are living: 
Elizabeth (Mrs. William Smart), George, 
Robert, Thomas and John (who both died 
in Juneau county), James (who died while 
in the United States armv. Company A, 
17th Wis. V. I.) and Hugh' 

Robert Emmett Clarke, the subject of 
this biographical sketch, spent his early boy- 
hood on a farm near Milwaukee, in those 
days remote from any school. In 1855 the 
family moved to Juneau county, where he 
helped to clear a farm, working out most 
of the time. On Dec. 9, 1861, he enlisted 
in Company A, 17th Wis. V. I., serving 
until his discharge, April 5, 1865. He was 
in the Army of the Tennessee and saw much 
service, being in the battle of Corinth : the 
siege of Vicksburg, which lasted from May 
19 to July 4. 1863; the siege of Atlanta, 
July 21-22 and 28, 1864: followed Sherman 
in his famous march to the sea ; was in the 
battle of Savannah, and marched across the 
Carolinas via Columbia to W'ilmington. His 
term of enlistment having expired he was 



sent to the last named place in charge of 
refugees and then on to Goldsboro, where 
he was discharged and took boat for Wash- 
ington. During his service he was promoted 
to sergeant and later to second lieutenant. 
In the fall of 1863 he spent several months 
in Wisconsin, recruiting troops. 

After peace was declared Mr. Clarke re- 
turned to Wisconsin and resumed farming, 
living for some years near Wonewoc. The 
years 1866 and 1867 he was in Greensboro, 
X. C, as deputy revenue collector, and was 
fortunate enough while in that ser\ice to 
avoid death at the hands of the desy.erate 
"Moonshiners." Since 1893 l^^ ^^'^^ lived in 
West Superior, practically in retirement, 
though he spent one year in the health de- 
partment of the city and in other employ- 
ments. He has always been a Republican 
and in Juneau county served as a member 
of the Ixiard of supervisors: he has filled sev- 
eral other local positions of trust. 

On Xov. I. i860, Mr. Clarke married 
Mary Crane, daughter of Thomas and Mar- 
garet (Duffy) Crane. Mr. Crane was a na- 
tive of County Tipperary, Ireland, came to 
the United States about 1830, and in 1855 
came to Juneau county, \\'is., where he lived 
until his death, Aug. 5. 1882, at the age 
of seventy-two. His wife, the daughter of 
John Duffy, an Irishman, was born in 
Guernsey county, Ohio, and died in Morgan 
county, in the same State. 

Mr. and Mrs. Clarke were blessed with 
a large family, most of whom are still liv- 
ing: Thomas, of Superior: Robert, who died 
Sept. 2, 1894. at West Superior: William, 
a stenographer in Superior: Mary, Mrs. 
John Lindsey of Superior: Frances: Kath- 
erine, Mrs. M. Dickens, and Elizabeth, Mrs. 
William Dunscomb, both of Baraboo, Wis. : 
^Margaret : Sarah, a teacher in South Su- 
perior: Jennie, who died in Superior March 
26, 1894, and Jessie. All have enjoyed the 
most liberal educational advantages. There 
are fourteen grandchildren. The religious 
connection of the family is with the Catholic 
Church. Mr. Clarke, as a veteran of the 
war, is a member of Alonzo Palmer Post, 
G. A. R. 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



545 



DAVID BURNETT, one of the early 
residents of South Superior, was born in 
Forfarshire, near Dundee, Scotland, Aug. 
28, 1844, and was reared in that country. 

James Burnett his father, came to Amer- 
ica in 1870 with his wife, Ann (Grieg) 
Burnett, and four children, of whom David 
was the youngest. They went direct to 
Canada and there the parents spent the rest 
of their lives. David and his brother James 
moved to Sault Ste. Alarie, Mich., in 1884; 
later he lived two years at St. Ignace, Mich., 
changing from there to South Superior in 
1891. Mr. Burnett is by trade a plumber, 
and in partnership with his son followed 
that business in South Superior; the firm 
was recently dissolved. 

Before leaving Scotland Mr. Burnett 
married Betsy Tindal, and to this union 
have come six children : Jennie, the wife 
of W. S. Edwards, of Sault Ste. Marie; 
Molly, the wife of F. J. Kenyon, of South 
Superior; Catherine, who married R. E. 
Pinneo, of White Horse, Yukon Territory ; 
David R., who married Nellie McCreary; 
John P., of Duluth. Minn. ; and Eliza, who 
died in early childhood. 

Mr. Burnett has been one of the repre- 
sentative men of South Superior. He is a 
Republican in politics, and served as super- 
visor of the Eighth ward in 1895-96. His 
religious connection is with the Presbyterian 
Church. He was one of the incorporators 
of the South Superior Building and Loan 
Association, and has been held in high es- 
teem generally as one of the enterprising and 
progressive citizens of the place. 

GEORGE A. RAYNOR, an enterpris- 
ing and successful business man of Rice 
Lake, Barron Co., Wis., was born at Hal- 
stead, County of Essex, England, March 
13, 1870, a son of Alfred C. and Mary 
(Payne) Raynor, natives of the same lo- 
cality. 

Herbert G. Raynor, the grandfather, 
was a blanket weaver by trade. .Alfred C. 
Raynor for a number of years was in the 
British navy, and was sent to India during 
the troubles there in 1873, dying soon after 
his arrival, of the plague. His wife died 



at the birth of her son George A., leaving 
him and another son, Herbert C, of 
Rochester, N. Y. The latter resided with his 
paternal grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Ray- 
nor, until her death, at the time he was 
six years of age. He then joined his uncle 
John, at Albion, N. Y., being sent there by 
the rector of Halstead, the Rev. Mr. Frazer. 
Upon reaching his new home the lad 
was bound out to a farmer for a period of 
five years, and the only educational ad- 
vantages he had were obtained during the 
winter months, when he walked a distance of 
two miles to school. In his native land he.- 
had been attending a kindergarten, when: 
death deprived him of his kind grandmother.. 
When his term ended he worked as. 
a farm laborer, beginning at nine dollars a 
month. In the fall of 1885 he went to Mich- 
igan and found work in the lumber woods. 
His next change was made when he went^ 
to St. Paul, Minn., and secured employment 
on a rafting steamer, so working for a sum- 
mer. He then became a machinist apprentice 
in the shops of the St. P., M. and S. S. M. 
I'iailroad Co., and after eighteen months be- 
came a locomotive fireman in the employ 
of the same corporation, after three and one- 
half years of faithful service receiving pro- 
motion to engineer. During the great strike 
of 1894 he left the employ of this road and 
became a locomotive engineer on the Rice 
Lake, Dallas & Menomonie Railroad, thus 
continuing until 1897, when he became con- 
ductor and superintendent of transportation. 
He remained until that road was absorbed 
by the "Soo"' road, and held the same posi- 
tion with the new corporation, remaining 
with it for two years. In 1901 Mr. Raynor 
resigned and purchased a hotel which he 
converted into the "Commercial House." 
operating it f-or a year and then leasing it, 
and in 1903 erected a two-story and base- 
ment brick business structure, wliere he car- 
ries on a large business in handling musical 
instruments. In addition, for a few years, 
Mr. Raynor has been largely interested in 
real estate transactions, and is without doubt 
one of the prosperous and solid men of Rice 
Lake. 

In iScjC) Mr. Raynor was married to- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



Barbara J. Scheu. daughter of Joseph J. and 
Catherine Scheu, of Rice Lake. Mrs. Ray- 
nor was born at Chippewa I'alls, Wis. She 
is a devout member of the Catliolic Church, 
while Mr. Raynor was reared in the Epis- 
copal Church. Fraternally he is a member 
oi the I. O. O. F., which he joined in iS88, 
and is also a member of an encampment at 
Minneapolis, and is very popular in these 
•organizations, as well as generally. 

When only twenty-six years of age ]Mr. 
Raynor was elected an alderman, and is now 
serving his third term. He was elected on 
a non-partisan ticket, although in national 
matters he is a Republican. He has a prom- 
ising career, and there is no doubt that, if 
called upon to represent a larger con- 
stituency, in larger fields, those who so trust 
liim may rest assured that he. will discharge 
whatever responsibilities come to him in the 
same honorable and conscientious manner 
that he displays to-day. Such men inspire 
confidence and retain it, as they do their 
friends. They understand the growing 
needs of a community and are able to intro- 
duce and carry through legislation calculated 
to bring about best results with the least ex- 
penditure of time and effort. In his busi- 
ness relations Mr. Raynor is an honorable 
man. dealing in an up-to-date manner, and 
his volume of trade is constantly increasing. 

STEPHEN E. BOOTS, principal of 
the Peter Cooper school. West Superior, is 
a man who brings to his work a peculiar 
fitness, not only in his natural ability and fine 
preparation, but also in the wide knowledge 
of the world accjuired from his travels. 

Born in Albany, X. Y., on the beautiful 
Hudson river, Feb. 14, 1852, Mr. Boots 
was taken two years later by his parents to 
Batavia, 111., and there was left an orphan 
at the age of four. When he was thirteen 
he wtnt to Grand Haven, Mich., where he 
passed the ne.xt few years. From there he 
returned to Illinois and began serious prepar- 
ations for teaching. At Naperville and 
Plainfield he obtained liis preparatory eohica- 
tion. and then after teaching one term in a 
countrv school he entered Oberlin (Ohio) 



College, in 1S72, and studied there for three 
years. Finding himself unable to finish the 
course, he returned to Illinois again and be- 
gan teaching in the public schools ; he con- 
tinued in that work for two years and then 
spent a year at the State Xormal School at 
Xormal, 111. This was followed by a year 
at the Wesleyan University, at Blooming- 
ton, 111., where he took special work in Latin. 

Soon after failing health compelled ]Mr. 
Boots to seek a change of climate, so he pur- 
chased a • "prairie schooner" and started on 
an overland trip to Austin, Texas. For nine 
months he lived in his wagon, both sleeping 
and eating in the open air. and so beneficial 
were the results that on his return he was 
enabled to resume his work in the schools. 
After a year of teaching he left that pro- 
fession for a time and engaged in a patent 
right business, which he followed for two 
years. In 1881 he went to X'orth Dakota, 
and bought a farm, already partially devel- 
oped, in Steele county. His old taste for 
teaching, however, reasserted itself after a 
year of farm life and he returned to Illinois 
to accept the superinteiidency of the Piper 
City schools. After three years of this work 
]\Ir. Boots again abandoned the schoolroom 
and opened, a general store in Piper City, 
which he ran very successfully for two years. 
But in 1 886 his wife's failing health neces- 
sitated a change and the Piper City business 
was disposed of. The family removed to 
Duluth. j\Iinn.. and there Mr. Boots began 
in a similar line, opening a wholesale com- 
mission and retail grocery business. For the 
two years that he was thus engaged he was 
also largely interested in real estate, but 
he closed out his various interests in 1888. 
and went to Grand Rapids. W^is. ; both there 
and at La Prairie he was engaged in mak- 
ing surveys of government lands and was 
thus occupied for seven years. At the end 
of that period, in 1895. he removed to Chi- 
cago for a year and then settled in W^est Su- 
perior. 

Soon after his arrival in Superior Mr. 
Boots secured a position in the public 
schools : the second year he was made dis- 
ciplinarian in the city schools, and then, as 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



547 



Ill's ability as an educator became more and 
more manifest, he was appointed principal of 
the Peter Cooper school, a position he still 
holds. In addition to his regular work in 
the school, Mr. Boots has l)een an occasional 
contributor to the press. He is a trenchant 
writer and his articles are full of interest, 
both in subject and treatment. 

Mr. Boots is a Republican in his political 
views. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. 
and also of the A. F. & A. M., belonging 
to Pijier City Lodge, No. 608, in which he 
has attained to the master's degrees. He is 
not only a successful educator, but a man 
of marked ability in a business way and one 
who is respected and esteemed by all who 
know him. Mr. and Mrs. Boots have one 
daughter, Lida. 

GEORGE F. MORG.W. Washburn. 
Bayfield Co., Wis., is engaged in the insur- 
ance and real estate business as a member of 
the firm of Morgan & Axelberg. 

WALLACE W. ANDREW, repre- 
sentative to the General Assembly of Wis- 
consin, from the second district of Douglas 
county, is one of the prominent citizens of 
South Superior, and as a member of the 
Duplex Manufacturing Company is con- 
nected with one of the leading industries of 
tlie city. 

The Andrew family was formerly of the 
State of New York, our subject's father, 
K. J. Andrew, coming thence to the west 
with his family and first settling in Rock 
county. Wis. For many years he was en- 
gaged in the grain and stock business, and 
as his sons grew older they assisted him. 
Later he moved to Brooklyn, Wis., where 
he died. 

Wallace W. .Andrew was born Dec. 25, 
1.S50. in Sheboygan county. Wis.; later the 
family moved to Oregon, Dane county, 
where he attended the iniblic schools. For 
twenty years Wallace W. Andrew was en- 
gaged, like his brothers, in purchasing grain 
and live stock for his father, but in 1R93 
the four brothers formed the present firm 
.111(1 began for themselves in the manufac- 



turing line. The Duplex Manufacturing 
Company consists of G. H. Andrew, presi- 
dent ; Homer Andrew, treasurer ; N. S. 
Johnson, secretary; and Wallace W. and 
Byron O. Andrew. D. Osborne is the super- 
intendent. The specialty of this company is 
the making of the "Duplex and Superior 
Balanced Geared Wind-mills," but other 
mills, iron pumps, etc., are also manu- 
factured. From a comparatively small be- 
ginning, in 1893, the output of the firm in- 
creased until that for 1901 was valued at 
$250,000. 

Wallace W. .\ndrew is a Rqjublican in 
politics, and has taken an active interest in 
the affairs of his city and State. In 1900 
he was elected to the Legislature by a vote 
of 2,147 ^s against only 1,113 for the Demo- 
cratic and Independent candidates, and in 
1902 he was re-elected. Mr. Andrew is 
known also in fraternal circles as a mem- 
ber of the Masons and of the K. P. 

Mr. Andrew married Miss Myrtie Glid- 
den, a native of New York State: two sons 
have been born to this union, Clvde G. and 
Walter J. 

ALFRED PETERSON, at one time a 
hotel-keeper in Duluth, was born in Gote- 
borg, Sweden, Aug. 23, 1857, son of Elias 
and Caroline Peterson. 

Elias Peterson was also a native of Swe- 
den, born in 182 1. He was reared in Gote- 
horg, and was married there several years 
before emigrating to seek his fortune in the 
Xew World. The family came to America 
in 1864, and after living in Green Bay. Wis., 
four or five years, they settled in Duluth. Mr. 
Peterson was a stonemason, and did the ma- 
son work on many of the early buildings in 
the city, such as the Hunter and Bowman 
blocks. He died in 1873, leaving a widow, 
who is still living in Duluth, and six chil- 
dren: Davida. the wife of Iver Wisted, a 
contractor in Duluth: Josephine, widow of 
Paul Slarvey, ex-sheriff of St. Louis county: 
.\lfred; Emma C, the widow of Matt Gatz, 
formerly a prominent hotel-keeper: Charle.s 
11., who was drowned in the ill fated "Man- 
istee"' in 1883, aged nineteen years, ami wIm 



54S 



COMlMEMORATRE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



will be remembered by many as the first 
bootblack in Duluth; and William F., a 
prospector, now residing in Idaho. Mr. and 
Mrs. Peterson were both members of the 
Swedish Lutheran Church. 

Alfred Peterson was a mere child when 
the family came to America, and recei\ed all 
his education in this country, attending the 
public schools of Duluth. He learned the 
glazier's trade, but did scarcely any work in 
that line. His real career began when he 
became the first bell boy at the old "Clark 
House," in Duluth. He remained there h\e 
years in different capacities, becoming suffi- 
ciently familiar with the requirements uf the 
business so that later he undertook the man- 
agement of the old "Central House," and 
carried it on successfully until 1887, when 
he went out of the business. Since that time 
he has been in the employ of the Mesaba 
Northern Iron Company. 

Mr. Peterson was united in marriage in 
1883 \\'''^'^ Mary McLane, daughter of John 
and Kate (McDonald) McLane. To their 
union have come two children, John E. and 
Catherine Lillian. 

Fraternally Mr. Peterson's connections 
are with Modern Woodmen of America. 
During the period when he was the head of 
the "Central House" he was necessarily 
brought into contact with many people, and 
won a position of very general respect and 
esteem. 

JOHN JACOBSON (deceased) was one 
of the pioneers of West Superior, and took 
an active part in its early development. He 
was born June 16. 1834, in Ostmark, Verm- 
land, Sweilen, and died in West Superior, 
June 16, 1898. His father, Jacob Jacobson, 
a noted violinist, was a native of Norway, 
but went to Sweden, where he was much 
sought after to play at fashionable weddings 
and on public occasions. He married the 
daughter of a wealthy family of Yermland. 

John Jacobson began his business edu- 
cation at an early age, with an uncle who was 
engaged in the iron trade. Later he visited 
all parts of Sweden as a commercial traveler, 
after which for a time he was a grocer in 



Jemtland, Sweden. In 1881 he came to the 
United States, and located in Stearns coun- 
ty, Minn. In 1887 ^''^ moved to West Su- 
perior, where he invested largely in real es- 
tate, and built a number of houses on Hugh- 
itt, Cumming, Fisher and Weeks avenues. 
The first building Mr. Jacobson erected was 
a grocery store on the west side of Hughitt 
avenue, north of Sixth street, and it was the 
first building to go up in that block ; it is still 
standing. 

Mr. Jacobson married, in 1862, Sigrid 
Anderson, a daughter of Anders and Inge- 
borg (Halvorson) Anderson, both of whom 
lived and died on a farm in Sweden. ]\Irs. 
Sigrid (Anderson) Jacobson was born in 
Vermland, Sweden, and is now living in Su- 
perior. She is the mother of one son, Gus- 
taf Johnson, who is a well known citizen of 
Superior, and four daughters ; Karin is Mrs. 
Gust x\nderson, of Superior; Johanna was 
Mrs. F. C. Rasmusson, and died in 1896, at 
the age of twenty-nine; Anna is a teacher 
in Denver, Colo. ; Marie S., graduated in 
1897 from the Winona General Hospital 
Training School for Nurses, and in 1899, 
became matron of the hospital at Virginia, 
Minn. ; she married Dr. Stuart Bates, post- 
master and at one time mayor of Virginia, 
and one of the most noted physicians at the 
Head of the Lakes, who died two years ago. 

Mr. Jacobson was a member of the 
Swedish Lutheran Church, which he helped 
to organize. He also donated much of the 
lumber used in the construction of the church 
building, which is located at the corner of 
Weeks avenue and Sixth street. Mr. Jacob- 
son was always a stanch Republican and a 
public-spirited citizen. 

ROBERT MILLER, late superintendent 
of the Barron County Poor Farm, was a 
pioneer of Barron county. Wis., where he 
located in 1870, the year following its organ- 
ization, when it was still in an undeveloped 
condition. 

Mr. Miller was born in 1846, in Phila- 
delphia, a son of William and Margaret ]\Iil- 
ler, the former of whom was born in Europe 
and died in Philadelphia in 1850. The lat- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



549 



ter was l)i)ni in County Tyrone. Ireland, 
ami died in New York City. After the 
death of her husband she returned to County 
Tyrone witli her son, who spent the years 
l)etween his fourth and sixteenth birthdays 
in Ireland. In 1862 lie returned to Amer- 
ica, and settled at Rio, Columbia Co., \\'is. 
In 1864, when eighteen years of age, he be- 
came a private in Company E, 3d Wis. Vet. 
Vol. Inf., for a term covering the prolonga- 
tion of the war. He accompanied his regi- 
ment immediately to the front, joining Gen. 
Sherman's army at Chattanooga, and parti- 
cipated in the movements of that army from 
that time until the war was over. Mr. Mil- 
ler fought for his country at Chickamauga. 
Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta and Milledge- 
ville, and later, after the march to the sea, 
at Lancaster, Robertsville and Columbia, S. 
C. Raleigh, Goldsboro, and Bentonville, N. 
C. After Johnston's surrender he went to 
Washington and took part in the Grand Re- 
view, which will linger in the memor\' of 
every gallant soldier as long as life lasts. 
Subsequently he was mustered out of the 
service, at l^Iadison, Wis., the last of lune, 
1865. 

After the close of the war he returned 
to Columbia county, and bought a farm 
which he operated until 1870, when he came 
to Barron county, taking up a homestead in 
I)imn county, adjoining Barrf)n. This land 
he improved to some degree, erecting build- 
ings, and set out an orchard, and later sold 
to advantage, after which he spent one year 
in Eau Claire. He then Ixiught a tract of 
160 acres in East Chetek township, Barron 
county, which farm he develo])ed and resided 
upon until 1895, when he was appointed by 
the county lx)ard to take charge of the Coun- 
ty Poor Farm, where he remained until his 
death. The selection of Mr. Miller for this 
important ])osition certainly showed a great 
measure of practical common sense and g(jod 
judgment, and his administration of the af- 
fairs of the farm and the county dependents 
was economical and careful to the highest 
degree. He took so nuich personal interest 
in this work that success attended almost all 
of his enterprises. The cultivating of the 



land, the setting out of orchards, and the 
making of all kinds of improvements, have 
met with the hearty approval of the board. 
In 1883 the present buildings were erected. 
The farm contains 200 acres, all of which 
was timbered at one time, seventy-five acres 
now being under cultivation. Electric light- 
ing is used in the buildings, which are of a 
permanent character, and other improve- 
ments and more buildings are in contempla- 
tion. The farm is designed to be self-sup- 
porting, and is well stocked with 100 sheep, 
ten milch cows, four horses and a number of 
hogs. Mr. Miller took pride in his fine 
stock, and frequently took premiums at vari- 
ous fairs for his excellent exhibits of agri- 
cultural products. 

In 1866 Mr. Miller married Margaret 
Hener\', who was born in Glasgow, Scot- 
land, daughter of John and Mary (Stenson) 
Henery, aiid came to America in childhood, 
being reared in Milwaukee, where she lived 
until her marriage. Her father was of 
Scotch birth. Mr. and Mrs. Miller had two 
children: Minnie, wife of Samuel Calhoun, 
of Chetek; and Ida, wife of Frank Elwood, 
now of Chippewa county. 

When Mr. Miller came to Barron county 
a band of Indians were living on the site of 
the present town of Barron. The band con- 
sisted of 100 savages, and their camp was 
located on a hill adjoining the poor farm. 
In that day railroads had not penetrated into 
this wilderness and all supplies had to be 
•secured at Eau Claire and Mcnomonie. over 
roads which were but trails and across 
streams which had never been bridged. The 
mighty changes which have transformed all 
this region have required energy, hardship, 
industry and good judgment to bring about, 
and Mr; Miller took no obscure part in this 
development. He was always interested in 
political affairs, casting his first vote (at the 
age of eighteen years, while serving in the 
army) for President Lincoln. He was a 
member of G. A. R. Post No. 128. at Che- 
tek, Wis., and also of the I. O. O. P.. Bar- 
ron Lodge, Xo. 38, in which he passed all 
the chairs, and the Encampment at Rice 
Lake, Wis. In every way ^l^. Miller was .a 



)50 



COMME.MORATRE BlOGRAriilCAL RECORD 



first-class, representative citizen, regarded as 
one of the most useful men of his count}-, 
and his death was considered a distinct loss 
to the coniminiitv. 

The ill health which resulted from his 
military service and always caused him con- 
siderable suffering culminated in his death 
April 12, 1904. and his remains were laid 
to rest in Barron cemetery. Owing to her 
recognized executive ability and long ex- 
perience as her husband's assistant, Mrs. JNlil- 
ler was appointed tii succeed him as super- 
intendent of the County Poor Farm. 

WILLIAM ROYCRAFT is a dealer in 
general hardware, tin and sheet iron work, 
at Xos. 1910-191J Iowa avenue, West Su- 
perior, Wisconsin. 

11. JEFFERSON OBRIEN. M. 1). 
Among the young physicians of West Su- 
perior, Wis., whose ability and energy have 
won high place in the confidence of the peo- 
ple and of the medical fraternity as well. Dr. 
H. Jeft'erson Obrien holds a very high iilacc. 
He was born in St. Croi.x county. Wis., in 
1869, and secured such education as was 
offered in the public schools of Hudson. For 
six years he was engaged in newspaper work 
in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., two 
years of that time being editor of The 
Northern Press Bureau, and he was a mem- 
ber of the Minneapolis Press Club. In 1S89 
he entered Haniline IJniver, ty, and in 189^ 
had won his degree of M. 1). from that iuy 
stitution. 

Immediately after his graduation Dr. 
Obrien went to West Superior, Wis., ami 
opened up an office. His (juick sympathy 
and natural intelligence, coupled with his 
thorough preparation for his profession, 
soon won for him a high standing, and he 
has built up a good practice. He is a mem- 
ber of the Inter-Urban Academy of ]\Iedi- 
cine, the Douglas County Medical Society, 
and the .\merican jNIedical Association. He 
holds the position of examining surgeon for 
the Northern Division of the Chicago, St. 
Paul, Milwaukee & Omaha Railroad, and is 
medical e.xaminer for the New York Life 



Insurance L'ompany, and the .Metropolitan 
Life and Mutual Life Insurance Companies 
of New York. He is also medical exannncr 
for several fraternal orders, among which 
are the I. O. of F.. .M. W . A.. K. (.). T. M.. 
and U. O. of F. 

CL.\CS JOHNSON was born in Mane- 
stad, Sweden, April 8, 1809, son of Jonas 
and Anna Johnson. The parents have never 
left Sweden, where ]\Ir. Johnson is engaged 
in business as a butcher and stock dealer. 
The son atteiuled the common school, and 
then leanied the blacksmith's trade. He 
came to this country in 188S, and located at 
Superior, where he began as a laborer. In 
1891 he opened a confectionery store, but in 
two years sold out and found employment in 
a grocery store. Since 1894 he has ilealt in 
groceries, for the first two years in partner- 
ship with O. N. Furtan, to whom he then sold 
out. then opening a new store at Weeks ave- 
nue and 7th street. He was infiuential in or- 
ganizing the Grocers' Association of \\ est 
Superior and is now vice-president, l-nr 
three years he was a member of the county 
board, representing the Fifth ward. Ever 
since coming to the United States he has 
been a Republican, and he has taken an 
active part in the local councils of the partw 

Mr. Johnson was married Dec. 24, 1893. 
to Ellen Wickstrom, daughter of Andrew 
and Annie Wickstrom, of Superior. Mrs. 
Johnson is a native of Sweden, her parents, 
at present residents of Solon Springs, Wis., 
having come to \\'est Superior in 1888. 
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson hue three children. 
.\gnes Elenora, Clans .\rnold and Mildred. 
Mr. Johnson is a member of the Swedish 
Mission Church, while his wife belongs to 
the Swedish Baptist Church. Mr. Johnson 
is actively interested in fraternal orders, and 
is a member of Terminal Lodge. I. O. O. V.. 
and of Royal Camp, ]\I. W. A. 

DENNIS M. CANNON. This esteemed 
citizen of Superior, an efficient enii)loye oi 
the Duluth, South Shore and .\tlantic Rail- 
way Co., was born in Dodge county. Wis., 
Aug. 27, 185 1, son of Cornelius and Anas- 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



551 



tatia (Miirpliyj Cannon. Tlie parents were 
both natives uf Ireland, tlie former burn in 
County Donegal, and the latter in Comity 
Carlow. 

Dennis Cannon, grandfather of Dennis 
M., came to the United States with his fam- 
ily about 1835. He had been a linen weaver 
in Ireland, but alter living in New York and 
Pittsburg, Pa., he located on a farm in Col- 
umbia county, Ohio, and for the rest of his 
life was occupied as a farmer. Thinking 
the chances better farther west, the family 
moved to Wisconsin in 1848, and he fol- 
lowed farming in Dodge county. He died in 
Outagamie county. Wis., at the age of 
seventy-eight years. 

Cornelius Cannon, son of Dennis, pre- 
ceded his father to Wisconsin, in 1847, set- 
tling on a farm of 160 acres of government 
land in Dodge county. This tract improved 
greatly and he then sold out, locating in 
Waupaca county, where he remained until 
his death, in 1890, at the age of seventy- four 
years. He was a most worth\- and indus- 
trious citizen, but found neither lime nor in- 
clination to take part in public affairs. His 
wife is still living in Waupaca county, and 
is now nearing her seventy-fifth birthday. 
She came to this country with her parents 
alx)ut 1849. Her father, Thomas ^Iurphy. 
settled in Dodge county, and died there only 
a year or two later, while his widow, Cath- 
erine Murphy, survived him many years, 
dying when eighty-three years old. 

Dennis M. Cannon spent most of his boy- 
hood in Waupaca county, attending the pub- 
lic schools there. .At twenty-two he began t<> 
learn the carpenter's trade, and worked at 
house building until 1887, when he entered 
the employ of the Wisconsin Central Rail- 
road Co., as a bridge builder. He did most 
of the work on the original bridges and 
buildings of the road between Chicago and 
Mcnasha. He was with the Chicago & 
Northwestern road fop over two years, in 
the Peninsular division, with headquarters 
at Escanaba. Mich. Since 1891 Mr. Can- 
non has been employed by the Duluth, South 
Shrirc and .Atlantic Railroad Co., and is fore- 
man of the bridges and buildings on the Du- 



luth division. He has charge of all work in 
his line between Duluth and Saxon, Wis., 
and has from six to tu'clve men under him. 
In 1885 Mr. Cannon was married to 
Miss Agnes McCole, daughter of Cornelius- 
and Catherine (Higgins) McCole, of Chil- 
ton, Wis., both now deceased. Mr. McCole 
came to Wisconsin from Ohio in 1855, with 
his parents, Patrick and Catherine McCole, 
who had left Ireland twenty years before. 
Mr. and Mrs. Cannon have three children, 
Anastatia Lucile, Cornelius and Charles Ber- 
nard. The family are connected with the 
Catholic Church. In political belief Mr. 
Cannon is a Republican. In 1899 he built a 
very comfortable residence on West 6th 
street, Superior, one of the best homes in 
that part of the city, and one ever open in 
hospitality to the many friends of the family. 

THOMAS WALLACE BAXTER, 
one of the early contractors and builders of 
West Superior, has been a resident of that 
part of the city since 1892, while his earlier 
connection with the Badger Slate dates back 
to 1855, almost a half century ago. 

Mr. Baxter was born in 1836, in Frank- 
lin county, N. Y., where his father, C. W. 
Baxter, had been one of the pioneer settlers. 
He was reared on the farm, attended the 
public schools and secured a good education. 
He left home when quite a young man and 
went to Vermont, where he was engaged a- 
couple of years in railroading. From there 
he accompanied a railroad party to Ohio, 
and later they came to Wisconsin. Mr. 
Baxter remained in the railroad business in 
this State for many years, for almost forty 
years making his home in Watertown, most 
of the time working for the Northwestern 
Railroad Company. Since settling in Su- 
perior he has been engaged in contracting 
and building. 

Mrs. Baxter was formerly Miss I'rances 
McCnuley, a native of Ohio, and a d-iughter 
of Silas SicCaulcy. who enjoyed the distinc- 
tion of having fought with Commodore 
Perry in the famous battle on Lake Erie. 
Mr. and Mrs. Baxter arc the parents of three 
.sons and three daughters. Two of the sons^ 



COMMEMORATRE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



like their father in his earlier life, are rail- 
road men. The eldest, Charles S. Baxter, is 
superintendent of the Mexican Central rail- 
road ; Frederick A. is at home ; George S. 
is connected with the St. Panl. Minneapolis 
and Sault Ste. ilarie Railroad as train de- 
spatcher; the two oldest daughters are mar- 
ried; the youngest, Emma F., is clerk for the 
Eajtern Railway of Minnesota. 

Mr. Baxter belongs to the Masonic fra- 
ternity, and has taken the third degree. He 
is a thorough business man, and is very high- 
ly regarded by those with whom his lot has 
been cast. 

RAY JOSEPH XYE. well known in 
Superior as shipping clerk of the Duluth-Su- 
perior Milling Company, was born March 
21, 1871. in Davenport, Iowa, his par- 
ents being Joseph H. and Kate (Camp- 
bell) Nye. 

Joseph H. Xye w-as a native of Mailisoii 
county, X. Y. His ancestors settled in 
Sandwich, Mass., as early as 1640. and mem- 
bers of the family took part in the Revolu- 
tion and were connected with other events 
in the early history of Rhode Island and 
eastern Connecticut, where many generations 
of Xyes made their home. Joseph H. Xve's 
maternal grandfather, John Stanlx-irough, 
served all through the Revolution in one of 
the Connecticut regiments. For the past 
twenty years Mr. Nye. whose trade is that 
of a mill\\right. has been superintendent of 
•construction of mills for the E. P. Allis 
Company of Milwaukee. He had charge of 
the construction of the "Daisy" and other 
mills at Superior, where he has lived since 
1892, and of many mills in other places. 
Mrs. Kate (Campbell) X've was born in 
Greenock, Scotland, and died in Milwau- 
kee, April 15, 1 88 1, when thirty-two years 
of age. Her parents. John and Sarah Caniji- 
bell, came to Canada and afterward moved 
to Leelanau county, Midi., where their last 
days were passed. The children of Joseph 
H. and Kate (Campbell) X"ye were: Ray 
J., Maud, May and Robert. Most of the 
family are members of the Episcoi)al 
■Church. 



The boyhood of Ray Joseph Xye was 
mostly passed in Milwaukee, where he at- 
tended the grammar and high schools, and 
when about seventeen years of age began 
learning the miller's trade at the Allis works. 
In 1892-93 he assisted his father in the con- 
struction of the Superior mills, where he has 
ever since been employed, being at present 
in charge of the shipping. The "Daisy" is 
the principal mill, and has a capacity of three 
thousand barrels a day — being the largest 
mill in Wisconsin, and employing about 100 
men. In the three mills at Superior are em- 
ployed altogether about 250 men. and the 
daily capacity is seven thousand barrels, the 
output being mostly shipped by water to 
eastern points. 

In June, 1901. Ray Joseph Xye was ap- 
pointetl by Gov. LaFollette deputy State 
factory inspector, but he resigned this posi- 
tion owing to the demands made upon his 
time by other business affairs. ]\Ir. Xye has 
always been a Republican and active in local 
politics. 

HOWARD L. SCRIBXER, a sawyer 
for the well known lumber firm of Alger, 
Smith & Co., of Duluth, was born at Otis- 
field, Maine. June 4, 1870. His parents, 
also of Maine, were James A. and Caroline 
(Millett) Scribner. 

The Scribner family is of English origin, 
but ti\e generations have been born in Maine 
since the original ancestor settled in this 
country. Cireat-grandfather Scribner was a 
soldier in tlie Revolutionary war. James 
Scribner, father of Howard L., is a carpenter 
by trade, and is now a resident of the State 
of Washington, where he is engaged as con- 
tractor and builder. He served in the Union 
army during the Civil war. Air. and Mrs. 
James A. Scribner had a family of seven 
children, all of whom are living, Howard L. 
being third in the order of birth. 

Howard L Scribner obtained his educa- 
tion in the public schools of Maine and Mich- 
igan, and began work as a setter in a saw- 
mill at Baymills. After working thus three 
years he went to work at sawing at Sailor 
Encampment. Mich., working as sawyer in 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



553 



the mills in the summer and in the woods 
during the winter. He was at Sheboygan 
one summer and six months at Rogers City, 
Mich., after which he returned to Baymills 
for two seasons. After that he went to 
Seattle, Wash., and was employed there in 
the shipyards for three years, at the end of 
that time returning to Baymills for six 
months and then coming to Duluth, where he 
has since remained. He is now engaged as 
sawyer for Alger, Smith & Co. 

On May 26, 1894, Mr. Scribner was 
married to Margarette Sirr, of Sault Ste. 
Marie, Mich., daughter of Benjamin and 
Marie (Mums) Sirr, both natives of Can- 
ada. Benjamin Sirr, a blacksmith by trade, 
died in 1891; his w'ife survives him and 
makes her liome with her daughter's family. 
Mr. and Mrs. Sirr were the parents of two 
children, Margarette, Mrs. H. L. Scribner; 
and Ellen J., Mrs. E. V. Allan, of Jackson, 
Mich. To Mr. and Mrs. Scribner the fol- 
lowing children have been born : Agatha 
B., Caroy M. and Winifred R. Mr. Scrib- 
ner is an adherent of the Republican party. 
Fraternally he is connected with the I. O. 
■O. F. Lodge No. 168, of Duluth, and the 
Rebekahs, and the Modern Woodmen of 
America. 



a pioneer logger, his first work being on 
the Flambeau, near his present home. Mr. 
Laberge worked along that line for many 
winters. In 1885 he came to Ladysmith, 
settling on the east bank of the Flambeau, 
two miles north of the town, and first buy- 
ing eighty acres of virgin soil, to which he 
has added until he now owns 220 acres of 
rich farming land. In addition to his farm 
work Mr. Lal)erge has found time to take 
a part in political affairs, and he has served 
nine years as town clerk of Flambeau, for 
four years as chairman of the town board, 
and has always figured prominently in school 
matters. For eighteen years he has been 
upon the school board, and his advice is 
often sought upon questions pertaining to 
educational matters. Mr. Laberge is secre- 
tary of the Farmers Mutual Fire Insurance 
Company of Rusk county. 

In 1882, at Chippewa Falls, Mr. Laberge 
was married to Miss Elizabeth Braneck, 
of that place. They have had children as 
follows: Louise, George, Eugenie (who died 
in February, 1904, aged fifteen years and 
five months, was the first white child born 
in or around Ladysmith). Leon. Arthur, 
Fred, Laura and Ruth. The family are all 
members of the Catholic Church. 



LUDGER LABERGl-:, farmer of Rusk 
county. Wis., residing at Ladysmith, has 
fully demonstrated the productiveness of the 
soil of this locality, and has developed his 
farm until it is one of the best in this por- 
tion of the State. It is well supplied with 
excellent buildings, and well improved in 
<nher respects. 

Mr. Lal)crge was torn in Lower Canada, 
near Montreal, in 1857, and his boyhood 
<lays were spent on a farm. He obtained a 
good education in the schools of his neigh- 
borhood and in the Montreal business col- 
lege from which he was graduated. Soon 
thereafter, when twenty years of age, he 
came to Wisconsin, settling at Chippewa 
Falls. This first winter he attended high 
school, to improve his knowledge of the 
P-nglish language, and the following .spring 
Ihe began working as a scaler for John King, 



WILLIAM OGILVIE, of Superior, 
was born at Carnoustie, Forfarshire, Scot- 
land. May 15, 1842. His parents w-ere John 
and .'\nna (Cant) Ogilvie, natives of For- 
farshire, where they lived and died. Alex- 
ander Ogilvie. father of John, came of one 
of the oldest families in Forfarshire, and was 
a linen weaver by occupation. 

John Ogilvie was also a weaver, and in 
addition to his trade occupied himself in the 
summer jn the fisheries on the Forfarshire 
coast. He was always active and rugged, 
and lived to be eighty years of age, dying in 
1894; his wife, who was alxiut the same 
age, passed away some six months earlier. 
Of the nine children of John and Anna 
(Cant) Ogilvie two died in early life. The 
only one in America is William, mentioned 
below. The others were : James, bailiff of 
a large estate at Horsham. England; John, 



554 



COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD 



deceased; Peter, of Broughty Ferry, Scot- 
land; Ann. !Mrs. Clark, of Blairgowrie, 
Scotland; Matilda, widow of Harry Har- 
rington, of Carnoustie ; and Martha. 

William Ogilvie served a four years* ap- 
prenticeship to the trade of tailor at Car- 
noustie, began business in 1864 as a mer- 
chant tailor, and continued as such until 
1877. He then sold out and went to 
Brechin, where for ten years he was em- 
ployed as cutter in a large tailoring estab- 
lishment. In 1SS7 he came to the United 
States, and located at Superior, soon open- 
ing a merchant tailoring establishment at 
West Superior, and moving six months later 
to Oldtown. where he has since remained. 
With the exception of one in Duluth Mr. 
Ogilvie's is the oldest established tailoring 
business at the Head of the Lakes, and he 
employs a number of workers. In 1890 Mr. 
Ogilvie put up a two-story building, which 
he still occupies as a residence and place of 
business. His reputation for hrst-class work- 
manship and honorable dealing brings him 
the best custom of the place. 



In 1864 Mr. Ogilvie married Isabella 
Taylor, daughter of George and Susan 
(Bright) Taylor, of Carnoustie, the fonner 
a Hshennan and market gardener who passed 
his entire life in Carnoustie, where he died 
at the age of seventy-five. ChiUlren as fol- 
lows have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ogil- 
vie: George, born Oct. 25. 1868, an em- 
ploye of the Xortheni Pacific Express Co., 
at Duluth, who died ]\Iarch 24, 1S93; 
Susanna T., wif^of Robert Taylor, master 
mechanic of the street car company in Minn- 
eapolis; Kate, Mrs. .\. W. IMacRae, of 
Bakersfiekl, Cal. ; and Alexander W. T., 
auditor for the Booth Packing Co., of Chi- 
cago. All of the family received most of 
their education in Scotland. They attend 
the First Presbyterian Church of Superior, 
of which Mr. Ogilvie has been an elder since 
1807; li^ ^^'•'*=' '"^Isio for many years eUler of 
his church in Scotland. Mr. Ogilvie is a 
member of the Order of Scottish Clans, hav- 
ing filled all the otYices in the local clan, of 
which he is now financial secretary. In 
political principle he is a Republican. 





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